Elburn village officials approve contract for maintenance of open areas in Blackberry Creek

Elburn Village Board members at the July 5 meeting approved a contract for a maintenance plan for open spaces in the Blackberry Creek subdivision.

The board agreed with Public Works Superintendent Phil VanBogaert’s recommendation to contract with Baxter & Woodman to implement a three-year maintenance plan.

According to VanBogaert, the open areas are well-established and consistent maintenance will ensure that invasive species will not develop and thrive.

The plans include activities such as bi-annual prescribed burning, annual winter brush removal and herbicide application, annual mowing and seeding and invasive species brush clearing.

Trustee Sue Filek initially raised a few concerns, based on the fact that Baxter & Woodman’s bid was significantly lower than the other bids. She wondered if they truly understood the scope of the work and what would be expected.

VanBogaert said he had had the same concerns at first, and spoke with the company’s representative extensively, making sure that the company was comfortable with the amount they had bid was a fair exchange for the work.

Filek said she did some research on the company, and was pleased and impressed with what she saw. She said that both their website and Facebook page presented work they had done for various entities, and that they seemed to take pride in what they did and “putting it out there.”

The consensus was to award the company the contract, and to see how the project goes.

“It fits into our budget better,” VanBogaert said. “We don’t have $50-$60,000 a year to hire these others, unless we raise the taxes.”

The maintenance work for the subdivision is paid for with a special service agreement (SSA) tax for work provided specifically to that neighborhood.

The contract amount for the three years is $55,100.