Hiring a Landscape Professional – questions to consider

The February Master Gardeners offering will be on the subject of hiring qualified landscape professionals. The presentation will be focused on commercial landscape contracting and will be directed toward Homeowners Associations, Professional Property Management Firms and others with large property responsibilities. The presentation will be in the panel discussion format.  The panel will consist of:

Sheila Dunning, Okaloosa County Commercial Horticulture Agent speaking on the training opportunities, continuing education requirements and testing requirements for professional landscape licensees.

Mike Walters, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bureau of Inspection and Incident Response, speaking on the various types of licenses, how to verify an individual or corporate license status and employee identification documents.

Michael McCabe, Senior Partner, McCabe Law, Jacksonville.  Mr. McCabe’s firm represents over 500 HOAs and Property Management Firms in Florida.  Mr. McCabe will speak on the liability issues which attach to property owners who fail to perform due diligence in hiring a landscape contractor, contract language and contractor insurance requirements.

Following a 10-15-minute presentation by each panelist, the panel will take questions from the floor. The program will be on Wednesday, February 5 at 10:00 AM.  The presentation will take place at the UF/IFAS – Walton Extension Coastal Branch at 70 Logan Lane in Grayton Beach. This program is FREE and open to the public, but reservations are required; call 850-892-8172 or email haneyc@ufl.edu by the Monday before.  Master Gardeners will be on hand to take gardening questions and help with soil samples.

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