For the first time since 2001, someone new is responsible for keeping Oxford Township’s cemeteries up to snuff.

Last week, the township board voted 6-1 to accept a $175,200 bid from the Oxford-based Aaron’s Lawn in Order to maintain the four cemeteries, totalling 26.07 acres, from now through Dec. 31, 2020.

Owner Sean Vidican called it a “great honor” because he’s lived here for 17 years.

“I cherish this township very much,” he told the board.

Aaron’s Lawn in Order will be paid $58,400 annually. The township’s previous contractor received $52,000 last year.

“I just started my business. It’s been growing,” said Vidican, who noted being hired by the township will bring him “one step” closer to achieving his goals.

Aaron’s Lawn in Order was the low bidder.

The other two, three-year bids were submitted by the Lapeer-based Fisher’s Lawn and Snow, Inc. ($177,000) and Oxford resident Larry W. Stephens ($180,795).

Oxford owns and maintains the cemeteries on the north (9.94 acres) and south (5.94 acres) of W. Burdick St., the cemetery on N. Oxford Rd. (3.74 acres) and the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery (6.45 acres) on Baldwin Rd.

Supervisor Bill Dunn and Clerk Curtis Wright reviewed the bids and recommended hiring Fisher’s Lawn and Snow.

“It was not an easy decision,” Wright said.

Dunn agreed.

“That was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made,” he said. “I am a person that loves (to hire) local, but we had to make a decision. It was very, very close.”

Dunn explained the main reason Fisher’s Lawn and Snow was recommended was because the company’s owner, Kyle Fisher, has a few employees working for him unlike Vidican, who will be doing the work himself.

“My concern is if (he) breaks a leg, what do we do in the meantime?” the supervisor said.

Trustee Jack Curtis pointed out that Brian Duerden, who maintained the cemeteries as BAM Landscape and Lawn Care from 2001-17, “did a wonderful job and he was a one-man band.”

“If he broke his leg, he got it done,” Curtis said.

“By the grace of God, he didn’t break a leg,” Dunn added.

Despite the recommendation, the motion to accept Fisher’s bid failed in a 4-3 vote.

Curtis expressed his desire to hire Vidican because he lives here and was the low bidder.

“I hammer this board all the time to go out and solicit bids from residents in our community (in order) to give back to them,” he said.

Trustee Elgin Nichols agreed.

“You want to keep the business local,” he said. “This individual is a member of the community. His kids do attend Oxford Schools.”

Nichols noted when he went into business nearly 40 years ago, he “started out as a one-man operation.”

“I worked very hard to gain the respect of the clients and customers that I dealt with,” he said. “If it weren’t for the people that took a chance (on) me back in those days, I would not have achieved (what I did).”