O.K., Larry Kurtz is right. Grass is such a politically potent issue that it can topple even Governor Dennis Daugaard’s plans:
Based on input from the public, the South Dakota Bureau of Administration is revising its plan for Hilger’s Gulch.
…The Bureau of Administration will retain Kentucky Bluegrass in the most visible and highly-used areas of the Gulch, including Governor’s Grove and the “sled hill” area along Church Street. These areas will not be changed and will continue to be a mowed and watered bluegrass area.
…Lower-lying areas of bluegrass, which are too wet to be usable much of the year due to drainage and watering, will be replaced with warm season grasses, bushes, trees and wildflowers. Trees will include wild plum, apricot, sumac and willow; bushes will include sand cherry, choke cherry, buffalo berry and prairie rose; and wild flowers include purple coneflowers, yarrow, blanketflowers, phlox, blue aster and others.
…Between 2005 and 2014, state government annually spent an average of $36,000 to irrigate Hilger’s Gulch. In 2012, the cost to irrigate was nearly $50,000. In addition, costs for mowing, fertilizing and weed treatment in Hilger’s Gulch exceeded $27,000 in FY2015. The new vegetation is expected to save the state money over time because it will require less maintenance and will not necessitate the use of chemical herbicides [Bureau of Administration, press release, 2015.09.09].
Strange: South Dakotans are usually resistant to outsiders and big government spending. But Pierre residents apparently would rather spend tax dollars to preserve non-native Kentucky bluegrass than side with the Governor’s plan to save money and expand pollinator habitat, which a Pheasants Forever expert just got done telling us on SDPB Dakota Midday goes hand in hand with supporting the pheasant population.
I know, I know, we’re not talking about hunting pheasants within Pierre city limits… although maybe if Governor Daugaard had mentioned that possibility, Pierre residents would have been all for his Hilger’s Gulch plan.
But yes, Larry, grass is apparently the key to South Dakota voters’ hearts. Candidates, take heed!
p.s.: Hilger’s Gulch turned Attorney General Marty Jackley into an advocate for local control over grass policy. Remind Marty of that, Flandrea Santee Sioux Tribe, the next time he gives you a hard time for your preferences in vegetation.
Why do I get the feeling that this will end up costing more than if things had just been left alone?
Because fiscally responsible wingnuts just love spending money they claim they don’t have. They’ll blame it on Obama sooner or later.
wasn’t grass the favored name before pot and then weed? my high school/perhaps even jr. high school home had a “please don’t smoke the grass” sign for 25 years or so.
on another level, the state does have state-of-the-art agronomists, does it not?
on a whole ‘nother level, SDGOP is gonna fall flat on it’s face when the tipping point the nation seems to be approaching hits. Cruz and Trump?? Thune writes the hard core party line that the world is going to hell because Iran diplomacy worked??? Like the ACA, what did he say, it was even more evil because the 69,000 SD uncovered resident’s praying for expanded Medicaid would be… no that’s not right, it was that the 10 million or so nationally that would lose coverage if the supreme court vitiated the ACA, no, that’s not it!!!! What is the stupidest thing Thune has said, anyone, anyone,…bueller?????
(C) co-written by bob dylan
if watering the grass at the top of the hill cost a lot of money and the water ran down hill and made a big mud hole in the bottom, then taking grass out of the bottom and continuing to water the grass at the top of the hill will cost the same amount as before. No savings but added cost of replanting the bottom. Just less mowing cost. compromise is not always good.
Burn it all down to the dirt and put back thistles and yucca. Bust out the concrete wasteland the lazy whiners walk their fancy poodles on with prison labor and haul the rubble to an ecologically sensitive wetlands area for disposal.
grudz-you had me worried there for a minute. btw, do you know Spencer? Spencer,… grudz.
Ms. leslie, Mr. Spencer seems like a fine young fellow with whom I’d enjoy a hearty breakfast and spirited debate on the issues of the day. Regretfully I have yet to meet him or spent time conversing with him as I have many of you on this blog place.
This whole story is just another in the give and take relationship of the State of South Dakota and the City of Pierre. The State provides numerous jobs to the people of Pierre. (Note: Not everyone in Pierre works for the state.) These jobs come with benefits like health insurance, paid vacations and a retirement plan. These steady jobs allow State employees to pay for houses that are 25% to 30% higher in value than comparable homes in say, maybe Mitchell or Watertown. These incomes and higher valued homes are needed because, as the cities’ largest property owner, the State pays no property taxes to Hughes county and the city. There needs to be a solid tax base some where to pay the bills. The City of Pierre still removes snow in the winter and sweeps the street in the other seasons, streets are lit, the roads are paved, your waste water is treated, your garbage hauled away, the police and fire department still protect, and schools are open (and under-staffed) to educate our youth. The bottom line is, all the citizens of Pierre pay the property taxes of the government buildings and grounds where a lot of State services originate. Services enjoyed from Hot Springs to Sisseton, Belle Fourche to Elk Point. If a few Pierre residents want some green grass to walk by on occasion, they probably feel like they have paid for it. I myself, like the look of prairie grasses, cedar, choke cherry and Russian olive trees. The bottom line is, the State may provide, but they also take (or in this case, withhold) and put a large financial burden on the City of Pierre and all its all its citizens, not just the State employees. If the Governor wants to save the state taxpayers some money, fine. But when he drives from his residence to the Capitol building, she should ask, “Why is this stretch of Capitol Ave. in such bad shape? It’s like an off-road course. Why doesn’t the City fix it properly?” Or, if he were to take the back Broadway Ave. route to work, “Why hasn’t the City painted a center line on this street in four years?”
I have heard that Pierre City overcharges for electrical bills. You might think they could paint a line in the street. The State should cough up a little bit but I still say they should burn off the grass they want to burn. Frankly, Pierre City should probably be kissing the state’s doopa because if they moved out then Pierre would be like…what? Ft. Pierre. And Ft. Pierre would be like Hayes.
Grudz, you need to get out of you mom’s basement more often. Ft. Pierre is one of the great West River towns in South Dakota. Their 4th of July Parade is the biggest and best in the state. Hayes has slipped since Don’s Oasis burned down, but the annual Hayes Play makes up for it in spades. Hayes and the people who call it home have a lot of heart and character. Do you know what that is?
Hayes is a great place, and that’s why Daugaard wants to make it into an oasis, not for Don, but for radioactive waste. When you have a great place in South Dakota, the best thing to do with it is plant bluegrass or promote it as the next sacrifice area.
Yes, Hayes and Ft. Pierre hold the libbie future in their hands. I believe Hayes and Ft. Pierre are in the same school district. I hope the BluRT-F spends some time asking why a school district with one of the lowest teacher to student ratios is in the bottom 10%.
The blue link proving this is http://public-schools.startclass.com/l/80816/Stanley-County-High-School-0
In case you fear my blue link is like one of Mr. kurtz’s trick links to naughty pages:
Stanley County High School – 01 is in the bottom 10% of South Dakota high schools based on how the student body performed on the state reading and math exams. Specifically, it is ranked 152nd out of 163 High Schools in South Dakota that have reported their assessment performance to the U.S Department of Education.
Trollin’ with heavy lead eh, grudz?
One good thing about this issue is has exposed to the people of the state a facet of State government seldom considered- major employer in a small town.
I like the original plan better but this isn’t a bad compromise.
Bob Mercer looks at the new plan and thinks it doesn’t look all that different from the old plan. Might the Governor be hoodwinking his neighbors with a compromise in word only?
troy u gotta get out more
Xeriscaping. Anything else is a waste of time and money.
Ch,
If Bob is right, I like it even more now. :)
This discussion reminds me of a story I heard once. Don’t remember where or from who but I always think of it when driving through Minnesota.
It is about the difference in appearance of the farmyards- those in Minnesota all have big yards and they even mow the ditch with a lawnmower. Those is SD have yards only as big as what the kids play on and the rest is wild.
The story/joke I heard was Minnesota farmers think they can improve on God.
Now with that ramble, here is the point: the South Dakota farmer isn’t wrong by liking a more natural appearance. Nor is the Minnesota farmer for liking a more manicured appearance. It is a matter of taste.
But, in my view, the person paying the bill usually get to make the decision on how the yard looks.
Two things Pierre did which was bad:
1). They reacted like Hilger’s Gulch was some traditional cultural treasure. IT IS A GULCH that runs to the river. Second, they don’t own it.
2). They got mad and petulant like when a parent tells the kid no sprinkles on DQ cone. IT IS A GULCH and they don’t own it.
In my former house, my neighbor had a big tree that gave me perfect shade in the evening. One day I heard he was cutting down the tree for a lot of reasons that were his. So, I went over and asked if there was a way for him to just trim it or in some way keep it. He expressed sympathy, said the tree was coming down but I was welcome to firewood.
Did I get mad and scream? Think that would have made a difference?
No, I found out how much it would cost to move in a tree for the edge of his property that would grow into the perfect shade but not be in a place that disrupted his yard and offered to split the cost. He looked at me like I was nuts I would pay for half a tree in his yard and in a few moths we planted a tree together.
Pierre is the bad neighbor here because they expect the other neighbor to sacrifice for them with them giving nothing in return.
P.S. I just read over on DWC this gulch was called a landmark. The standard for landmark is now so low as to be meaningless so I hearby designate the corner of 1515 W. Burnside a landmark. You gotta go there to understand but this landmark will need nothing from the taxpayers to maintain.
Grass was never the euphemism i remember: it was dope or pot.
1515 W Burnside…the epicenter of all good things in life. Got a dart thrown at me after saying, “pardon me” to one of the patrons. Regarding the gulch…nice to see Gov D. is in a little hot water with his (R) friend. Does city zoning or code enforcement have a roll in the outcome? My Shady-Man Mike loves throwing his code enforcement folks into issues like this.