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Highway Dept. will continue flower care; message board policy updated

2 mins read
The Downtown
The Farmington Highway Department will continue watering the hanging plants downtown in summer.

FARMINGTON – After finding out the actual cost for the Highway Department to water the summer flowers downtown, selectmen decided Tuesday night to continue the practice.

Last spring the question came up after a summer when downtown’s merchants volunteered to water the hanging plants perched on 15 street light poles that the Farmington Downtown Association purchases every year. The volunteer watering effort proved difficult because the plants are too high up on the poles to easily reach to water. As a consequence, most of the 30 pots filled with trailing annual blooming plants died prematurely.

The FDA asked selectmen to continue the practice of having the highway crew, with a tanker truck and long-reaching spray nozzle, water the hanging baskets. The board agreed but asked Highway Department Director Denis Castonguay to keep track of the costs of watering and fertilizing over the growing season.

He did and on Tuesday night presented a total cost of $1,049 for two employees to keep the flowers watered from June 2 to Sept. 18, when the pots were removed following the fall’s first frost.

Selectmen approved continuing the town’s flower care for future summers.

In other business, the community bulletin posting policy was amended to include changes in location of one and other minor procedural clarifications.

A message board is located in West Farmington on Wilton Road, poles for banners at Philbrick Park in Farmington Falls and a new message board was installed at 140 Farmington Falls Road. That community announcement space was originally two poles for banners located at the intersection of High Street and Farmington Falls Road, but were removed when Bjorn Park was built.

The two message boards are available for use by nonprofit organizations for upcoming charitable events “of broad community interest,” according to policy approved by selectmen Tuesday night.

For those interested in posting their event, the town’s secretary can be contacted at 778-6538, in advance of the event.

Selectmen also granted a paid day off for all town employees (corrected) on Friday, Dec. 26.

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7 Comments

  1. Thank you selectmen for giving Mavis, Linda and the rest of the hard working employees in our town office a well deserved day off for all they do. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

  2. What about all the other hard working town employees? Can we assume they won’t be left out?

  3. Glad to hear that every one will have a Merry Christmas this year. Thank you all for what you do and what you have to deal with.

  4. I’m so happy to see that the flower basket (non) issue has been resolved so easily. The attractive floral displays in downtown are very inviting. I know they represent a lot of care from the town and the business owners.

  5. This town seems to have a problem with planning ahead…didn’t anyone realize putting the pots way up high on the poles would cause a problem for the merchants getting up to water?
    Were those pots supposed to replace the flowers around the base of those beautiful trees in downtown? (tongue in cheek) Does anyone who comes downtown miss the flowers on the ground? I do.
    The spaces by the trees are great spots for dogs to poop. Or throw trash. Did the town stop planting or allow planting under the trees because it caused problems with the trees? And dog poop doesn’t?
    So if planting under the trees causes problems with the trees, why did the Conservation Committee plant
    that kind of tree, and not something that would be less challenged? Poor planning ahead again, maybe?

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