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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint residents pay a millage to have their parks maintained and yet Flint Journal readers were saying Flint residents should get out and cut our 66 parks and medians. Eason is crying about the unions not signing off on contract to outsource. We have laid off employees and city equipment not being used so what is the real issue?
Could it be that Eason is promising other organizations that they can use our city equipment. What about liability issues on letting a citizens group use city equipment.
Quincy Murphy, Erin Caudill, Nayyirah Shaiff, and Franklin Pleasant have been meeting with Marcus Randolph for some weeks to create a new Adopt-a-Parks program. The old program from Woodrows days was mired in disgrace when Steve Waller was convicted of embezzlement of the program checkbook.
Murphy is getting CDBG money to maintain the area around his area and the city is promising him use of city equipment. In the past, lawyers told the city not to do this because of liability issues. naturally they are planning on storing the equipment at Salem Housing.
Off the clock union (1600) people cut Mott park and the golf course over a 4 day span. Walling is furious because he wants Neeley to look bad. Word on the street is a proposal was made to keep Mott park golf course open and Walling rejeceted it.
It looked to me like they raised the price of the golf passes. Who would pay the same or more to only golf one course? They laid off the staff person who not only sold golf passes, but also took care of the work assignments and rented out city facilities.
Now we have a nonprofit operating free out of the Brennan Center, when a church that paid was evicted. Go figure that one out. Of course the person campaigned for Walling.
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FLINT NEWS
The Latest Community, Education & Government News, Blogs, Photos & Videos
Grass at some Flint parks overgrown in light of city budget crisis
By Kristin Longley | Flint Journal
May 23, 2010, 5:00AM
Hollyn Johnson | The Flint JournalJerrell Clements, 25, of Flint hangs out at Sarvis Park on Friday. Parks mowing in the city is behind schedule because of the weather and budget cuts.
FLINT, Michigan — Yahel Scott cut across Sarvis Park on his walk home Friday, but found the usual shortcut was actually pretty slow going.
Scott, 27, had to shuffle his way through grass and weeds nearly up to his knees at some points, his eyes sweeping the ground for hidden obstacles.
“This is just ridiculous,” he said. “I’ve never seen it look like this before.”
Some public parks, right-of-ways and boulevards are falling victim to overgrown grass and fallen tree brush as parks workers fall behind schedule.
The city is facing a multimillion-dollar deficit this year (not to mention a lot of wet weather), and officials said the city doesn’t have the resources to do all the mowing that needs to be done.
“We don’t have the tax revenue to support all the services we would love to provide in the city,” city Administrator Gregory Eason said. “We don’t have enough money to do the things we used to do.”
But that doesn’t sit well with taxpaying residents who say the city has enough problems without it looking unkempt.
“It’s real slow this year with the cutting,” said Bertha Granberry, 57, who lives on the north side. “As long as they cut it and keep it neat, we don’t have any trouble over here.”
Hollyn Johnson | The Flint JournalAlbert Lee, 24, of Flint rides a go-cart through Sarvis Park on Friday afternoon. Mowing at the park is behind schedule due to budget cuts.
The overgrown parks have raised the ire of some Flint City Council members, who’ve been asking for a parks mowing plan since January.
Councilwoman Jackie Poplar, who lives near Sarvis Park, said she’s never seen it look this shabby. She said it’s not fair to senior citizens, children or other residents who regularly visit the parks in the warmer months.
“They don’t have money to run up north,” she said. “They barely have money to leave the city and they can’t even go to the doggone park.
“It’s out of control.”
Mayor Dayne Walling said the parks department is working with a very strapped budget and a small crew, but they’re out mowing every day that weather permits.
Walling also said the parks employees’ union has to sign off on an agreement before the city can subcontract for additional mowing support.
The city has 64 parks, along with public right-of-ways that need to be mowed regularly.
“We’ve had a wet spring,” he said. “The community has to recognize that with a small budget and a small crew there’s only so much grass that can be cut each week.”
Councilman Scott Kincaid said a mowing contract should have been signed much earlier in the year when council members were asking about it. Some predicted this year would be a repeat of previous years’ fight to get parks and vacant lots mowed.
“We waited too long,” he said. “We needed to start cutting our spending. Nobody did anything and now we’re acting beyond repair.”
Community activist Erin Caudell said several community organizations are working with the city to start an adopt-a-park program, so residents or groups can volunteer to maintain a park for a year.
“Some people are mowing the parks themselves anyways,” she said. “This is a way to creatively address some of our challenges.”
A community meeting had been scheduled for last week, but the city canceled it. Walling said the meeting will be rescheduled, and the program will move forward.
“We need to do some additional work on that with our partners to get it ready,” he said. “I’m committed to this program being a long-term success.” |
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Mon May 24, 2010 9:30 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Look up the stats on these parks. While some are simply small play lots, many are 50 or more acres. Brandon Park is hundreds of acres in size and has a protected wetland.
How many residents have the equipment and the time to maintain parks of this size? |
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Mon May 24, 2010 9:33 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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Parks & Recreation .5 mil
Neighborhood Policing 2 mil
Garbage Collection 3 mil
Getting our money's worth, aren't we? |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Mon May 24, 2010 9:37 am |
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lacyw
F L I N T O I D
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Webs,
You are right about regular citizens not being able to maintain a whole park. It is also a matter for concern regarding the overgrown right of ways. Another whole concern entirely is that for the past two years, we have been reading even more about people getting bitten by Massasauga (type of rattlesnake). This area seems to be the last stronghold for them. In a free press video on youtube, researchers said they usually will not travel into well manicured or mowed grass. If those large acreage parks are not maintained properly, it could be dangerous.
I personally know two people who were bitten in the last couple of years, it happened in tall grass, while working on their property.
Here's the link if anyone wants to see it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mME_DP8desk
Dave,
Yeah there are mils for things and sometimes when you read them, there is a bunch of sneaky stuff for the "capture of funds" in the proposal for the mil. The one for hurley in the last election really got me. I agreed fully with funding the hospital as everyone in the county might use it at one point. What I did not agree with though is that the proposal made it possible for other cities to "capture" the revenue from the millage to fund things for their cities. Maybe a certain degree of capturing is going on from within the city. |
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Mon May 24, 2010 1:42 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| lacy- There were rattlesnakes in Genesee Twp 30 yrs ago and probably still are. News story recently about a Flushing youngster bit by a rattlesnake in his grandmothers Flushing home. |
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Mon May 24, 2010 9:29 pm |
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