| Author | Message | ||
     jayjay Citizen Username: Jayjayp Post Number: 766 Registered: 6-2005 |
I walked through Spiotta Park yesterday and couldn't help but notice the sorry state of it. It used to be a brick park which required very little maintenance. Then they re-did it with lawns and flower beds and big rocks. Well, nobody tends to the beds and the lawn looks awful. Why all the streetscape was done with plantings which nobody properly cares for is beyond me. Anyway, it got me thinking as to whether the town should outsource grounds maintenance. There are tons of small landscaped spaces around town, none of which really look right, as well as the large parks. I think it would be a good idea to solicit bids from a variety of firms which do corporate landscape maintenance. Of course, the bid needs to be properly spec-ed and any responsdents properly vetted. With bids in hand, then do a financial analysis vs. having DPW handle it with all the incumbent pensions, salaries etc. If it makes sense, then switch over and reduce DPW by attrition over time. Maybe then we could reduce costs as well as improve the look of the parks and streetscapes. It might be worth a look. As the town is considering even more public landscaped land (i.e. the river project), something needs to be done to keep these areas looking right or it should not undertake them in the first place. | ||
| wnb Citizen Username: Wnb Post Number: 553 Registered: 8-2001 |
What this town should do is properly maintain its infrastructure. That means properly funding the DPW to do things like take care of the parks in a reasonable manner. They put those very whimsical musical instrument things in Spiotta Park which was cool but the kids can't play with them because they're broken and nobody fixes them. This town doesn't have a great history with doing that kind of thing, and frankly, having been through a huge and disasterous corporate outsourcing that was supposed to improve service and lower costs, but did neither, I am extremely skeptical of contracting vs in-house responsibility. For one thing, once you contract the work out, your control over quality is diminished, and if you are unhappy with quality your only recourse is legal in nature, which is costly and time consuming. In house resources can be redirected as needed more easily. | ||
| susan1014 Supporter Username: Susan1014 Post Number: 1778 Registered: 3-2002 |
We also walked through Spoitta Park a few days ago, and I was startled by how shaggy it is looking. | ||
| Nuff Sayid Citizen Username: Parkingsux Post Number: 494 Registered: 6-2005  |
It comes down to supervision, don't you think? Let's start with the Village Administrator and his review! | ||
| wnb Citizen Username: Wnb Post Number: 555 Registered: 8-2001 |
If you think that park is looking shabby try walking through one or two of the schools in our district and see the environment our kids are immersed in most of the day. |
