DID plants seed for downtown flower program

For years, the Downtown Improvement District has spent conservatively on smaller projects as it pays down the debt from funding 2013 Main Street improvements.

This year, that strategy is changing. The DID, funded by property owners in the downtown core, plans to concentrate its efforts on installing a series of flower baskets on light poles in the heart of the city.

The project, known as Downtown in Bloom, has been under consideration for nearly two years. After bypassing budgetary concerns, the project was beset by procedural issues as the city sought a private vendor to spearhead the project. After a lengthy delay, the DID board is now eager to push forward with the endeavor.

“We’ve been planning this for a year,” said board member Eileen Hampshire at a Feb. 2 meeting. “How long until we can reasonably get some flowers in the pots?”

DID Operations Manager John Moran, whose involvement with the flower basket proposal dates back to 2013, says the wait will continue for a few more months, at least. The city received just one bid for the project by the Feb. 5 due date, which will go to a committee for review.

Even once that work is done, more questions remain. The DID has more than $200,000 available for the project in unassigned funds, but Moran said early estimates for the annual cost of maintaining flowers on 150 downtown light poles are around $100,000.

As a result, the board is considering starting smaller. Preliminary plans call for the project to start with 75 flower baskets — 55 larger baskets wrapping around light poles and 20 smaller ones that would hang from the poles.

In February 2015, the DID set up an exhibition for the project at Main Street and Palm Avenue. Those baskets are still there today and have quelled some concerns about the impact of the project on the city’s aging light poles, Moran said.

The precise scope of the project is still to be determined. The DID board will discuss the quantity and placement of baskets at a future meeting once the private proposal has been vetted, Moran said.

If you’re hoping to see an additional touch of color on your next trip downtown, you’ll likely have to wait until after season is over before the baskets are actually installed. Still, the DID board believes adding flowers will make downtown a more inviting place to shop and visit.

“We’re anxious to get on with it,” Moran said.