Sarasota's ValleyCrest new landscaper for Benderson Park

UNIVERSITY PARK -- Nathan Benderson Park has a new landscaper.

ValleyCrest Landscape, a company with a location in Sarasota, was awarded the bid by Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates Evaluation Committee on Tuesday afternoon. The final details of the contract are expected to be finalized within the next couple days.

With a lower cost and landscaping service offered at the park four days a week, Valleycrest emerged as the favorite among the five bidders. The other bidders were Your Green Team, Total Landscape Care, Buccaneer Landscape Management and Wilhelm Brothers.

"All the bids I thought showed a lot of time and concern for the park and we greatly appreciate that," SANCA operations manager Bob Whitford said. "It's a challenging park. ... We have a large responsibility. We want to put the best face on that we can to the rest of the world as we put on these events."

SANCA events coordinator Sarah Kupiec echoed Whitford.

"It is a community park and it is seen by a lot of people and needs to be upkept like it was your own home," she said.

Before awarding the bid, all five companies individually presented to the evaluation committee since the scores last week were so different. Kupiec, SANCA business administrator Brenda Ward and citizen Bill Johnson comprise the evaluation committee.

Terms of the agreement were not made public during Tuesday's meeting, and a start date for ValleyCrest had not been finalized.

Claire Aronson, University Parkway/Sarasota reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024 or at caronson@bradenton.com. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published February 11, 2015 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Sarasota's ValleyCrest new landscaper for Benderson Park ."