New work contract is in place after previous pact with county ended April 1, but there was an emergency delay; some concerns, confusion raised over new contract process

A recent change in landscaping service providers has resulted in a number of Jackson County library branches suddenly looking worse for wear with dry, brown grass and dying shrubs and trees.

Local city and county officials report receiving phone calls about the dry conditions at library branches in the midst of the recently declared summer wildfire season.

County officials, however, say a contract between the county and the library district ended April 1 and that county parks crews and another local landscaper are no longer contracted to provide landscaping services.

Jackson County Library Services district officials confirmed a new contract is in place and acknowledged some challenges during “a transitional period.”

As of April 1, ProLawn Services Inc. of Medford took over as the contract landscaping provider for libraries in Jackson County. The contract totals $145,645.00

Prior to April 1, Jackson County roads and parks crews maintained eight library branches — Shady Cove, Rogue River, Gold Hill, Jacksonville, Phoenix, Talent, Ruch and Applegate — while Eagle Point-based Overstreet Landscape provided service for Medford, Eagle Point and White City branches.

Ron Overstreet, owner of Overstreet Landscape, said he provided landscaping for three of the county library branches for the past two decades and was told in October to submit a bid in order to be considered to continue providing services. 

While a selection was reportedly made by library officials in November, Overstreet said he was told to continue providing service until further notice. He did so, until April 1.

Overstreet said he was disappointed at the sudden change but more concerned for the condition of the library branches.

“We kind of prided ourselves on the fact that we did a good job and that we could take the burden off the county in that, if there were any areas where they would call us and say, ‘Hey, we might have an issue here,’ we almost always could say, ‘We already took care of that,’” Overstreet told the Rogue Valley Times this week.

“The libraries always have looked pretty darn good but to drive by most of them now … it’s pretty brutal and I just really don’t understand.”

Overstreet said automatic irrigation at most branches should, at the very least, keep properties watered and green.

Bid amounts for providing landscape services during an October bidding process were submitted by four companies: ProLawn and Overstreet, as well as Nature’s Landscape LLC and Gary Krause Landscape & Design.

Bids, ranked on five factors including qualifications and expertise, cost of providing services and reliability of work verified by references, ranged from a low bid of $93,588 bid by Overstreet to $234,785 by Gary Krause Landscape & Design. Nature’s Landscape LLC’s bid was $213,812.

Steve Lambert, Jackson County roads and parks director, said county officials had similar concerns about the condition of library branch properties and worried that community members would assume county crews and Overstreet were at fault.

Lambert said library services communicated in late December that it intended to end a contract with the county without notice, as of Jan. 1. County officials renegotiated for an April 1 separation of service date to allow proper notice for county crews.

At least one full-time employee was laid off due to the loss of contract.

Lambert said county crews and Overstreet provided landscape services since the libraries were rebuilt and renovated following a voter-approved $39 million bond in 2000. Calls were always answered in a timely manner, he said, and crews “took great pride in their work” for the libraries. 

He expressed confusion with the library district opting for a company whose bid was “$45,000 higher than the low bid.”

“I struggle to understand why the district would forego the services of the county and a contractor they had used for over a decade, just to award services to a firm that is charging more, per my understanding, and now taxpayers are receiving a far inferior service, as evidenced by the dying landscaping,” Lambert added.

“Members of the public are used to seeing us out there doing this work and keeping things in good shape. Now the trees are turning brown, plants are drying, the grass is brown,” Lambert said. “People are starting to complain and ask why the (county) parks department is not taking care of these facilities, so we are letting them know, ‘Hey, as of April 1, the library district has moved a different direction.’ 

“We’re frustrated, obviously, because we always tried to give a good deal and, now, we’re in a situation where the libraries have never looked worse and we don’t want folks thinking it has anything to do with Jackson County,” Lambert said.

Contacted by the Times, Kari May, director of library services, responded via written statement, acknowledging issues with current landscaping conditions.

“The Library has recently partnered with a new landscaping contractor, and we appreciate the community’s patience during this transitional period. While there have been some initial challenges, we have a clear plan in place to address key priorities, including ensuring all irrigation systems are fully operational and maintaining grass at safe, fire-preventative levels in compliance with fire season regulations,” the statement read.

“We are committed to enhancing our library landscapes and look forward to providing a more welcoming outdoor environment for the community to enjoy.”

Representatives for Medford-based ProLawn Services Inc. did not respond to multiple phone calls from the Times.

Kelda Vath, assistant director of support services for the library district, said Thursday that district officials were surprised to hear from branch managers throughout the library system regarding a “noticeable decline in landscaping services.”

“Upon further investigation, we learned that the primary contact at the new landscaping firm was unexpectedly out of the office due to a family emergency. This absence coincided with the service disruptions experienced across several branches,” Vath said in an email to the Times.

“Since their return approximately two weeks ago, the contractor has met with us directly, expressed sincere apologies, and committed to addressing the issues.”

Vath said irrigation systems at library branches are now all operational and that issues are not uncommon when systems are turned back on after being dormant all winter.

Overstreet said he worried about the onset of fire season and that irrigation systems had not already been operational.

“The whole thing was just really odd and it kind of got to me for a little bit but, as a contractor, you’ve got to learn to not aggravate about things. We see so many times, we’ll build a $300,000 landscape and, a year later, it’s mostly dead and you can’t see the landscaping for the weeds,” he said.

“It’s almost like social decay … or dysfunction. Sometimes, things just don’t make any sense no matter how hard you try to figure them out.”

Overstreet said his focus was not about compensation but helping the county and keeping the libraries looking good.

“I guess I felt vested, like we were helping. We would help out a lot of times without even being compensated, we just wanted to do what was right,” he added.

“It’s all just pretty sad. It really bothers our guys when they drive by the libraries and see the shape they’re in now.”

Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or buffy.pollock@rv-times.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.