On Monday, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors made a tempting offer to the Columbus City Council to resolve a dispute over Mississippi Department of Transportation right-of-way maintenance at highway interchanges inside city limits.
The council had been split on whether to accept a low bid from an outside company to cut grass along those intersections or rely on the city’s public works department to do the job, something public works director Casey Bush said would be difficult to do without more equipment and manpower.
Through two work sessions and two council meetings, the council failed to come to an agreement, voting neither to accept nor reject the low bid from S&S Landscaping and Nursery at $74,997 for a three-year contract.
But during Monday’s meeting, county supervisors voted 4-1 to cover half of the cost of the contract for one year if the council approves the S&S contract before the bid expires on June 16. Barring a special-call meeting, the last opportunity to beat that deadline is Tuesday’s regular council meeting. Supervisors balked at committing to making payments beyond one year because a new board will be selected in the November election.
We would characterize it as an offer the council can’t refuse, but the council’s inability to do anything at all where this issue is concerned is a reminder that nothing is a sure bet.
MDOT’s commitment to maintaining the right-of-way areas is a twice-a-year bush-hogging, which clearly isn’t sufficient. Since 2013, the city has done the mowing, the past five years at its own cost.
Columbus CFO James Brigham said $200,000 in unused public works funds could be used to pay S&S for its services. With the S&S’s low bid — about half what other companies had bid – the city seemed to be risking little.
The pot should be irresistibly sweetened now that the county has decided to go halfsies.
This is one of those rare instances where the city and county have a chance to collaborate on something that benefits all who care about the appearance of our major highway interchanges, regardless of whether they are city residents.
The supervisors showed Monday they understand the importance of that.
We urge the city council to show they understand, too, by approving the S&S contract and the supervisors’ pledge to pay half of the costs at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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