The goal in seeking landscaping proposals was getting low-maintenance landscaping with the budget of $8,000.
Of five companies approached for a proposal following the stimulus program guidelines, only one submitted an $8,000 plan, Conrad said.
Another company submitted a plan for less than $3,000. The others were in between.
The commissioners asked for a few changes in proposed landscaping, but said the maintenance department also needed to evaluate proposals because its employees would be caring for the site.
“Working with stimulus money has been interesting because it is so restrictive,” Commission President John O’Brien said.
The county also was limited to using the money for transit capital projects and had little time to come up with a spending plan when the money first became available, he said. “Instead of saying you need landscaping, the federal government says you must spend $8,000 on landscaping out of the stimulus money. We usually are looking for the most we can get for the least amount of money,” O’Brien said.
He said the former transit department director questioned the requirement, but no changes were made.
Greentech, a Troy company that submitted the $8,000 plan, will be doing the landscaping, Conrad said last week.
Contact this reporter at nancykburr@aol.com or (937) 339-4371.
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