The Parks Department provides mulch, some of the water sources for the gardens and about 10 percent of the budget. U City in Bloom informs the Parks Department of its plans, but the private organization insists on controlling the preparation, design and maintenance of its beds. The initial dealings between the two entities were not auspicious, Bonham recalled. U City in Bloom had scattered its 600 daffodil bulbs along the median of heavily traveled Pershing Avenue and the following spring, Parks Department workers mowed the shoots down. When the volunteer organization then asked to put flower beds on city medians, the Parks Department imposed limits.
Volunteers come and go.
City crews were not going to go out and dig beds just so they could be turned back to grass after being abandoned. U City in Bloom has become indispensable to us in keeping our parks and public places looking nice. Given the scope of the work, the U City in Bloom budget is almost immodestly modest. What doesn't cost any money is administration. In a real sense this is volunteer.