Lower Burrell considers hiring mowing contractor for city parks

Lower Burrell Council is considering hiring a private contractor to mow grass at the city’s two largest parks.

Council members are expected to discuss the proposal when they meet virtually Tuesday. The council canceled both of its August meetings because it lacked adequate meeting space during the renovation of City Hall and had little new business to consider, Councilman Chris Fabry said.

The mowing proposal would be for Burrell Lake Park and Officer Derek Kotecki Memorial Park, as well as some smaller parks, said Lower Burrell Councilwoman Rosina Albanese, who oversees the city’s parks and recreation department.

“We are looking to ease the burden of the recreational sports teams who have been cutting the grass voluntarily for years,” she said.

In return, the city has been donating money to the teams for their efforts.

Soccer and softball teams that currently help with maintenance will still do some field maintenance for their playing areas, but Albanese said, “We don’t want them to have the burden of caring for the common public spaces.”

Albanese didn’t have estimates on how much it would cost to contract out the mowing work.

During Tuesday’s virtual meeting, council also will discuss a firefighter tax credit, according to Fabry.

What seemed like a good idea to reward the city’s volunteer firefighters has taken longer than expected because the city and its two volunteer fire companies are still working out the details, Fabry said.

“Each fire company has its own requirement on what qualifies a firefighter to receive the tax break,” he said.

Tuesday’s meeting will start at 7 p.m. The public can participate by sending an email to colb@cityoflowerburrell.com, entering “meeting request” in the subject line and providing an email address in the body of the email. The city will send a meeting invite and the call-in information.