PLANO — Rose bushes at a public library in Plano are causing outrage. Why?
The city spent more than $18,000 to hire a private contractor to move them. Even the city manager admits that's a lot of money.
The circular median in front of the Davis Library caused all the problems. It looks nothing like it did a few weeks ago, when Plano police called it a "safety hazard."
Before the work began on March 21, the median had tall rose bushes. Police said the bushes blocked visibility at the library’s entrance and exit driveways.
Police officials asked the city to take action to remove the risk.
"You did have to slow down and watch to see if someone was going to come around that corner, because it was a blind spot," said Davis Library patron Cole McGowan.
With liability questions looming, Plano City Manager Bruce Glasscock said the project became a priority.
“We've got a lot of kids going to that library, and a lot of pedestrian traffic," he said. "So there was a real concern of potential for an accident or somebody getting hit."
Plano considered using Parks and Recreation Department employees to do the work, but the city manager said after personnel cutbacks, that wasn't possible.
"This is their mowing season, and with the reductions we made in their staffing and the vacancies they had, the urgency of getting that corrected prompted us to outsource the contract," Glassock explained.
The contractor charged the city $18,644 to take the rose bushes out of the median and replant them at Memorial Park on Custer Road. They lowered the height of the soil and redesigned the sprinkler system.
"That's ridiculous," said library patron Natasha Jackson. "If they're going to cut teachers from schools, why are they spending $18,000 to get rid of flowers?"
Plano is facing another year of deep budget cuts, and some taxpayers say spending so much money on removing rose bushes isn’t a good way to spend tax money.
"If you look at somebody getting hit, seriously injured or potentially killed, that $18,000 is much cheaper than we would have paid out in a lawsuit, when we knew it had been identified that there was a liability there," Glasscock said. "For us to ignore that would've been irresponsible."
The city manager added while the cost was high, it’s an example of the impact staff reductions have when unusual circumstances develop that can't be handled by city workers.
E-mail sstoler@wfaa.com
