Iola needs to purge itself from the lawn care business, Iola City Administrator Matt Rehder said Monday.
Rehder, speaking with the Iola City Council, discussed the city’s policy regarding unkempt lawns.
Those who allow their grass to grow higher than 12 inches are sent a public notice that the lawn needs to be cut. If the lawn is not cut within 10 days, city crews do the mowing.
“Unfortunately, we have become a lawn mowing service for much of the city,” Rehder said. “We mow too many lawns.”
In 2020, the city spent $9,500 for tall grass remediation, on top of the $13,000 spent on mowing city-owned greenspace. The city’s lawn care cost for private land was $6,700 in 2021.
With 2022 being an abnormally wet one, that cost is likely to increase.
City Clerk Roxanne Hutton estimated Iola recoups about 20% of those costs. Delinquent lawn care bills are tacked onto an owner’s property taxes.
Hutton noted one property owner has no qualms about having city crews mow the property, because the city’s fines are less than a private company would charge.
With that in mind, Rehder wondered if the city should increase what it charges. The current rate is $75 per hour, with a two-hour minimum, regardless of how long it takes to mow.
Council members did not act on Rehder’s suggestion.
