[04/04/01] Members of the Beulah Cemetery Restoration Committee submitted a recommendation to city officials Tuesday to accept a bid to clean up the historic graveyard, but had some questions, too.

Yolande Robbins, head of the committee, said the questions are directed at the two bidders.

“We want to make sure everybody understands the pressures in terms of time,” Robbins said.

The work needs to be completed by June 30 or the $50,000 allocated to the state Department of Archives and History by the Legislature in 1999 could be taken back.

She said a final decision by the committee should be known by Thursday.

Many of the city’s black leaders were buried in the fraternal cemetery at the east end of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard before the 1940s and attempts to restore the graveyard have been ongoing since the 1970s.

In December, after three deadline dates for completion had passed and the city had received no bids when the project was first offered, Maynord Landscaping was low in a second round of bidding.

Maynord said unpredictable bad weather caused the delays and more money would be needed to finish the project because of thicker growth on the 15.8 acres. He did not meet a Feb. 28 deadline.

The city found Maynord in breach of contract in March and again advertised for bids to complete the project. Maynord said he was not contacted by the committee or the city about their decision to cancel his contract and that he would have worked with the restoration committee to reach an agreement.

On Monday, the city received a bid from Hynum’s Lawn Service for $42,500 and Hill City Grass Services, LLC, for $20,000.

City attorney Walterine Langford said the recommendation by the restoration committee still has to go through the Department of Archives and History for its approval and then go back to the city board.

If the board agrees with the decision, a contract, which will be based on the bid specifications, can be drawn up and work can start immediately after.

“We also are going to talk to the (contractors) so they can tell us their expectations,” Langford said.

She also said the city is going to look at the bids very carefully and obtain any additional information that may be needed to avoid previous problems.