Flower Baskets on Detroit

[Jim O'Bryan]

What is the status? It is July 6th. Are we getting the baskets this year or not. If they don't move on it soon, it is going to be a little too late for this year.

Anyone know?

Lynn


They were placing basket brackets on poles today. However they are very high on the poles and only appear on block corners I think.

Some still think it is too late. From working with Tim's group I now know that $13,000 would have paid for 26 or more bike racks around town that would have lasted year round.

Some point out to the serious need for regular maintence at MAdison Park which seems to be ignored.


FWIW




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[Shawn Juris]

In all fairness the area of focus was decided on based on the consensus of the residents that attended the initial planning session. It is a "downtown" revitalization program and since Lakewood is relatively decentralized compared to many other cities, that section was viewed at the closest thing to it. You have to start somewhere and that area seemed the most logical. There are plenty of other areas that need work but it's a good start.
Just want to be sure that this program isn't seen as something that it's not. Hopefully, this description is accurate.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Installing the Mainstreet Flower Basket Brackets 7/7/06




Detail of the brackets, I believe art style would be minimalist.



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[DougHuntingdon]

thanks for the pictures, Jim.

I love this comment: "Detail of the brackets, I believe art style would be minimalist."

Doug

[Jim O'Bryan]

thanks for the pictures, Jim.

I love this comment: "Detail of the brackets, I believe art style would be minimalist."

Doug

Doug

Good news and bad news.

They do not appear to be windmills.

They do not appear to be rental units either.



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[Jim O'Bryan]

They are up and I have to admit they are pretty nice in a girly way that I might not relate to. My wife loves them, especially the two just outside her office window.

I have to say that our brackets are much better than any other brackets I have seen since I became critical of the flower thing. also our flower wrap the pot and can seen from below. Most that I have seen just appear terrible from below.

Hey I might have been wrong, they made me smile.

One small step for Mainstreet, one giant leap for LCPI.

Insert applause here.




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[Jim O'Bryan]

As we went to press we found out that City Hall's Tony Beno and his crew have saved the day for the flower baskets on Detroit.

It seems that the hot July and August sun takes it toll on the flower baskets that have been hun along Detroit with the help of LCPI's Mainstreet Program. Early in the month we saw brackets going up that have been pictured here. While I made fun at the decorative style, I have found that our brackets are much better than other brackets in the cities around us.

Two weeks ago we finally saw the baskets going up. Beautiful flowers tumbling over the side. While speaking with Jennifer Hooper at The Farmer's Market I learned that our baskets were designed to show more of the flowers to those walking underneath them on the street, where other cities used a peat basket that rarely showed flowers.

Which brings us to the problem - Watering. The first company never got started, the second Davy Tree from North Royalton agreed to come in to water the baskets, but never showed. The flowers were beginning to dry, and die. An urgent call was made to City Hall, where things of this sort always end up on Tony Beno's desk. Tony crew besides taking care of Lakewood on a regular basis had just finished a massive tidy up of the parks when this showed up.

The problem is how do you water baskets 16' in the air, with the only available city water being fire hydrants? It was no problem for Tony and his crew. They set out to build a device that would gently flood the baskets with water, allowing the earth to soak in needed moisture. Other baskets are peat so that you can just aim a hose at their base and fire away. What Tony and crew did was invent a device just to do the job.

When I was speaking with Tony I could not help but think, OK who owns the patent on this new device that other cities could use? Who pays for the time? I mean Davy Tree was going to get a check, why can't Tony's Department get that check? With CitiStat going through departments looking for bottom lines, wouldn't this check help with his? If a yard is found in violation of grass height, the owner is cited and pays a hefty fee.

It also points out to me the value of a guy like Tony Beno. Has worked for the city forever, lives in Lakewood, bowls in Lakewood, and I often run into him on my walks around town, he is a good man, good neighbor, and good employee.

Thanks and a tip of the hat to Tony Beno and all that work with him.


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[c. dawson]

They do look nice ... and it's little things like this that do add to a city's charm, because it adds up over time. A little here, a little there, and people get used to the baskets and other spruce-ups, come to expect them, and want more. Just dreaming, but it'd be great to see baskets like this up and down Detroit and Madison!

[Jim O'Bryan]

They do look nice ... and it's little things like this that do add to a city's charm, because it adds up over time. A little here, a little there, and people get used to the baskets and other spruce-ups, come to expect them, and want more. Just dreaming, but it'd be great to see baskets like this up and down Detroit and Madison!

c. dawson

I could not agree more. I did not think they would be as nice as they are. Small problems like watering are just that small problems. As I walk down Detroit it is nice to see them hanging in the breeze. I do appreciate the hard work that LCPI and members of Mainstreet did getting them up, getting them designed. Like I said one, small step for LCPI one giant step for Mainstreet.

This is the first of many successes for all the members of Mainstreet that are working behind the scenes. While it is easy to question and doubt impact, they do make Detroit more colorful, and offer hope for the future.

But the watering does leave interesting questions. Can the city give a group funding, then charge when they have to replace an outside vendor? I have no knowledge of the numbers, but if Davy Tree was going to charge $5,000 for the summer and the city is doing it for free does that leave Mainstreet with $5,000 they could spend on Bike Racks, and get two projects done in one summer?

The side note is the much misaligned as of late Public Works group headed by Tony Beno, steps in yet again to save the day.

Just random thoughts over coffee.


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[Jim O'Bryan]

One of Tony Beno's crews water the flowers on Mainstreet's corner.





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[Jerry Koenigsmark]

I visited Crocker Park today with some out of country visitors, and yes I have been showing them as much of Lakewood as possible. Anyway I could not help but notice how big and beautiful their hanging baskets were. And they were at a level that could actually be seen. While I think it is a great idea, I think we missed the mark on this one. They are too high and not nearly big enough to make a difference. I'm wondering if what we have was worth the money.

[Lynn Farris]

You know Jerry I agree. I think we need to lower our brackets next year. I have been doing a non scientific study and I do believe that we have placed ours higher than other locations. Crocker Parks are magnificent and are significantly lower. The Warehouse districts downtown are significantly lower. Elyria places theirs significantly lower. I think they may even appear larger, when they are lower. Also we got ours up late, they have had less time to grow.

So many next year, ours will be started earlier and placed lower and we will have everyone talking about the flowers in Lakewood.

[Jim O'Bryan]

From the west.


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[Lynn Farris]

This is Oberlin. We were there on Sunday and I noticed that they hung their baskets under the street signs.

I know we have had some problems and we have had some bad heat, but some of the baskets of flowers are dead. We should either take them down or replace the flowers. It does not look good. I imagine this year is a trial period and we will do better next year.

[Lynn Farris]

By contrast, this is a picture that Don took Sunday evening of Lakewood's flowers. These were relatively healthy - there were some that were really dead.



This isn't a great picture, I know, but it does illustrate a little bit the height issue.