Val weighs in on Red Oak Park debate

The following was posted recently on a blog spot managed by a resident of Ward 4:

valsbien.blogspot.com
Val's impression of Ward I meeting on Red Oak Park
Red Oak Park, Again and Again

The Red Oak Park was the subject to a long discussion again at the Ward 4 meeting. The same old stuff was rehashed again. We had a suggestion of redoing the storm drainage in the neighborhoods so that water is no longer flowing into the park. Wow, is that an economically feasible option! Aubry once again preach the Gospel of Rain Gardens. Again, this should have been done in the initial planning of the neighborhoods. There is no way the City can legally force people to maintain rain gardens on their property. Look, a lot of these residents are renters who have a difficult time keeping their homes garbage free. No way are they going to upkeep a rain garden. The Parks and Recreation are looking into what it would take to put in a detention pond. I don't think there is enough room for it and even if there is, it would destroy all the trees and vegetation on the south end of the park. The south end also has the most usable part of the park. It currently has a small track and a playground. Say goodbye to that! That leaves the plan that Mr Dale Evans has proposed. Sad to say, no decision was reached. Well, there was a decision to have another meeting. Arghhhh!

In response, Aubrey James Shepherd wrote and afterward added to his comment:

Post a Comment On: Val's Bien
"Red Oak Park, Again and Again"
1 Comment - Show Original Post
aubunique said...
Val, Dale Evans was Roy Rogers' wife! We have both heard Dave Evans of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission called Dale enough times in Ward 4 and City Council meetings that it is hard to avoid. I will proof this comment to make sure I got it right.

I agree that rain gardens should have been required on all development sites for decades. They have been used in many cities for decades and people in the past didn't pave much and grassy swales (vegetated ditches) were standard before curb and gutter became popular and required in many places.

Now low-impact development experts advocate only rare use of curb and gutter in residential areas. Ditches and grassy swales don't have to be mowed much if they are planted with Vinca or other low-growing, low-maintenance plants to prevent erosion that in many cases fills them.

Rain gardens and rain barrels and other suggestions are always given for managing stormwater to keep it out of the streets and storm drains and receiving streams. We have seen such programs on the Government Channel almost daily for months.

I believe that the money to rechannel the storm drains near the upper end of the park to a large rain garden inside the bounds of the open space might be less than rerouting the water inside the park stream. If we don't stop a high percentage of the flow during flash floods, the erosion will continue and the park will remain unusable much of the time.

I believe that people who study the rain garden concept will understand that maintenance is minimal once they have selected the low parts of their property for the garden or gardens and guided the water there. Native flowering plants don't require watering during dry periods and NO MOWING.

By keeping mulch on top of aborbent soil in the rain garden a person can easily suppress weeds (defined as plants you don't like) and encourage the chosen ones.

Please visit the Red Oak Park blogspot and comment. Also, please visit the flickr site for various sets of photos on aspects of World Peace Wetland Prairie and photos of many of the flowering native plants that work in rain gardens.

WPWP is a natural 2-acre rain garden with native plants already there. The nice thing about creating a rain garden on bare ground is that only a bit of grass has to be dug out. WPWP had a heavy growth of Japanese honeysuckle and fescue that we will be working to remove for sometime to come!

If you will share the link with others, maybe we can get some serious dialogue going on the Red Oak Park blogspot and on your site and other sites before the Feb. 11 meeting. So far, I have seen only a couple of anonymous posts on the new blog. It will be nice to have another registered blogger posting to give credibility to what is being discussed. But I set it up to accept anonymous posts because some people just fear speaking out in public. And what they have to say may be important. If it is important to them, it should be important to us.

"There is no way the City can legally force people to maintain rain gardens on their property," Val said.

I agree. And I have never suggested that the city force "maintaining a rain garden" on a private owner of property. I have only talked about getting other volunteers to join me in going door to door to explain the value of rain gardens and suggest people consider adding at least one to their property.

Maintaining a rain garden is nearly cost free. Isn't it odd that we accept the idea that the city can force people to maintain a monoculture lawn by mowing it regularly? That costs a lot and is absolutely counter to the principles of sustainability our city leaders have been touting lately.

If someone comes by and convinces me I should plant a nonnative species of typical lawn grass, spend money and labor fertilizing it and and watering it and mowing it, that would not violate my civil rights. But forcing me to do those things would violate my civil rights.

If someone comes by to convince me to create a rain garden in my yard, I would be able to show that person that my property already was a natural rain garden when we bought it and that we keep the rain soaking in on our property in every way we can because it helps our flowering plants to grow and allows the few patches of grass on our property to grow without fertilization or watering except in the worst of droughts.

4:04 PM Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008