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This year's unusual weather resulted in a challenge for the small group of workers attending to the landscape beds in Firestone Park. The weeds have been numerous and continuing rain has resulted in promoting them at a prodigious level. Who takes care of these beds? Many walkers in the park have approached the workers and in general have been supportive of their continuing efforts, but a vocal few have been insulting. Therefore it is time to identify who does the work and its nature for all to appreciate their efforts.
The landscape beds are the responsibility of the Firestone Park Cultural and Custodial Committee, chaired by Pat Tingle. The workers are a group of three to six individuals....some with professional training and others as supervised volunteers. Skip McCullough, owner of Meadowbrook Nursery in Lisbon, and a member of the FPCCC committee, heads the group which also includes two other professionally trained individuals: Bill Moore and Sherry Cal-Houn-McIntosh. The other three workers are typically students and/or volunteers who are interested in the project and need the pay. They work on three days a week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. depending on the weather. Under Skip's direction they weed, plant, and mulch the beds as needed. All earn the same wage: $20 an hour. They are paid by the Firestone Park Cultural and Custodial Committee.
The park staff, Tim Reash and three other workers, maintain the grass and the cemetery and any other areas and/or beds needing care.
It is important to know how vast the areas are which are being cared for. They include the Legacy Trail, the Lilac Stroll and Idabelle's Gathering Place gardens. The areas around the pool, the numerous beds at each of the pavilions, and the Memorial Garden and Mirror Lake gardens are also on their list. They do not tend to the Dog Park, the athletic fields areas, or the parking lots which are handled by the park staff.
In addition to the efforts of this staff, Skip McCullough who is in charge, sprays weeds, prunes bushes and trees as they move through each area.
It's a fairly large park, probably not recognized by visitors/walkers, and it takes weeks to cover and then it's time to start over again as the weeds come back if the spraying and weeding has not been sufficient to the task.
Because of the heavy and destructive winter, many bushes and plants have been destroyed and need replacement. This adds to the budget needs and the labor involved. An estimate of the cost of maintenance for a year would be $200,000. This includes labor costs as well as the cost of plants, mulch, equipment, and chemicals.
An agreement between the city/park and the Firestone Park Cultural and Custodial Committee has been signed to provide this level of care which would, otherwise, be taken care of by the city/park budget.
A new project is also now underway to add to the interest and aesthetics of the park. First appearing in the small gardens next to the Maple Grove Pavilion, the Ukraine garden and the Pollinator Gardens, are metal sculptures with a Verdigre covering depicting the creatures of Firestone Park. In this first effort, the creatures depicted are a bee, hummingbird, and butterfly. Two other sculptures are planned: one for the entrance area of the park, another for Mirror Lake. The entrance piece will feature a squirrel, rabbit, and birds. The Mirror Lake sculpture will show a duck, fish, and a swan. All creatures of the park at one time or another. Funded by the Firestone Park Cultural and Custodial Committee and approved by the park board, they should bring a new level of interest as well as appreciation as we celebrate our special park.