From small seed, effort to beautify road grows

By LOUISE ANDRYUSKY

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 9, 2000

Little did we know what a Pandora's box we were opening in spring 1998 when a group of friends and I sat around discussing the flood of letters to the editor regarding the trees to be cut down on Spring Hill Drive.

Maybe the county had decided to do something about the condition of the medians, and it wasn't long before our imaginations took off.

"Let's start a beautification committee as a part of the Spring Hill Civic Association," said one brave soul, and our enthusiasm knew no bounds as a flood of possibilities were discussed.

At the next meeting of the civic association, we presented our plans, asked whether our committee would be accepted as a part of the association, and were amazed at the warm reception we received. Many members gave us donations for plants that very night.

Soon, we began our journey into unknown territory. The cost of plants -- a lot of plants -- was more than we thought, and digging up the grass where we intended to plant them was a job for a couple of muscular New York longshoremen. Where would water come from since there were no sprinklers on the medians?

To be honest, my heart sank with each new obstacle. But I wasn't allowed to creep back to uselessness. We applied for a grant from the Southwest Florida Water Management District and played deaf to the gloom-and-doomers who said grants were tough to get.

In four months, we were delighted and swimming in confidence when we learned we were to receive a $5,000 grant to put plants on 10 medians.

We called for volunteers to help with the planting, and wouldn't you know the weather decided to act up after weeks of sunny, dry days. It poured, not with a little shower, but all day, drowning all of our wonderful volunteers with water and mud while the temperature plunged.

The gallant group of 25 kept on planting. No one caught pneumonia, and the shrubs began their new life in torrents of rain. The volunteers even came back to help with a second planting day.

As time went on, we realized we had more learning to do and problems to solve. The planting beds needed weeding and mulching and individual attention.

We started working again with the county to find a way to beautify the medians without the need for labor-intensive upkeep.

Other communities had medians sponsored by local businesses that were glad to advertise on heavily traveled roads. We learned that about 20,000 cars drive on Spring Hill Drive every day. What if we came up with a plan for a joint effort between the county and the community, working together to beautify medians?

We brought our plan before the County Commission, attended a workshop, gained the approval of the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce, and, after countless speeches and meetings, we have begun to see a bright light at the end of this long tunnel.

Here's the plan: Each median will have one sponsor that will pay a one-time fee of $200 toward the purchase of an attractive two-sided, 18-by-24-inch sign engraved with "Median by . . . " and the company's name. If the county approves the final plan, sponsors will pay $75 a month to the county, which will be more than enough to cover the cost of mowing, watering and fertilizing the medians.

To get the project under way, the county will install a watering system, sod and ornamental trees on the sponsored medians. The maintenance fees, paid by the businesses, should be enough that, in time, the county will be reimbursed for these upfront costs.

This system can be a new public and private partnership to improve the appearance of our community.

Great things have begun to happen. I'm glad I didn't retreat into uselessness.

Challenger Irrigation Systems has volunteered to design and install the sprinkler system free of charge. We have 12 businesses that have signed up to become sponsors. I doubt we'll have any problem finding 16 more to complete the 28 along Spring Hill Drive to Deltona Boulevard.

We're hoping to receive donations to offset the cost of sod, trees and the components for the sprinkler system. If you or your company would like to sponsor a median or make a donation, please contact Ki Hill at 666-0205.

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