Lincoln council approves five-year, $2.1 million grazing contract to reduce wildfire risk

The Lincoln City Council on Feb. 24 authorized the city manager to augment a local community facilities district fund and enter a five-year contract with Integrazers for managed grazing as a vegetation-management and wildfire-risk reduction measure.

Public Works Director Matthew Medill told the council staff recommended a $125,000 augmentation to Fund 2850 and approval of a five-year services contract with an overall value not to exceed $2,100,000. The contract includes a 3% maximum annual CPI adjustment (using the San Francisco urban index in contract language), an annual city-controlled contingency for out-of-scope areas and a 30-day termination clause.

Medill framed grazing as a prevention tool after staff and the fire department documented the role grazed buffers played during the recent Ranch Fire. “An ounce of prevention’s worth, you know, a ton of response,” Medill said, describing how grazing can limit fire spread on open-space edges.

Maintenance Services Manager Scott Boynton, who helped prepare the RFP and contract materials, described operational details and the mixture of livestock used. "As soon as I hit the grazing area, it completely stopped," Boynton said of his observations during response to the Ranch Fire, noting the program had previously cleared thousands of head in grazing events.

Staff reported six proposals were received and that Integrazers was the lowest responsive, responsible bidder based on experience, completeness and financial stability. The recommended scope includes options for full grazing and narrower 100-foot buffer grazing; staff said the full-graze option is costlier but provided the most protection in places where it was used.

Councilmembers questioned fiscal impacts and noted some landscaping and CFD funds are under stress. Staff said some districts rely on the general fund as a backstop; councilmembers warned that continued service levels and expanded grazing would need ongoing funding attention. Councilmember comments supported the program, and the council approved the augmentation and contract authorization.

The contract will be executed by the city manager and administered by the public works director or designee; staff may process change orders within the approved budget if needed. The council did not set additional conditions in the meeting; staff said further contract details, maps and implementation schedules are available in the staff report attachments.