jenny’s corner October 2024
As I cannot attend City Commission this Wednesday, I’m writing what would be my comments. I’ll keep it within the citizens’ comment time of 3 minutes.
Good evening everyone!
First, let’s talk about Flooding. As I’ve said repeatedly over the years, our landscaping practices are directly undermining stormwater absorption and heat mitigation!!!
For brevity’s sake I’ll share just two examples.
One: Leave the leaves. We need to leave the leaves under the oak trees (and other trees). A tree is a powerhouse stormwater pump, and heat mitigator. Protect their root systems, and the soil, by leaving the leaves and not mowing under the trees.
On that note: The standard for an empty lot needs to be trees and shrubs, or a tallgrass-and-wildflower meadow, not buzzcut turfgrass. There are ways to keep people from trespassing on empty lots without turning them into denuded moonscapes that can’t absorb stormwater.
And two, the Sabal palm, our state tree. We need to stop mutilating the Sabal palm tree. This is a costly and unnecessary practice. Sabal palms in their natural state provide massive canopy and stormwater diffusion.
Mayor Henry, I’m grateful that your father was able to earn a good livelihood and raise such wonderful citizens by being a palm tree trimmer.
But our knowledge has evolved over the decades, as has the severity of heat and flooding. Our landscaping practices need to evolve accordingly.
We can’t point to one culprit of heat and flooding. It’s a worldwide result of the first world’s relentless consumerism. But what we can do, here, is prioritize tree canopy and lush vegetation. Every square inch counts! It’s a matter of life or death.
Our city and region can either be a healthy sponge, or a clogged bathtub. Drains can only accomplish so much. We also need pumps. Trees are great pumps because they pump water back up into the air and help restore a healthy rain cycle.
As part of becoming a sponge city, we need to prioritize expanding our knowledge base of arborculture and horticulture.
Landscaping is green infrastructure. It’s a lucrative career path, with many opportunities for local people to feed their families and lead a fulfilling life of service in partnership with nature.
We need people to be more than just grass-cutters, tree-cutters, and leaf-blowers. And we need to invest in their training accordingly.
Regarding homelessness. We won’t solve homelessness by being heartless. For example, preventing people from sleeping in public places. If a person can’t sleep in a public park or on the public beach, where can they sleep???
While we keep steadily working to solve homelessness, we at least need to let people sleep.
Public toilets are an issue as well. We need public restrooms all around town, open 24-7, with paid attendants. This helps all of us. After all, even rich people have to use the bathroom.
This is a city where we invest in human services, and it’s a city where we practice our spiritual faith. Let’s do this.