Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 20, 1993 TAG: 9305200083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Yes, you say.
You're right. The grass is taller. Even the city admits that.
It's a problem that two weeks of sunshine would help solve.
"We're hoping for a dry spell," said Ed Culp, superintendent of the city's grounds maintenance department.
"We have several things working against us this spring," Culp said.
"With the wet winter and cool and wet conditions so far this spring, the weather has been nearly perfect for the cool-season grasses like fescue, rye and bluegrass," he said.
"In addition, the conditions have been so wet on several occasions that we simply couldn't mow."
The extra work following the blizzard of '93 put the mowing crews behind schedule.
One-third of the crews that normally work on mowing were needed to assist with the cleanup after the March snow.
These crews removed hundreds of downed limbs and branches on city property, and helped the trash collectors gather brush from households as part of a special brush collection.
The crews collected 239 dump-truck loads and many pickup-truck loads. City officials said that 174 loads were diverted from the landfill and 131,000 pounds of brush were ground into mulch for use by the public.
Culp said the city has received calls from residents regarding the median strips and small city parks that need mowing.
To help catch up, he said, the crews are working 10-hour days. They also worked this past weekend.
As part of the budget cutbacks several years ago, the mowing schedule for the city's 40 acres of grass medians was changed from every 10 working days to every 14 working days.
"This means we only cut the medians every three weeks, so the grass can get fairly high," Culp said.
"When you add that to the wet weather and the fact that we're behind schedule, it gets really challenging," he said.
"We understand the citizens' concerns and want them to know we're making medians a high priority and appreciate their patience."
by CNB