By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com
NEOSHO, Mo. — The city of Neosho is seeking volunteers to help maintain about a dozen public flower gardens.
The program, “Adopt-a-Garden,” is the outgrowth of an informal proposal brought before the City Council earlier this month by the city’s parks and recreation advisory board. The chairman of the board, Scott Swope, said during a meeting last week that the measure is a way to help out a parks department that has lost personnel because of budget cuts and “hopefully a way to get folks involved” in the community.
Under the program, an individual or group may apply to the city to assume maintenance responsibilities between May and September for a garden on public property. A sign bearing the name of the individual or group will be placed in the garden.
The adopting person or organization will be expected to install plantings according to designs approved by the city, keep the garden weed-free, cut back and mulch the garden, water the garden, and keep it free of litter and debris.
The city officially launched the program late last week.
Mayor Jeff Werneke said Thursday that he already has received an inquiry.
“I think it has piqued an interest in people getting out and getting involved,” he said.
The parks and recreation board also floated the idea of having groups or individuals take over some mowing duties, but Werneke has said that arrangement could pose some liability issues that would need to be addressed first.
The mayor characterized “Adopt-a-Garden” as a starting point to gauge the level of interest in such programs.
“It’s something that’s totally, completely new,” he said.
Nuts and bolts
Available for adoption from the city of Neosho are: three gardens on the north side of Big Spring Park; three gardens on Wood Street near the Congregational Church; two gardens by the bowling alley on Hickory Street; one flower bed by Lampo Pointe; and one garden apiece at The Civic and at the senior center. For an adoption application, people may visit the city Web site at www.neoshomo.org.
