2026 Lawn Mowing Contract RFP

Location:	Michigan
Posted:	Apr 10, 2026
Due:	Apr 28, 2026
Agency:	City of St. Joseph
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	S - Utilities and Training Services
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Request For

2026 Lawn Mowing Contract

Proposal

City of St. Joseph, Building & Inspections Department

700 Broad Street, St. Joseph, MI 49085

Page 1

Purpose:

This Request for Proposal (“RFP”) is to provide interested Contractors with sufficient information

to submit proposals for consideration by the City of St. Joseph (“City”) in connection with its

needs for lawn mowing services as part of the Property Maintenance Program.

Scope

This work involves mowing private property and adjacent tree lawn areas upon request in order

to remedy violations of the city’s code of ordinances related to excessive grass and weed growth.

Services include furnishing all labor and equipment necessary for lawn mowing and shall include

string trimming when mowing equipment cannot cut growth near buildings, fences, posts or

other obstacles. Clippings shall be cleared from public sidewalks and streets and properly

disposed of. No dumping of yard waste is permitted in the City. Areas of work may include City

rights-of-way and private property located within the City of St. Joseph. All work shall be done

through the direction of the Building & Inspections Department.

Favorable pricing will be one element of the selection process, but the experience of the

contractor, qualifications, experience and ability of assigned staff, completeness of the level of

service proposed and timeliness of service proposed by the bidder will be significant factors in

award of this contract. Final decision on selection of the bidder for this project will be

determined by the City Manager or their designee. The City reserves the right to reject any

proposals or parts of proposals. The City also reserves the right to waive any irregularities,

inconsistencies, or take what other action is appropriate as determined by the City to be in the

best interest of the City. When referenced in this RFP, the term “Contractor” refers to the

selected bidder.

This contract shall run for approximately the beginning of the first full week of May (May 04,

2026) and ending October 31, 2026. The contract may be extended on a year-to-year basis for

up to three (3) additional one-year periods by the mutual agreement of the selected contractor

and the City Manager.

A complete Request for Proposal may be viewed or downloaded at www.sjcity.com, or mailed

by contacting the City Clerk at 269-983-6325 or clerk@sjcity.com.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: 2026 Lawn Mowing Contract

CLOSING DATE AND TIME: 3:00 PM Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Issuing Officer (Point of Contact):

Questions regarding the scope of work to be completed may be directed to the following:

• Emily Oman, Code Enforcement Officer at (269) 983-1212 or eoman@sjcity.com.

Page 2

Scope of Work & Specifications:

General:

• All work to be performed shall be assigned by the Code Enforcement Officer or authorized

representative, and in all respects shall conform to the provisions and requirements of this

request for proposal. Subject to the guidelines and specifications set forth in this RFP, the

Contractor is responsible for determining the method and manner of performing the work.

• On a weekly basis during the growing season, the City will inspect and identify properties where

excessive lawn or weed growth, whether on private property or associated tree lawn areas,

violates city ordinance. Upon determining that the violation should be abated as allowed under

city ordinance, the City shall prepare a list of properties with violations and provide that list to

the contractor by e-mail or text message, as mutually agreed between the parties. This

notification will typically take place on Thursdays but may vary due to weather, holidays, or

other extenuating circumstances. There may be weeks when there are no properties to be

mowed; the City will notify the contractor when this occurs.

• Within 48 hours of receiving the list of properties to be mowed, the contractor shall respond to

each property; photograph each property to be mowed to clearly document the violation; cut

the lawn including adjacent tree lawn areas; and then photograph the property after mowing to

clearly show that the work was performed. If inclement weather or other exigent circumstances

makes it impossible to complete the work within 48 hours, the work shall be performed as soon

as conditions permit. The contractor should be aware that in some cases the contractor will

arrive at the property and discover the property representative has already cut the lawn and it is

less than 6” in height. No compensation will be provided in this event, and it is not necessary for

the contractor to photograph such properties, but only to note this fact on the list of properties

provided by the city for that week.

• Mowing shall include string trimming when mowing equipment cannot cut growth near

buildings, fences, posts or other obstacles. Clippings shall be cleared from public sidewalks and

streets and properly disposed of. No dumping of yard waste is permitted in the City.

• The required before & after photographs of each property shall remain in the contractor’s

possession unless or until the City specifically requires a copy. The photo prints must be in color

and date & time stamped. Digital photos are acceptable and may be provided electronically in

JPEG format, in lieu of hard copy. The photos should be taken in such a way as to clearly show

the property address and demonstrate that the lawn is >6” long and in violation of city

ordinance. If photos of a property do not clearly document that the property was in violation of

the ordinance and that the property was mowed as indicated by the contractor and the City is

therefore unable to bill the property owner because of this lack of evidence, the contractor will

not be paid for that individual property mowing. This amount may be withheld from the current

billing or a future billing depending on when this circumstance is discovered. The City does not

require the contractor to automatically provide all photos but will request photos when

necessary. The contractor shall retain these photographs for at least one year after the end of

the program.

Page 3

• The contractor will add information to the list of properties provided by the city, noting the date

the contractor visited the property, whether the violation was already remedied when the

contractor arrived, the labor time taken to trim the property, and the fee for trimming the

individual property, as appropriate; will sign the document to confirm that the information is

complete; and will promptly return the sheet to the city via hardcopy, e-mail or fax as agreed

between the contractor and the city. The contractor shall invoice the City on a monthly basis

for all properties trimmed within the previous calendar month; this may be included with the

mowing invoice if desired. The City shall pay the invoice through its usual accounts payable

process.

• The Contractor and their employees are expected to respond to the public in a respectable and

courteous manner, and may refer citizens to the Building & Inspections Department at 269-983-

1212 should any issues arise.

Safety:

The Contractor shall be responsible for initiating, maintaining and supervising all safety

precautions in connection with its services, and shall take all necessary precautions for the

safety of such services. The Contractor shall provide the necessary protection to prevent direct

or indirect damage, injury or loss to all persons, property, equipment or materials on the

worksite or any who may be affected by the services performed. In cases of property damage,

property shall be restored to its original condition at the expense of the Contractor and to the

satisfaction of the City.

Equipment:

The Contractor shall at all times maintain sufficient equipment (lawn mowers, weed whackers,

etc.) to promptly perform the work and ensure normal and safe traffic conditions on the

premises. All equipment used by the Contractor for the performance of the work shall be

maintained in good working and mechanical condition in order to perform the job effectively

and safely.

Personnel:

The Contractor shall ensure that at all times it has and maintains sufficient qualified personnel

to allow it to promptly perform the work required. Personnel must be readily identified as

employees of the company (i.e., uniforms, shirts, hats, etc.).

Subcontracting:

Subcontracting will not be allowed unless prior approval has been granted by the City of St.

Joseph.

Instructions to Bidders

Sealed bids are due at the St. Joseph City Clerk’s Office no later than 3:00PM Tuesday, April 28,

2026.

Proposals may be mailed or delivered to the City of St. Joseph City Clerk, 700 Broad Street, St.

Joseph, Michigan 49085. Sealed envelopes should be plainly marked:

Page 4

Attention: City Clerk

Re: 2026 Mowing Contract

700 Broad Street

St. Joseph, MI 49085

It is the sole responsibility of the Bidder to see that its proposal is received within the required

time period. The City is not responsible for any errors or irregularities with the delivery method

utilized for submitting the Proposal. Any proposals received after the closing date and time will

be returned unopened.

Incurring Costs

The City is not liable for any costs related to the bidder’s preparation of their proposal.

Withdrawal of Proposal

Any bidder may withdraw its proposal in person, by facsimile or by letter any time prior to the

scheduled closing time for receipt of proposals. Each proposal shall be considered binding and

in effect for a period of sixty (60) days after the closing date.

Opening of Proposals

Proposals will be opened publicly at 3:00PM Tuesday, April 28, 2026 in the Commission

Chambers on the 2nd floor of City Hall. Proposals will be evaluated and presented to the City

Manager afterwards for consideration and, if weather permits, the mowing program may begin

that following week once a contract is signed.

Evaluation of Proposals

It is the intent of the City to evaluate all proposals quickly and be prepared to issue the contract

as soon as possible, but no later than Friday, May 01, 2026.

Negotiations

The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, and negotiate with any source in any

manner necessary deemed to be in its best interest.

Award of Contract / Acceptance of Proposal (Terms and Conditions)

The contents of this RFP and the bidder’s proposal, as submitted and/or modified, shall become

contractual obligations, and included in a contract to be executed by the authorized contracting

agents of both parties.

Indemnification and Insurance

The Contractor shall indemnify and save harmless the City and its individual officers and agents

from all claims resulting or claimed to result from work performed by the Contractor. The

Contractor shall supply the City with a document indemnifying and holding the City harmless

for any action taken by and/or damage caused by said Contractor.

Page 5

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

title	closing date	status	files	view
2026 Lawn Mowing Contract RFP	04/28/2026 - 3:00pm	Open - accepting bids and proposals	2026 Lawn Mowing Contract RFP	View Details