MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) – The City of Manhattan is deploying robotic lawnmowers into its Parks and Recreation Department.<\/p>\n
28 robotic lawnmowers are currently deployed throughout the city, and Manhattan Parks and Rec says they\u2019ll have a total of 39 within a month.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we were mowing it with our manpower, we would probably be on a sports field mowing twice a week,\u201d said Casey Smithson, Manhattan Parks and Rec Superintendent. \u201cThese mowers are mowing every day, overnight. We start at 11 o\u2019clock at night and they mow throughout the night. Also, that\u2019s when our staff is not here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city used a $117,000 grant to purchase some of the lawnmowers. They\u2019ll cut different fields, parks, and the brand new Steel and Pipe Supply Ballpark.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe applied for the U.S. Department of Energy grant, which allowed us to get an additional 23 units here in the city,\u201d Smithson said. \u201cWhich is what we\u2019re working on, expanding our process right here. That\u2019s taking a little time, but we\u2019re working our way through.\u201d<\/p>\n
They work much like a robotic vacuum. Staff programs a path, sets a timer, and that\u2019s it. The mower returns to a charger when the job is done. <\/p>\n
Smithson says the switch saves money.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were able to take mowing contracts out, so we\u2019re saving in the mid $30,000\u2019s per year that we reduce paying contractors to mow some of the park lands with these mowers that are paid through the grant,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also clarified that his staff isn\u2019t going anywhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mowers mow, but we still have to do maintenance on them, and we still also have to string, trim, and edge to make sure that our park lands and our facilities look good,\u201d Smithson said. \u201cSo that\u2019s where the human factor comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smithson says this summer will be a great way to keep testing the lawnmowers before adding more to the fleet.<\/p>\n
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