Empower Department Directors
For many years the adjacent neighborhood to an area owned by the City of Omaha, has requested a cleanup of the property at 45th & F through D Streets. The Omaha Parks Dept has the responsibility for the trees, and Public Works has the maintenance of the (unimproved) road and the City property. Each and every year we request that the overgrowth and weeds be tended. We were told 4 years ago that this area was scheduled for 9 trims, per growing season. That was wrong, it is cut only twice per season.
Our South Omaha neighborhood has had some success going through official channels. So far this Spring, half of the area trees have been trimmed by Parks and Recreations - E through D Streets is still overgrown.
We are appreciative of the help from Parks and Recreation, but it has taken a long time to get through the process and to find out who is responsible for what in this area.
The Mayor should have a clear mandate to the Department Directors to deal with this type of problem, and help them eliminate turf wars, which cause “right of way” public areas to lack proper maintenance. Our neighborhood intends to plant good trees to replace the old dead “volunteer” trees, should we receive permission to do so. Omaha is an Arbor Society “Tree City”, and we would like, in our small way, to better this small area of OUR City. Our vision is to cleanup and improve.
http://www.arborday.org/arborday/celebrate.cfm
-Kay Schneider
