Reply to a comment

Slight disagreement to your statement:

"instead of managing landscape maintenance as currently done, do it in a way that supports the pilot project goal"

That is the problem, these committees come up with all these "project" goals, and normal day-to-day maintenance suffers. In the real world of budgets and limited resources, we need to focus on the city-s primary responsibilities, namely maintaining its streets and public places. If you wish to win a prize for Trees, USA it will require more resources than maintenance.

My position is that the Beautification Committee has great ideas, but fails to recognize the cost of both material and human resources required. And in this town, the number of Committee members may actually exceed the number of town rank-and-file employees required to carry out its goals.

Recommendation to Beauty Committee: raise the money and get volunteers. Because in my opinion, the city is not even adequately maintaining its sidewalks, yet here is the Beautification Committee's own mission statement:

http://www.cityofmarcoisland.com/modu...

I love goal #9, conversion of rock swales to landscaped swales. Really? Beautification at the expense of water, maintenance and in contrast to the natural environment of a barrier island with seashells.

Imagine, no seashells allowed in a swale on a seashell island, and it is against current code of ordinances.

Focus on fundamentals before we embark on a elaborate mission statement with elaborate landscaping design!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love this city, but I would love it more if Committees would balance goals with available resources. If there are shortfalls, then provide private sources. Because in essence, your mission statement exceeds what I would expect all citizens need to support. There is another recently formed committee that rose above it all to soar like eagles, which I believe should serve as a model for the Beautification and other committees.

If you want a suggestion for goal #9, may I suggest shell swales; there cheap, cost absolutely nothing to maintain and require no fertilizer. But then again, what I think is beautiful is not unanimously held by the Beautification Committee or perhaps the island at large. However, I do not have a mission statement to guide me, I just want to live here without intrusions of city wide planning defining what is beautiful. Unless of course, we rename this island Stepford, FL.