By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – After twice declining Parish President Natalie Robottom’s recommendations for janitorial work and grass cutting for St. John the Baptist Parish, the Parish Council on Tuesday approved new contracts for the services.

The council approved eight contracts total, which are worth $339,576 per year for grass cutting on parish property and cleaning of parish buildings on both sides of the Mississippi River. Robottom said the new deals will produce a savings to the parish of more than $107,000.

The contracts were approved during a council Finance Committee meeting Tuesday. It was the third time the contracts had appeared on the council agenda since Robottom took office in 2010. She had tried to persuade the previous council to approve the contracts prior to the October election, but the council voted the measures down. The fall election brought six new members to the council.

The grass-cutting contractors are Cypress Land Contractors of LaPlace, which offered a $29,520 per year contract, Corporate Green of Baton Rouge, which offered a $29,700 contract, St. John Grass Cutting and Maintenance of Edgard, which offered a $56,700 contract, B&D Tractor Services of LaPlace, which offered a $35,100 contract, Hymel’s Turf and Landscape of Reserve, which offered a $12,600 contract and Pac’s General Contractors of Edgard, which offered a $30,600 contract. Three of the firms, Cypress Land, B&D Tractor and St. John Grass Cutting, previously held contracts dating back to 2009

Robottom said the grass-cutting contracts will save the parish $97,000 over the two-year term of the contract, compared to the previous agreements for the services. The deal includes an option for a one-year extension and provisions that more grass will be cut on additional sites that were not included in previous deals. Sites include all parish buildings, water towers, public parks, boat launches and recreational facilities. As part of the agreement, the contractors will not be paid until the parish verifies that the work was completed.

The janitorial services will be performed by Sparkling Touch of Paulina, which offered a $73,680 contract, and Enmon Enterprises of Metairie, doing business as Jani-King, which offered a $71,676 contract. Robottom said the new contracts will save the parish $10,600 over the term of the contract.

Sparkling Touch will handle services for the Percy Hebert Building in LaPlace, the Parish Courthouse in Edgard and the St. John Community Center, while Enmon Enterprises will clean the Arcuri Center and parish buildings in Reserve and Garyville. Both firms are new to the parish.

Robottom most recently brought the contracts before the council in August, but council members questioned whether the firms could perform the work for the specified prices. The council hastily approved three-year extensions of the existing contracts when Robottom took office in 2010, but Robottom vetoed that measure and later attempted to extend the contracts for two years. The contractors had been operating on a month-to-month basis.

In other action from the finance committee meeting, the council approved a revision to a contract with Shread-Kuykendall & Associates for work on the Persimmon Street drainage project. The change redistributes funding within the project to cover the increased cost of resident inspections. St. John Chief Administrative Officer Theresa Rodgers said the change does not affect the overall cost of the project, which is close to completion.