Show them this.
Alone amidst a wash of concrete and bricks, paving and sidewalk, the tiny unidentified greenery struggles to spread its sprouts into a seemingly intractable blanket of shade.
But do not mourn this poor forlorn seedling, for the city’s Board of Estimates just approved $8,800 for its care and maintenance. Along with 15 months of watering and pruning, the contract will also provide company for the lone greenery in the four-story concrete parking garage, with plans to add several additional planters to the darkened caverns that temporarily house the cars of motorists visiting the city’s Mount Vernon neighborhood.
The money is part of $27,000 in landscaping contracts approved for four city-owned parking garages Wednesday. The contracts provide for 15 months’ worth of work by Grass Roots Landscaping, a Baltimore-based business that will now be responsible for nurturing the lone plant in Franklin Garage, along with other potted shrubbery withering on sidewalks or wilting in the exhaust-filled concrete facilities at three other parking garages.
The expenditure for the solo shrub, that comes amidst intractable budget shortfalls and higher taxes, was justified as key to presenting an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere inside the otherwise mundane parking garage, an important selling point for attracting out-of-town motorists.
Yup. $8,800 for a plant in a parking garage. The Lovely Mrs. Stagg, who, of above average intelligence, reminded me that it’s probably that expensive because plants can’t live in a dark parking garage.
Our property taxes are twice the surrounding counties. The city implemented an additional sales tax on bottled beverages (that retailers are not allowed to call a sales tax, or even disclose to their customers) because if we didn’t, we’d have to ground the police helicopter.
Yet we’re spending money on this. Awesome.
Windy Recycling Day 
May 14th, 2011 at 9:56 am
“…presenting an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere inside the otherwise mundane parking garage, an important selling point for attracting out-of-town motorists”
I’m sure their reasoning is sound. I know that every time I’m searching for parking downtown, I’m not worried about the cost, but rather whether or not there is greenery in the garage. And with no greenery, well, I just won’t go downtown at all.
The thing that amazes me is not that someone came up with this proposal, but that an entire *committee* had the brilliance to approve it. Do you think any of them were laughing on the inside at the absurdity?
May 14th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
I’m pretty sure Mensa isn’t recruiting at City Council meetings.