Downtown Landscaping

I was at a meeting of Carbondale Main Street this afternoon, and the topic of the landscaping of the assorted parks in downtown (Town Square, Veterans Park, Friendship Park and the American Tap green space) came up.  In 1989, Carbondale Main Street and the city came to an agreement that CMS would assume responsibility for twice yearly landscaping of the downtown parks, not maintenance as that remains the city's responsibility.  In return, the city would pay CMS $25,000 per year.  Seem like a lot?  Not when you consider that, at the time, the city paid $68,000 per year just to landscape the Town Square and the decorative barrels along the Strip.  CMS had a professional landscaper provide the plants and direct the landscaping but provided volunteer labor, which helped reduce the cost significantly.

Now, 20+ years later, CMS landscaping responsibilities have expanded beyond the Town Square to include Veterans Park, Friendship Park, the empty American Tap space and the planters recently installed down the Strip, none of which existed in 1989.  Yet, the city only reimburses CMS $18,000, almost a 30% cut from 20 years ago.  Imagine how much it would cost the city if it had to resume responsibility for landscaping again, only with about twice as much area as needing planing and cleaning as it did 20 years ago