The sun’s out, summer seems to have finally arrived, and the grass is growing faster than our mowing team can put their earmuffs on.
Whakatāne District Council is calling for patience from the community as staff deal with areas of long grass at the District’s parks and sportsgrounds.
Manager Open Spaces, Ian Molony, says a perfect combination of unprecedented rainfall throughout November, December and January, and warm temperatures, has produced the best grass growth the District has seen for years. In addition, the prolonged wet weather has significantly hindered Council’s ability to mow, further exacerbating grass growth.
Ian explains, “The scheduled mowing of Council spaces has been significantly affected by the wet weather we've been experiencing of late.” “Our team have been restricted in their ability to mow, but we know the grass doesn’t stop growing just because we can’t get out there; so now that the weather is playing ball we’re working through mowing backlogs and completing our scheduled runs, and are utilising all available resources to bring the grass under control as quickly as possible.”
Ian adds, “We acknowledge that after mowing, many areas will be untidy due to the excessive clippings however this will improve each time we mow.”
Ian says long grass chatter is a hot topic right across the North Island following a wet Spring and Council is appealing to the people of Whakatāne District to cut it some slack while it cuts the grass.
“Council is responsible for mowing a total area of 172.2 hectares across the District, this equates to 110 Eden Park Rugby fields.” He continues, “It’s a huge undertaking which we aim to achieve every two, to two and a half weeks based on a rotating schedule; however, just like you don’t mow your own backyard in the wet, the rain affects the Council mowing cycle too.”
“Our Open Spaces team have copped a bit of flack of late, but they are so passionate about keeping our District looking stunning, and it’s been really out of their hands.” “However, it’s been really encouraging to hear how passionate locals are about preserving the beauty of our own slice of paradise and the value they place on this.”
“Please bear with us. We’re playing catch-up as fine weather allows and are working through areas that have been missed as quickly as we can, meanwhile, our local bee community is very happy.”
While the rainy summer days may have caught us by surprise this season, Council is considering how to adapt its operations as a response to Climate Change and altering weather patterns. Council has previously sought back up support from contractors and welcomes hearing from any contractors who may be able to offer this service.