According to this article in the Star Tribune, Burnsville is setting aside up to $10,000 to restore a hillside in Civic Center Park to its native state.
From the article:
Between $8,000 and $10,000 will be devoted to the project, Jacobson said, adding that it will pay for itself in 7 to 10 years due to savings in the cost of mowing, watering and weed control.
[...]
City staff members still shake their heads in disbelief at the memory of Mayor Elizabeth Kautz pulling weeds last year along one of the city’s main thoroughfares.
It’s as if the Strib read my mind. I was driving Dodd in Lakeville just yesterday morning thinking about how good all the lots looked with wildflowers blooming and grasses left to return to their unmowed state. I wondered why we haven’t been doing this forever and was going to do a bit of research on it and possibly use it as a poll post next week. Then I read that the Queen Mayor of Burnsville herself was acting like a simpleton and was pulling weeds because she presumably didn’t like the way it looked. Seriously?! These abandoned lots look far better with colorful plants all over them than mowed grass. Why are cities even thinking about bringing funds back into their budgets to allow for mowing again?
Do you think cities should save money and just let area go back to growing wildflowers? Do you think they look nice or would you prefer mowed areas instead? How about spending money on these areas such as what Burnsville is doing? Should they just let it all happen naturally or should the process be encouraged with tax dollars? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear what you have to say!
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July 5th, 2010 at 8:43 am
As my field biology teacher used to say, “Weeds are where it’s at!” Much greener, prettier, and better for birds and bugs to have meadows of lovely wildflowers than shorn grass. Period.
July 5th, 2010 at 9:45 am
I agree; unless you actually need mowed grass for something (like a soccer field or a picnic area), it shouldn’t be mowed. There’s no benefit to mowing them if they’re not being used for anything. I’ll make exceptions for things like really tall weeds that are blocking sight at intersections, but that’s it.
But then, I also think people’s obsessions with perfect lawns are silly too. I’ve been meaning to talk to my HOA about some of the excessive stuff they do on our property, like having the sprinklers go off during rainstorms, or dumping chemicals on it a few times a year that aren’t good for all the wetlands that are in close proximity.
July 5th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Was unable to link to this story however if it is true this is another “city misguided waste of taxpayer’s money” project. Why isn’t this money being redirected to city services such as the Burnsville Police Dept. K9 unit? If the selected location for this “wild flower planting” is the previous location of the Wednesday in the Park summer programs then it appears that Kautz will do anything to keep those programs in her “sardine can” sized Commons Park.
July 5th, 2010 at 11:55 am
I have been told by Star Tribune staffers that the article linked above wasn’t due out till Wednesday and was posted to the web early so they pulled it. Morons.
I’ll relink to it when the article goes live again. How silly.
July 5th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
because, like all tax payer dollars, if the city/organization/whatever doesn’t use it, they lose it. great concept, eh? just like corporations too. they have a budget. if they don’t use it, they lose it. free money. just might be what’s wrong with, well, EVERYTHING. wish i could budget like that.
July 6th, 2010 at 7:32 am
[...] to this article over at the Star Tribune (hey STribbers, perhaps you can let this link stay alive instead of killing it? Yeah that would rock, thanks), people are questioning why Dakota County’s Eagan library is [...]
July 6th, 2010 at 8:22 am
I’m a big fan of wildflowers (to put it mildly), as I take way more photos than I know what to do with and try to identify them all, just for fun. So it always makes me sad when the wildflowers that have been growing all summer along McAndrews and the entrance to 77 get mowed down. They don’t obstruct the view, even in my low-sitting little car, so I’m not sure why they can’t be left there. It definitely looks better with wildflowers than cut grass that will almost certainly be dried out and brown the next week anyway, without the cover from the flowers.
July 6th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Natural, uncut grass smattered with wildflowers rocks! Every saturday for several summers now I’ve been trying to convince Mrs Marcos of this. Needlessly spending tax money does NOT rock, but I haven’t been as vocal about that.
July 6th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
I like that wildflowers can save millions of gallons of water vs. lawns. We use a huge amount of groundwater on grass.
July 8th, 2010 at 2:10 am
A few years ago there was a big flap with a family that essentially did the same thing, but ran afoul of regulations for residential properties and high grass and such.
It’s a familiar tale. This one went to court, I believe. Anyone remember how it turned out?
July 8th, 2010 at 9:25 am
“City staff members still shake their heads in disbelief at the memory of Mayor Elizabeth Kautz pulling weeds last year along one of the city’s main thoroughfares.”
First of all: no one saw the Mayor do it – she told them she had done it (on the record at a council meeting no less) – and frankly, so what that she did? Is it beneath her as mayor to pull up a few weeds? If I am walking and I see someone’s trash, I pick it up and throw it away – do I alert the media? No. Just doing my quiet part to keep my neighborhood looking nice.
I’m tired of the mayor tooting her own horn on this one. Particularly since the reason the budget was cut on the weeding/mowing was a situation of HER making! Why doesn’t anyone ask her the follow up question on THAT?
July 8th, 2010 at 9:54 am
….and she gets to toot her own horn at taxpayers expense on community cable TV four times daily. It is comedic to watch her embelish the mundane and avoid sharing the camera with anyone with opposing views. The liberals in the country want to shut down conservative talk radio broadcast on private radio stations using a “fairness doctrine. Why can’t we put some requirement on taxpayer funded propaganda?
July 8th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
And just like that, the wildflowers on the McAndrews ramp to 77 North have disappeared…