The Editor,
I am writing this letter in response to the absolute embarrassment that is the maintenance and upkeep of every green space in the city of Estevan. It makes me call into question how much our mayor, councillors, and city management actually care about this city.
Do you look around while you drive to work, or to get groceries? Do you walk in any of our “parks?” I hope you don’t. If you do, I am appalled that you allow the city that you represent to look so disgusting. I am at a loss as to how our city cannot possibly figure out how to manage the upkeep of these spaces. I know you have managers in place for parks upkeep. However, they certainly do not seem to be properly managing the over 50 summer students hired to maintain these green spaces.
Trees have been planted and left to die. Cement flowerpots have been purchased and left to fill with weeds. The boulevards on 13th Avenue were rebuilt with apparently no plan in place to plant grass or otherwise maintain them. Now what was once the nicest entrance to our city is a mess of weeds and untended trees.
None of these tasks is difficult. In fact they couldn’t be simpler, with a bit of planning.
If the city plants a tree, maintain it. If the city buys flowers, water them. If the city is full of weeds, pull them. If you can’t afford to maintain things, don’t spend money on them. Perhaps the solution is to cut the parks and rec budget altogether and stop hiring summer students. When I travelled to Berlin in 2007, their boulevards and park space looked very similarly rundown to ours in Estevan. The reason? The city had no funding to spend on parks upkeep. It was unfortunate, but a reality for many places. At least they had an excuse for the way their city looked. What on earth is Estevan’s excuse other than poor management of money and staff resources?
I’m sure you’re all ready to pass the blame to someone below you, or blame previous government leadership and planning. Passing the buck accomplishes nothing. Unfortunately, I see this as a trickle down effect of poor management and foresight, stemming first from city council, down to managers, down to the seasonal parks staff maintaining these properties. How are these parks workers expected to do a good job without supervision? They are not supervised. I work at a city building, on city property and I see the work that they do, or lack thereof, when they are left unattended.
I also question why the city isn’t held accountable for its poor upkeep. I own a home in Estevan. If I let my property get overrun I could face a ticket from the bylaw officer. I’ve never received a ticket because I take pride in making my yard look nice for the summer. And frankly, it’s not that hard, if you stay on top of the work. I’m willing to invest my time and money into it.
Unfortunately, the city isn’t willing to properly invest their money (our money as taxpayers) and their employees’ time to accomplish simple tasks like mowing, weed whipping and pulling weeds. So, I ask you, Mayor Ludwig and our councillors, what is your excuse? Are you apathetic? Or are you blind? I highly doubt that your own personal property looks as bad as the parks, boulevards, ditches and landscaping in this city that you represent.
I’d like to close by extending a huge thank you to all of the citizens of Estevan who take pride in their property and put the work, time, and money into maintaining and beautifying them. You are the only thing keeping the city of Estevan from looking like a complete and utter dump.
Karly Garnier
Estevan
