Press Releases

For Immediate Release • February 12, 2010
Staff Contact: PWNR Department, (303) 651-8992
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$1 per Month Park & Greenway Maintenance Fee

At the October 27, 2009 City Council meeting the City Council adopted Ordinance O-2009-68 enacting a new Chapter 14.50 of the Longmont Municipal Code on Municipal Fees for Park & Greenway Maintenance. The ordinance assessed a $1 per month Park & Greenway maintenance fee as a source of revenue in the 2010 General Fund. The fee is to sunset at the end of three years. The fee is estimated to generate $447,000 in 2010. The revenue will help to offset costs for Park & Greenway maintenance services which exceed over $2.3 million annually.

The Park & Greenway Maintenance Fee will be assessed to each dwelling unit and to commercial property in Longmont to fund the routine, preventative and small capital maintenance of neighborhood and community parks and greenways. The long term deferred maintenance on the city’s infrastructure; living or static is not a sound business strategy and detracts from the livability of the community, the health of the public resource and the stabilization of both residential and commercial property values. Conversely, a system of well maintained neighborhood and community parks adds to the quality of life and is well documented to stabilize and improve property values.

The city’s infrastructure plays an important role in maintaining sound economic conditions and a high standard of living in the community. While in general the parks are structurally sound, prolonged deferred maintenance activities have caught up with us and efforts to fully fund this important program from the General Fund have fallen behind for multiple years. Decaying public infrastructure negatively impacts our community image which is an important tenet in the city’s overall goal to become both freestanding and sustainable as described in the Longmont Area Comprehensive Plan and the Focus on Longmont Strategic Plan.

The 2009 budget for the City of Longmont includes over $2.3 million for Parks & Greenway maintenance services. The breakdown of those costs are as follows:

Table 1: 2009 Budget Parks & Greenway Maintenance Net Service Costs
Fully landscaped arterials & secondary greenways	$194,234
Arterials & secondary greenways contract services	$43,676
Native primary greenways, district parks & dryland areas	$292,212
Parks maintenance tree care & landscaping	$259,888
Parks maintenance turf care	$140,651
Maintenance repair of sports facilities & playgrounds	$235,518
Parks maintenance mowing	$169,726
Parks maintenance irrigation	$290,454
Parks facility maintenance & repair	$517,743
Parks maintenance snow removal	$79,516
Greenways, pedestrian bridges & underpasses snow removal	$35,409
Graffiti eradication in community & neighborhood parks	$49,989
Total Expenditures	$2,309,016

A fee of $1 per month imposed on all properties receiving utility services in the City will generate approximately $447,000 annually. The revenue generated would specifically be used to offset the annual expenditures associated with the routine maintenance of the City’s park and greenway system, generally including but not limited to the areas described below.

Parks Maintenance Programs

Park Landscape Maintenance Program - The park landscape maintenance program includes turf care, irrigation, mowing, tree care and upkeep of park flower beds at community & neighborhood parks. Maintenance means the furnishing of services and materials for the ordinary and usual maintenance of landscaping, plantings, shrubbery, trees, irrigation systems, hardscapes and turf areas located within park areas including cultivation, irrigation, trimming, spraying, weeding, mowing, fertilizing and treating for disease or injury of the park landscape.

Sport Court, Athletic Fields & Playground Maintenance - This maintenance program includes sport courts serving in-line hockey, basketball, tennis and soccer playgrounds, playground equipment, site amenities, sport fields, ballfields and appurtenant facilities in public parks and recreation areas. City staff provide routine repairs and safety inspections at 28 park locations with playground equipment. This category currently includes the maintenance and repair of 22 ball fields, 17 basketball courts, 17 multi-use fields, 11 in-line/skate parks, 13 volleyball courts, and 20 tennis courts.

Park Shelter and Rest-room Maintenance and Cleaning - This maintenance program includes park furniture, shelters, restrooms located in the city’s neighborhood and community park system.

Graffiti Removal and Vandalism Repair -This maintenance program provides for staff time and materials to address the removal of graffiti and repair of vandalism in community and neighborhood parks.

Greenway & District Park Maintenance Programs

Snow Removal - This program primarily deals with the provision of safe snow removal on walkways and pathways, pedestrian bridges and underpasses during winter months and the use appropriate materials to reduce slip, trip and fall hazards.

Fully Landscaped Primary & Secondary Greenway Maintenance - This function of service is to perform all necessary maintenance to landscaped medians, streetscapes, irrigated primary greenways, irrigated secondary greenways, underpasses, pedestrian bridges, and walkways throughout the City.

Primary Greenways, District Parks, Native/Dryland Area Maintenance - This maintenance program is to perform all necessary maintenance to district parks, primary greenways, native/dryland areas, park furniture, shelters, restrooms located in the district park and greenway system.

Irrigation - This program addresses irrigation repairs and maintenance, start ups, winterizations, central control programming and troubleshooting, backflow repair and testing, and pump system repair and maintenance.

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