Everyday Hero In Highland Park - And Response (3)

  • Sunday, April 19, 2015
  • Missy Crutchfield

Baylor School student James Loftin spent his Sunday afternoon mowing Tatum Park, a Chattanooga City Park, also marked as a memorial to the late Judith Schorr, active community member and former Highland Park Neighborhood Association President.

According to Mr.

Loftin, several Highland Park Neighborhood Association members have visited Chattanooga City Hall to express their concern about the unmowed city park. They were told that the city's contract had run out and that city workers would not be able to get around to mowing the park for another two months, well into the summer season.

The city department formerly known as Parks and Recreation, now split between a brand new city department Youth and Family Development and Public Works, would have been responsible for mowing the park, but has since been dismantled by Mayor Andy Berke. City parks going unmowed is just one small example of the disintegration of city structure that is beginning to show under Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke's term in office, it appears.

Everyday heroes like high school student James are stepping in to pick up the slack. He could be doing anything on a Sunday afternoon, but he is stepping in to help mow his neighborhood's city park so it is a safe and healthy environment for neighbors to visit.

Is this sad state of the city of Chattanooga's Tatum Park just the beginning? Are we going to be seeing more of this kind of decay of public assets since downtown developers such as the Chattanooga Choo Choo are not paying their entire property taxes due to Payment-In-Lieu-Of-Tax agreements? Where are our tax dollars going if the city cannot pay to mow a city park? There are many questions left unanswered.

This is the new neighborhood watch. Citizens watching what local governments are or are not doing in their neighborhood is the new neighborhood watch.

It is time for citizens to speak up! CitizenWatchHCD "Highest Common Denominator" #SpeakTruthToPower

Missy Crutchfield  

PS: 

Talk about getting results: After CitizenWatchHCD posted and shared a story on Sunday afternoon praising an "Everday Hero in Highland Park: Baylor Student Mowing Chattanooga City Park After City Shirks Duty," look who showed up on Monday morning to finish out the job: City of Chattanooga Public Works with three trucks, lawn mowers and a work crew. 

When the citizens come together to watch what the government agencies (from the mayor's office, top down) are or are not doing in our communities and with our tax dollars. When we help spread the word to keep our neighbors informed and collectively hold our government leaders accountable, we get results. Together the people really do win. 

Thank you, city of Chattanooga Public Works, for mowing Highland Park's Tatum Park. We know that you do not get enough credit or appreciation for being the hands and feet of city government, and we want you to know how much you are appreciated.  

This is the new neighborhood watch. Citizens watching what local governments are or are not doing in their neighborhood is the new neighborhood watch. 

It is time for citizens to speak up. CitizenWatchHCD “Highest Common Denominator” 

#SpeakTruthToPower 

Missy Crutchfield 

* * * 

Kudos to this young man for taking action when and where needed.  This gentleman is clearly a leader of tomorrow who sees a problem and solves it; what an honor it must be to be his parents. 

While I don't live within your city I am a citizen of America and your mayor is merely following in the steps of the current administration in always finding the unintended consequences leaving it up to the "grass roots" to solve the problem.

Sue White 

* * * 

The city of Chattanooga appreciates any young person who is committed to beautifying our community and we applaud Mr. Loftin for taking those steps.  That said, there is some inaccurate information that has been shared regarding this matter.

The city’s Department of Public Works is responsible for ensuring the grounds at more than 80 city parks are maintained to the highest standards.  The reason for the delay in mowing Tatum Park is due to the unprecedented amount of rainfall over the last few weeks at the onset of mowing season.  Unfortunately, our mowing efforts, both city crews and contractors, are now a few weeks behind schedule since the ground has been too soggy and saturated to withstand commercial mowing equipment without creating additional damage to the grounds.  In the last several days, crews have attempted to resume mowing, even during light rainfall at many sites, but with nearly three times the amount of rainfall Chattanooga normally sees in April, wet weather conditions have been compounded with the increased growth.  

In addition, city crews have begun working beyond scheduled hours with appropriate equipment such as weed eaters and light mowers until the larger equipment can resume normal weekly mowing cycles at each park.  

If any citizens have questions or concerns on a city property in need of maintenance, please contact 311 at 311@chattanooga.gov.

Justin Holland
Deputy Administrator
Department of Public Works | City of Chattanooga 

* * * 

Thanks to this exceptional young man for helping out where he saw a need.  It's so different and promising for us to know that our youth and futures are not a lost cause. 

I greatly applaud Mr. Holland for providing actual facts about why the mowing had not occurred.  It's refreshing to have our government leaders stand up and provide factual information when there are those out there who go all "FOX News" on government.   

Our yard suffered the same fate as of late.  In less than two weeks, from the first time we cut until yesterday, the grass had virtually exploded. There were almost knee high weeds in areas and the thickness of the grass was ridiculous.  The rain and continued soggy mess of the ground made cutting impossible.  If Ms. Crutchfield had ever had to do any lawn maintenance herself,  which she may or may not ever have, I can't speculate, but it is not easy after record rain and flooding. 

Some people should tread lightly when criticizing and judging so quickly without first hand knowledge of the situation and getting the story from all sides.   

Richard Smith

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