Specifications include, but are not limited to: Contractor will furnish all equipment, fuel, supplies, and labor to maintain turf at the Southern Maine Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Springvale, ME. Minimum required equipment includes: commercial quality mowing equipment, power trimmers, and power edgers. All equipment must be properly sharpened and maintained. Power riding mowers shall be free of oil leaks that will cause to damage headstone, pavement, and grass or pose environmental concern. Contractor will ensure that equipment will comply with all Federal/State safety rules and regulations as found in OSHA Standard Number 1910.243(e) and OSHA Standard Number 1910.133 The Contractor will provide qualified operators for all power equipment. The Contractor will ensure that all personnel will comply with the rules and regulations of the Maine Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery System. These rules and regulations can be found in the MVMCS SOP and will be provided upon request. Mowing Schedule The contractor will dedicate 8 hours of landscaping to the SMVC to include mowing, trimming and edging. Landscaping services must be performed between the hours of 7:30am and 7:00pm. Due to an inconstant burial schedule, the contractor will be required to work regularly with the Grounds Equipment Manager to develop a schedule that is nonconflicting with the burial schedule. Service Requirements Turf/edging requirements: The height of cutting deck(s) shall be set no shorter than 2 inches and no greater than 2.5 inches (unless agreed upon by owner). All mowers shall have anti-scalping devices. The height of grass MUST NOT exceed 3.5 inches on any mowing week. Contractor must keep all headstones free from encroaching grass, dirt, and/or debris. This may be accomplished either by: Trimming with string trimmer each headstone as needed or every two weeks at the minimum (“as needed” means no headstone has crabgrass or weeds or grass overhanging the stone edge on any side more than ¼ of an inch) or Using an edger (ONLY if blade is non-ferrous to avoid permanent marks in granite). Contractor shall adhere to these landscaping practices, unless deviation approved by owner: Do not remove more than 1/3rd of the length of the grass plant in a single mowing Alternate mowing directions, when possible Maintain grass length as stated in Service Requirements Treatment of items found during service All dead flowers, trash (paper, plastic, small rocks) shall be picked up and placed in proper trash container prior to mowing area. Temporary vases shall be placed in designated receptacles. If it is necessary to remove live, fresh cut flowers (and when permitted in May, potted plants), Contractor must ensure flowers are returned to correct grave. In lieu of this practice, Contractor may elect to mow and trim around said fresh cut flowers (and when permitted in May, potted plants) Under no circumstance shall the Contractor or his/her agents remove from cemetery grounds any article, item or plant left on a grave (items that should not be disposed of, such as: flags, tokens, etc. should be given to a cemetery employee), other items shall be properly disposed of in cemetery trash receptacles. Damages All benches, upright markers, flat markers, row markers, stone monuments, tribute/dedication markers and irrigation covers shall not be hit, scraped, or touched by mowing equipment. Care must be taken when trimming around trees to avoid harming the bark. If tree(s) and/or shrub(s) are damaged and die due to contractor negligence, the contractor will be required to replace with a preapproved equivalent tree(s) and/or shrub(s). Contractor’s personnel will inform the Superintendent or his designated agent of any damages that occurred during mowing and trimming of grounds. Contractor will be responsible for repair or replacement of all damages due to negligence.
