Bartholomew County ends mowing contract after poor results

Bartholomew County is ending its contract with a company to maintain the sides of county roads and highways after the company failed to live up to its obligations.

The Bartholomew County Commissioners on Monday decided to terminate the county’s contract with Midwest Landscaping Industries Inc. of Indianapolis after warning the company previously that the county officials were not happy with the work.

The county originally contracted with the company in February after the company was the low bidder for the mowing work with a bid of just over $498 thousand dollars. That contract included a termination clause giving either the county or the company the right to terminate the contract with a 30 day notice.

The county commissioners sent a letter in May saying that the company’s work was substandard, that it was not maintaining a five foot mowing width and that the company appears to have inadequate equipment to do the work. Commissioners wrote that the company was creating safety concerns by mowing against traffic and by having equipment that is not built for the steep grades on some roadsides.

A second letter in June announced the county was exercising its contract termination clause because the work had not improved citing the poor width and quality of the cutting that the county was receiving. The letter announced that the county would terminate the contract on July 9th and commissioners made the action official during Monday’s meeting.

County commissioners began using an outside mowing service in 2023, as a way to save money and remove the need for part-time county employees to do the work. Commissioner President Tony London said that the county would be deciding in the next few weeks on next steps to get the mowing done.