Public Works Director Greg Ramsey presented a plan to the City Council Wednesday that would outsource the care and set up for the city’s town square Christmas tree as a potential saver of staff time and money.
Universal Concepts, the company that originally sold the tree to the city, would store, put up, take down, and conduct minor repairs for $3,500 annually, Ramsey said.
“Public Works will take care of it either way, but this is just something for your consideration,” he said at Wednesday’s work session.
Council members Rosalyn Neal and Nancy Hudson quickly questioned the amount, with Hudson saying: “I mean, we’re talking about not having money to do (certain other things), and we’re talking about $3,500 for a Christmas tree?”
Ramsey said the city spends between $1,200 and $1,400 in maintenance annually.
“The Christmas tree that we have in the town square is requiring an inordinate amount of maintenance every year,” he said.
Much of this comes from the tree’s bows, which melt in the heat when the tree is stored in a trailer at the Public Works Department. Community Development spent roughly $1,000 on bows last year and will likely have to replace them again next year, he said.
Then there’s staff time from Public Works that it takes to maintain it, assemble it over the town square fountain, and take it down every year, Ramsey said.
Also, the city has to borrow Austell’s bucket truck to assemble the top section out of the four total sections. Austell has been providing the machine at no charge.
Further, the lifespan of the tree will hopefully be extended while in the care of Universal Concepts to prevent the need to purchase a new one, Ramsey said. The director said he didn’t know how much a new one would cost but would look into it.
The price range for Universal Concept’s giant Christmas trees can be seen here.
Council members weren’t sure how long ago the tree was purchased but estimated at least 10 years.
Source:http://powdersprings.patch.com/articles/city-weighs-outsourcing-care-for-town-square-christmas-tree
