Walking and driving around this weekend I could not help but notice how poorly mainatained our green spaces are this year. Grass uncut, weeds growing all over the place. I'm not happy about it but just think about Riversiders that are trying to sell their homes. This can't make a very good impression on all those potential buyers from out of town that are considering Riverside. I know Kelly has previously asked about protecting property values in town and I can assure you that skimping on upkeep in the Village certainly won't help in that regard at all. If this is part of the Board's strategy to cut expenses and trim the "fat", then they are being penny wise and pound foolish.
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Why are Riverside's Public Green Spaces so Poorly Maintained this Year?
(24 posts)-
Posted Monday May 3, 2010 13:26 #
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With all the rain we've had recently, my lawn is looking overgrown as well (including dandelions), even though it was cut on Friday.
Did you try contacting Public Works or the village and asking them?
Posted Monday May 3, 2010 13:45 # -
It's an observation I just made this weekend and I have not had a chance to contact the Village about it. Frankly, I don't think that it should be necessary since the problem is in plain sight for everyone to see. It's pervasive ranging from parkways to our main parks like Harrington and Indian Gardens. I would be willing to bet that if individual home owners kept their properities in a similar state, the Village would quickly issue citations.
Posted Monday May 3, 2010 17:34 # -
Corbi has a good point. Landscape maintainance is not an emergency service--residents should not need to contact the Village to point out that the grass needs mowing and that weeds need to be removed. The Big Ball Park looks terrible--it's like a dandelion farm. With the amount of lip service given to the National Historic Landscape DIstrict, the Olmsted legacy, etc., it seems to me that taking care of our parks and parkways should be at the top of the agenda of municipal services.
I took some pictures of the state of the triangle park at Longcommon and Downing this morning, and would be happy to post them if someone can tell me how to do it.
Posted Tuesday May 4, 2010 09:09 # -
Maybe my suggestion to contact the village was unclear. I wasn't suggesting anyone call them to suggest they cut the grass (that's just silly). Just call and ask them what's up.
The first word of Corbi's subject was "Why?"; to find out why, call the village and ask. That's all. If you are really just bashing the board, well, bash away. But don't veil it as concern over our green spaces.
Posted Tuesday May 4, 2010 09:33 # -
???
I'm not bashing the Board. Believe it or not, I don't believe every problem the Village faces can be laid at the doorstep of the Board, and I am genuinely concerned over the condition of our green space--we take pride in it as a community, it's a selling point for new residents and it's an integral part of the landscape design of the Village. I maintain my property, and in return for my tax dollars, I expect the Village to do the same.
Posted Tuesday May 4, 2010 09:53 # -
That wasn't directed at you JohnM - maybe my first post was unclear (call the village, ask why.) But there's a disconnect between corbi's subject, "why are the green spaces so poorly maintained..." and the content, "If this is part of the Board's strategy to cut expenses..."
So, instead of positing WHY, why not call and ask. We are a fairly small village. Heck, you might even run into someone from public works and ask them in person. I was able to talk to Mike Collins a couple weeks ago about cleanup that was being performed on the triangle at Nuttall/Longcommon.
Really, that's all I meant. If anyone truly wants to know why, they know where to get the answer. (708) 447-2700
Posted Tuesday May 4, 2010 10:15 # -
I don't remember which link to reference, but (IIRC) during the last budgeting process the board cut the additional seasonal workers and extended the maintenance cycle (I think from mowing every 2 wks to 1/month).
I agree that the appearance of the village is negatively affected by the limited maintenance, but I'm not sure what options the board has...they are running a tighter than realistic budget and there is little support for an increase in their revenue...and this is not a safety/critical expense.
That said, I'm bit surprised to hear Corbi willing to bet
"if individual home owners kept their properities in a similar state, the Village would quickly issue citations"
as there appears to be plenty of properties that are "not in compliance" without citations~
Posted Tuesday May 4, 2010 10:58 # -
If you read my original post you can obviously conclude that I have an educated opinion as to why our green spaces are not being properly maintained. I was interested in hearing from others on the forum if there was any other plausible explaination for this situation. Alternatively, I was curious to hear if this situation and the reason behind it is as troubling to others as it is to me. The single largest asset I have is my home and I have gone out of my way to make sure my home fits in and is maintained to a standard that is representative of other homes in the area and the Village overall. After all, I moved to Riverside because I viewed it as an elite Village in the western suburbs with a unique look and unsurpassed history. I don't think it is too much to ask our Village leaders to make sure our tax dollars are invested in a way that insures our Village's shared spaces are maintained to a minimum standard that is consistent with the Village's Landmark status and the investment that has been made in the housing stock by many homeowners in this town. Now, as curious resident stated, the answer may be that the Village's financial situation is so precarious that there is not even enough money to invest in the basic maintanence of the Village's green spaces. Given my past work reviewing the Village's finances, this dire financial position would not surprise me. It was something that many of us saw coming several years ago and it was a situation that many of us tried to address proactively but were unsuccesful. All of that is in the past and water under the bridge. As a homeowner concerned about the future of the Village and protecting the value of my largest single investment, when I see a Village so strapped for cash that it cannot maintain its parks to a bare minimum standard I wonder what other not so visible corners are we cutting in the upkeep of this Village? Why aren't we hearing more from our Village leadership about these problems and why aren't they proposing ideas to get us out of this financial hole?
Posted Tuesday May 4, 2010 21:09 # -
one opinion-
The grass grows the fastest in early spring and the summer help is still in school; often they catch up during May. In addition, this year many plants are early due to the warmer than normal April.
Why not adopt a triangle with a few neighbors.
Posted Tuesday May 4, 2010 21:23 #
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