$15,000!!!??? | OlyBlog

Navigation

User login

Online users

emmettoconnell
GRuB
Guglielmo
oldtimeydave
FRESH
The Original Yoda
Thad Curtz
Bert
Just another voice
Laurian

Support OlyBlog

OlyBlog is run by volunteers who care about Olympia. If you like what we're doing, make a donation:

OlyBlog is powered by:

Who's new

GRuB
ktcoxster
making a differ...
johnmac
circular_ruins

$15,000!!!???

Submitted by Nicki on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 6:56am.

Pricey Pots

I can't believe my eyes! The PBIA spent $15,000 on 120 flower pots? Please tell me this is a typo! Do the math! That's $120 per pot of petunias? Get real, these are plastic pots with flowers, or at least the one in the front page photo is. Please let me have the job of preparing these pots for the city. I could do it for half that price and still make a killing.

Nicki's blog
Login or register to post comments

Might as well let

Submitted by Merwyn Haskett on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 7:03am.

Might as well let Evergreen's S&A kids decide where the money goes for all the difference it would make.

I have some cheap plastic crap I'd be willing to sell to the city for an inflated price...

You can blow out a candle / But you can't blow out a fire / Once the flames begin to catch / The wind will blow it higher

I have some cheaper

Submitted by security_six on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 7:25am.

Plastic crap that I found in a dumpster I'll sell at an even more inflated price because it is "recycled" and "diverted from the wastestream." Gotta make money of the "green trend" :-)

Some even call me mad! And why? Because I dared to dream …of my own race of atomic monsters! Atomic supermen with octagonal-shaped bodies that suck blood out of...--Professor Farnsworth

There's more than just buying the pots and flowers and dirt

Submitted by Rob Richards on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 8:47am.

They also have to pay someone to water them. The PBIA has been diverting some of it's funds to the Probation Work Crew, and they are responsible for watering the flowers downtown now.

I think a better way, and a way to spark more civic engagement, would be to ask business owners if they wanted flowers, and if they do, ask them to water the flowers in front of their own business.

Nice idea Rob, but not all storefronts have a water tap

Submitted by Laurian on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 4:17pm.

and a hose. But seriously. The black plastic flower pots are butt ugly. They make me think Home Depot's garden section is hanging from our light poles. At $120.00 a pot and the Probation Dept. doing the upkeep is does seem like a rather indulgent expenditure.

I hope the BPIA member and Olyblog blogger Kathrine steps up and points out what we all are missing.

Here I am!

Submitted by Katherine on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 5:46pm.

Yeah, Matt Batcheldor misquoted Janis Dean. We saw the error online yesterday and reached someone before press, but apparently it wasn’t so important for them to clarify.

We spent $50 each on the pots. We had allotted 15K for the flowers this year. Last year we did just under 100 baskets, but had to pay for brackets, which are expensive. This year we purchased 20 more brackets and expanded the program to 120 baskets and got some on 4th ave, which is often neglected in projects like these.

A lot of the cost of the program is indeed the watering. Last year we tried volunteers and youth in need of community service hours, but ended up paying someone to water them. This year, we provided support to the Probation Crew and purchased a pressurized steam cleaner, 525 gal. tank and a trailer. The steam cleaner and trailer cost 12K of the 15K mentioned in the article. The Probation Crew will be watering the plants using the steam cleaner (obviously with out the pressure or steam) and we hope to start using reclaimed water from LOTT to fill the tank. The genius with the steam cleaner is that it will be used for a lot of projects downtown, and the labor is through Probation. I say keeping people out of jail is a pretty good use of resources. And a lot of people are collaborating in the use of the steam cleaner, from OFD providing a safe place for it to Public Works providing maintenance and the ODA chipping in for administration of projects. We cut a lot of cost out of the flower basket project this year.

As far as the pots go, the black pots do a better job of retaining moisture and are reusable for several years, which is why we went with them.

And, Merwyn, you and the S&A kids are welcome at our next meeting, which is June 12th, 6-8 pm at the MIXX 96 conference room. See ya there!

Thanks, Katherine. Money

Submitted by Ehver Green on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 6:21pm.

Thanks, Katherine. Money well spent.

Yikes! I'm not with the S&A

Submitted by Merwyn Haskett on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 9:55am.

Yikes! I'm not with the S&A (Unfortunately I've never been an actual Greener) - I was actually slamming them for some questionable allocation decisions they've made at times.

Thanks for the clarification on how and why the 15K was spent; it doesn't sound so...obnoxious now.

You can blow out a candle / But you can't blow out a fire / Once the flames begin to catch / The wind will blow it higher

Thanks for the clarification

Submitted by Nicki on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 7:32am.

So, it is really ONLY $50.00 per pot? I still think that is exorbitant, but it's a lot better than $125 each. I see pots all over that are a lot more beautiful than the ones you've chosen for downtown and they cost a LOT less than that. Maybe you could make a deal with Fred Meyers or Top Foods? Why don't you call up Port Townsend and ask them where they get theirs from and how much they cost? Theirs are very beautiful and effective. Also, a agree that store owners that want hanging baskets in front of their stores should be responsible for maintaining them, ie. simple watering. If they don't have a water supply, how hard is it really to remember to bring a large bottle of water once or twice a week to water the pots? Come on!

I'd spend $50

Submitted by emmettoconnell on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 8:27am.

$20 is what we (well, ok my wife) usually spends on hanging baskets for our back yard, but I could really see spending $50 on better and larger baskets.

The cost seemed reasonable

Submitted by wilson on Sat, 05/31/2008 - 10:41am.

The cost seemed reasonable to me as well, it is worth it.

OlyBlog.net

OlyBlog is devoted to citizen journalism, including hyperlocal news and discussion specifically about Olympia, Washington. If you care about this community and are tired of corporate media, then this is the place for you.

If you'd like to contribute, please register for an account. Here is a list of local news beats that need to be covered. You can post your news as a personal blog entry, and it will be reviewed (and possibly edited) for promotion to the front page. Once you've established a record of responsible blogging, you can become an autonomous user. You can also send news via email. All members of OlyBlog agree to abide by our comment and fair use policies. If you are frustrated about something said in a comment thread, go here.

Now playing at: