landscaping ideas | Gardening

RIVERSIDE: Residents offer ideas for main library – Press

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Susan Rainey’s position with the Riverside Public Library
Foundation. She is a past president of the foundation.

Riverside officials asked for public opinions on designs to spruce up the downtown library. They got what they asked for, and then some, at a meeting held Wednesday, June 20, at the building in question.

For years the main library on Mission Inn Avenue has been seen as the poor relation of newer and recently remodeled branches. Residents and officials have never fully agreed on what to do with the boxy, nearly windowless midcentury modern building, which is both loved and hated.

But the 35 or so people who came to Wednesday’s meeting were full of feedback.

Those who liked any of the four concepts sketched by architect Pfeiffer Partners preferred one that hewed closest to the building’s original look; other options added increasing amounts of glass facade.

Several people pitched their own ideas. John Collins advocated stripping away the signature concrete “dove” lattices and commissioning murals for the building’s exterior. Landscape architect Tim Maloney, speaking for the Raincross Group, showed a drawing that turned the front plaza into an inviting lawn with fountains, tables and chairs, and a garden around the existing Chinese pavilion.

Others, like Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce CEO Cindy Roth, said the council should go back to the drawing board. And many reiterated comments from the last series of meetings on the main library: the budget is limited, so spend the money to fix the decrepit interior.

“As far as the inside goes, I just want a modern library inside, an easy-to-find-things, contemporary library that’s open and inviting,” Pete Kallinger said.

The council tentatively set a ballpark budget of $20 million, but officials haven’t figured out where they’ll get it. That uncertainty was compounded by the lack of cost estimates on the concept designs.

Residents did like some of the ideas in draft floor plans for the interior. Moving the auditorium to the first floor to allow public use outside library hours and putting restrooms on every floor got good reviews.

But some questioned how all the new areas and library collections would fit in the existing space.

Ultimately, the meeting may have raised more questions than it answered.

“It just seems like we need to get grounded on what we really want,” said Susan Rainey, a past president of the Riverside Public Library Foundation.

“I think I can get behind a ‘let’s go do it,’ if I know what ‘it’ is.”

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Landscaping laws in question

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Q. Why is it that some city employees can tell property owners what they have to do for landscaping? Where do they get the authority to interfere with my property when they weren’t even elected?

A. There is some misunderstanding about how we have arrived where we are in our approach to landscaping requirements.

The authority comes from city ordinances, a big package containing zoning and landscaping and also building and vegetation and traffic, and nuisance rules and all the laws necessary for operating a city. Every city has something similar.

In fact, the city employees you encounter are unable to insert their personal opinion because they are required to enforce minimum and maximum specifications defined by the ordinances affecting their department. These ordinances were passed by city council votes and have the force of law.

Current landscaping ordinances are the end result of a long process which rewrote the city Comprehensive Plan a half-dozen years ago. After many months and many meetings, a large group of citizen volunteers on a special committee produced the plan.

One of the points of emphasis in that plan stressed a goal of implementing rules for new development and redevelopment projects which would enhance the appearance of the community. The landscaping rules now in place are a consequence of some of the recommendations of that committee.

It can’t be overemphasized how strong the sentiment of the committee was in pushing for more ways the city could look better.

The original landscaping minimums proposed by the consulting firm – which acted on the committee’s recommendations – were much, much more demanding than what we have now. The actual ordinances that were passed toned down that consultant’s ideas but may still be more stringent than some in other cities. If you are looking for it, you can tell the difference as you travel. I don’t think, though, that there is a drastic disparity from city to city and as each city updates things as we did, they’ll likely catch up.

So, when anyone from the city tells you that you have to do something you don’t want to do with your own property, don’t blame them. Part of their job is to ensure compliance with rules that come not from them, but from the council, and they can’t just look the other way.

There are good ways to go about it and city workers are encouraged to offer suggestions to achieve compliance in ways that cause the least amount of resistance. There is some flexibility, but only within the ordinance language.

As government people we need to understand there is a powerful and perfectly understandable sense of entitlement among those who own property. Our objective should be to interfere with that entitlement as little as possible while still meeting the common needs and desires of the community. Those common community ideas live in the big book of city ordinances.

Common ideas, yes, but not unanimous.

Here’s another question that came in:

Q. Why is Aberdeen trying to beautify? I’ve lived here for 40 years and there’s nothing you can do to improve the looks of this city. These laws are stupid.

A. I don’t think he wanted an answer.

Aberdeen Mayor Mike Levsen’s views are his own and don’t necessarily represent those of other city officials. Send your questions to askthemayor@aberdeennews.com.

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SMALL-BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: Dean’s Lawn and Landscaping Garden Center

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Tucked away along Schererville’s northern tip on Kennedy Avenue, Dean’s Lawn Landscaping Garden Center is a treasure trove of unusual trees, shrubs and flowers as well as attractive examples of professionally–installed pavers and retaining walls for enhancing outdoor living.

Like its owner Dean Savarino, whose love of landscaping blossomed into into a job at 15, the company he founded in 1994 has grown and now is a destination business on seven–plus acres where folks can enjoy outdoor living ideas professionally in place.

Savarino said he plans to expand on his “outdoor living rooms” where clients can easily see how outdoor spaces can be transformed.

“We want multiple scenarios, a living showroom,” he said, which will showcase unique hardscapes as well as the flowers and plant that soften the rooms.

Savarino is particularly proud, he said, of receiving the World Class Award from Belgard Hardscapes, the noted maker of European–style pavers and more.

“We’ve honed in on hardscapes. We’re the best in the area,” he said.

Examples of Dean’s Landscaping’s quality installation and Old World artistry are found at the 238 Kennedy Ave. site where cobblestones lie underfoot and a paved walkway leads to a Savarino–custom designed patio.

“We’ve been successful by doing really good work,” Savarino said. The company motto is, “Exceptional service with outstanding results,” he said.

While others have struggled in the economic downturn, Savarino said “last year was the best year we’ve had.” He said his company was not tied to new housing, and, in fact, did many landscaping updates across Northwest Indiana and nearby Illinois.

“I like the challenge of it,” Savarino said of taking a plainly–landscaped property and turning it into a thing of beauty. “It’s the wow factor.”

Like himself, Savarino’s crews are certified in the installation of hardscapes. All employees are professionally attired and must maintain a professional demeanor on the job.

“We’ve kind of carved out a niche. When it comes to hardscaping, we’re top dog,” Savarino said.

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Save water by replacing grass with hardscape

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One of the best ways to reduce water use in the landscape is to replace grass with hardscape, especially hardscape that allows water to penetrate into the soil.

The hardscape can be attractive work and play areas that don’t require the water and work associated with grass. Some materials to consider are brick without mortar, flagstone, patio blocks and decomposed granite.

To view rock materials that are available, visit hardscape suppliers such as Keller Materials, Fertile Garden Supply or Quality Organic Products. They have exhibits of various options, and you also can visit a brick supplier for ideas. There are also books and pamphlets on the topic with illustrations to show you each step. “Texas Landscaping” by Greg Grant and Roger Holmes is one book, and nurseries and big box stores also have guides.

Brick without mortar makes an attractive surface that is easy to walk on or operate anything from a tricycle to a wheelchair. Border the brick walk with treated wood 2-by-4s for straight stretches and flexible steel or cedar pieces for curves. You want the brick to be tight together so the width should be divisible by the width of the brick surface. A good width is 36 inches if the brick is 3 inches on the side to form your surface.

Patio blocks can be used the same way as bricks. The blocks are easier to lay than bricks, but the finished surface isn’t as attractive.

If you use flagstone or slate materials for the path or patio, the surface will not be as level as the brick or patio blocks, and there necessarily will be space between the rocks. The overall look also will be less formal.

Decomposed granite should be applied to a caliche base about 2 inches deep and well compacted.

Patio surfaces can be higher than the surrounding beds and or lawn, but for ease of mowing, the paths or sidewalks seem to work best if they are level with the lawn. To accomplish that, the route of the path will have to be dug out to accommodate the 3 inches of sand or 2 inches of caliche plus the depth of the surface material.

Use a garden hose and spray paint to mark the area to be dug out, including the 2-by-4 border.

After the plan is completed and has passed muster with the usual review authorities – always a spouse and sometimes your neighborhood association – you can begin digging. The soil removed can be spread over the yard or used to fill low spots in the landscape.

Sand provides a stable base and is easy to level. Decomposed granite does better on a base of 2 inches of caliche fill.

The brick, patio block and flagstone do not need to be perfectly level, but you can use a level to check the path as you proceed or even use a straight piece of 2-by-4 that, when laid on your border, will show you if the path is relatively level. The brick and other material should just touch the bridging 2-by-4.

Drainage off the path should not be a problem if it is level or slightly higher than the surrounding beds or lawn. You can allow for a small slope (1 inch or less) across the path.

If you decide to eliminate a larger portion of the lawn in favor of a low-water-use landscape, a good strategy would be to kill the grass with glyphosplate. Put in the paths and patio and then apply a 4- to 6-inch layer of chopped shredded or other attractive but inexpensive mulch to cover the killed lawn. Planting of perennials, shrubs and more shade trees can be done as weather and your budget allow. SAWS customers may qualify for incentives for such a conversion. Visit the www.saws.org for more information.

Calvin R. Finch is a horticulturist and director of special projects with San Antonio Water System. Contact him at Calvin.Finch@saws.org.

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Town, school district talk cost-sharing ideas

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NEWMARKET — A meeting of the minds occurred on Wednesday night, when the School Board and Town Council hosted a joint meeting to discuss efforts to cooperate on saving taxpayers money.

Elicited by the Efficiency Committee with support, Don Jutton from Municipal Resources Inc (MRI) was hired for $12,000, to study ways in which the town can cooperate both locally and regionally to reduce redundancy and to deliver core services more cost effectively.

Bob Coffey, chairman of the Efficiency Committee, outlined the reasons for the need for both the town and school to cooperate and for Newmarket to cooperate with neighboring towns.

“I remember last October a lot of people stopped me and asked me ‘Did you see the tax bills?'” Coffey said. “If nothing is done, it will be tough for anyone to live here. We need to look at the big things, not savings on pencils and paper. If we make big changes, we can stop this.”

Jutton said many New England towns, including Newmarket are clinging to tradition in going it alone and delivering their own services. Jutton said the per capita income of Newmarket is just over $33,000, which is $20,000 lower than the state average, and has the 39th highest tax rate. The good news is that the town has very little debt, around $3 million.

“You have been frugal, but your infrastructure is falling down around (you). My view is that you cannot do for the next 25 years what you have done for the last 25,” Jutton said. “If you do not find a new way of doing business, you will be out of business. You need to find ways to provide the core services in a way that gets the work done but eliminates the duplication, redundancy and takes advantage of the economies of scale.”

Jutton said five years ago he would not say the town could file for bankruptcy, but said that today that Stockton, Calif. filed for bankruptcy and Harrisburg, Penn., the state’s capital, is being taken over by the state Legislature.

“Local government is in places in this country that it has never been before. We made commitments based on assumptions that don’t work. We all assumed our property would increase in value 10 percent every year, but property value in New Hampshire has declined 26 percent over the last four years,” he said.

Jutton commended Superintendent Jim Hayes for his discussion of a school merger or tuitioning Newmarket students to Oyster River School District, and said the town should not do by itself what it can do with others.

“You are too small to be big, and too big to be small,” he said. “You’re located in a great neighborhood. You have small neighbors who could be potential customers, some the same size who you could share services and bigger towns that have huge infrastructures, some cases surplus, who may be able to provide services…; If you try to do it yourself, most of you won’t be here five years from now.”

Jutton highlighted that the town pays for its own dispatch service that it used to share with Newfields and Newmarket, which exited because of the rising cost. N.H. has 91 dispatch centers that all reroute through Concord, and the city of Los Angeles has 1, saying that “no question it’s about jobs.” He also warned against building new facilities, warning that a new school is a 50-year decision that needs to be approached cautiously. Additionally, he said the life of a waste water treatment plant is 20 years, but the pipe connecting to a neighboring town’s facility, or a town connecting to Newmarket has a life span of 75-100 years.

To comply with the Clean Water Act and adhere to fire and life safety codes, the town is considering building a new school, which could be about $50 million, and a new wastewater treatment plant for $12.5 million.

The Town Council and school district discussed Jutton’s advice and received input from residents. Much of it centered around ways that the Efficiency Committee recommended that the school and town can jointly share costs: building maintenance, financial services, health insurance and joint deliberative sessions.

Town Councilor Gary Levy recommended looking at the health insurance, which would save money but not downsize jobs, and to hold town and school deliberative sessions together to encourage participation in the separate forms of government. Councilor John Bentley concurred, saying that there needed to be a low-hanging fruit that the group could pick, in order to get the ball rolling and save money this year.

“I think we need a structural change to our form of government if we want to see any true partnership between the school and town,” said Phil Nazzaro, chairman of the Town Council. “If you really want lasting true change, it needs to be structural and written in the town charter…; we should be looking at ways to have a structured government in the town that allows us to look at things as a community and rather than competing for finite resources, we can look at where we should spend the finite amount of dollars we have.”

Linda Mantegani, a School Board member, said suggested the town bring back the practice of the Town Council and School Board each having a non-voting member, on the other’s board. “I would love the opportunity to have one meeting a month with the Town Council.”

Town Councilor Mike LaBranche said the low hanging fruit is easy, but the town as whole would greatly benefit from the larger steps as quickly as possible, citing resident Tod Berry’s suggestion to join Durham, Newfields or Stratham about sharing water resources.

Nazzaro backed the suggestion of Cliff Chase, School Board chairman, that the town and school should hold joint meetings three times a month.

Citizens attending the Wednesday meeting asked each member of the Town Council and School Board to say out loud their commitment to working together to deliver core services more cost effectively. Some mentioned that the meetings existence proved that, but all agreed out loud.

Chairmans Chase and Nazzaro will be meeting to determine which areas to tackle before they meet next. Town Moderator Clay Mitchell joked that it was an “agenda setting pre-meeting meeting,” but all agreed to its necessity.

“What I can tell you is that you are in the position to be a lead community in N.H. to show what government should be in the 21st century,” Jutton said.

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Guest opinion: Library design reflects Billings history, landscape, changes

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The architectural vision for the new Parmly Billings Library is a sustainable and dynamic pavilion of community pride and iconic presence — a volume of light, transparency, and color that grows from the fabric of the urban streetscape.

The library’s long form speaks to the Rimrocks as well as the long trains that cross Montana’s prairie, connecting people and products across the continent. The library’s architecture is a hybrid of both the handsome and beautifully restored 19th century main train depot on Montana Avenue and the powerful block-long warehouse buildings of brick masonry and metal that serve to shelter the transfer of resources at this point of commerce.

The new library will be a vessel to hold knowledge of the world as we know it. Its story will not only be about what is told on the pages of the books on its shelves, but also about the navigating power of the technology it houses. As a departure platform for the information highway, it connects in every direction with the mere touch of a finger or utterance of a voice.

From foot, bicycle, or car, the library will appear as a warm/cool shimmering and transparent container reflecting the nearby cityscape, landscape and sky. A landscape of native trees, scrubs, and ground covers will create the parking garden and library approach. A community pocket park faces the main entry along the library’s southeast side, while the stone walled courtyard off the library’s meeting room will provide a wind shelter for outdoor events on the first warm days of spring or the last days of summer. A procession of columns and landscaping will buffer the pedestrian from the traffic of Sixth Avenue North. The parking garden will be sustained by water harvested from the library’s roof.

This library will be both familiar and surprising, massive yet minimal, mysteriously cloaked yet transparently ethereal — a form that carries both sunlight and shadow, snow and wind with unexpected reflections and connections to the place. It will be a grand space with a vast window looking into the landscape and the future. It will be a comfortable room with a view in which to learn and to grow, a place to answer a question, plan a trip, discover a career, engage an idea, a place to riff on life as it is or daydream about life as it could be.

All architecture grows from the outside in and the inside out. It grows from listening responsively to the client and context. The most remarkable touchstones of architecture are timeless markers that capture the ideas, vision and spirit of their epoch. They are honest, direct, and original in their celebration of the people they serve and the places they inhabit. As architects, we can never know in our own lifetimes if we have created a building that meets the measure of the timeless. We can only work together as citizens, dreamers, builders, and patrons, to give reality to an architectural landmark that speaks to who we were and who we aspire to be. Let us make the new Parmly Billings Library a resonant marker of our time and this place.

Will Bruder is the lead architect on the new downtown Billings public library. His Arizona-based firm worked on the library design with O2 Architects of Billings.

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European Spallation Source AB: Five architect consortia will compete to design …

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STOCKHOLM, Jun 15, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) —
Five international consortia of architect and landscaping companies will
compete to make the architectural design of buildings and landscape at
the future European Spallation Source research centre.

The ESS, to be built in southern Sweden, will be one of the world’s
largest research facilities when operational in 2019, and an important
hub in European research infrastructure. The architectural design of the
buildings will be vital for the visual impression of the research centre
and for the scientific and technical functions, as well as for the
integration into the surrounding landscape and the future Science
Village.

Therefore, a design contest has been organised with the aim of
developing the best architectural and landscaping ideas for the future
ESS facility. Five international consortia of highly recognised
architect and landscaping companies have now been selected to submit
design proposals:

– Bethem Crouwel, West8, Arup, Mandaworks

– Bjarke Ingels Group, HOK International Limited, Topotek1/man made land

– Foster + Partners, Peter Walker and Partners, Research Facilities
Design, Ramboll Group, Berg/CF Moller Architects

– Henning Larsen Architects A/S, COBE ApS, SLA A/S, NNE Pharmaplan A/S

– Tengbom, Mecanoo Architecten, Buro Happold

– I am impressed with the high quality of the contestants. This is an
exciting step for us. Our ambition is to develop an excellent
architectural design that will reflect values of ESS and its importance
in the European scientific landscape, says Colin Carlile, the ESS
Director-General.

– In the 21st century, large-scale science centres cannot look like
factories or be profligate with energy, but must be built to focus on
sustainability, to create an attractive working atmosphere and to
integrate well into the surroundings.

The contest task consists of developing and presenting design ideas for
the site layout and buildings for the ESS facility, and the surrounding
landscaping. The completed proposals will be submitted on 28 September.
A jury will evaluate the proposals on the basis of several criteria:
architectural design qualities, flexibility, economic and functional
feasibility, safety and sustainability. At the end of October, the
winning design will be announced. It is the intention of the ESS company
to negotiate a post-contest assignment with the winning contestant.

The five consortia have been selected from amongst a total of 23
submitted requests to participate from international consortia of
architect companies by a jury.

ESS IN SHORT:

The European Spallation Source — the next generation facility for
materials research and life science

The European Spallation Source (ESS) will be a multi-disciplinary
research laboratory based on the world’s most powerful neutron source.
ESS can be likened to a large microscope, where neutrons are used
instead of light to study materials — ranging from polymers and
pharmaceuticals to membranes and molecules — to gain knowledge about
their structure and function. ESS will be around 30 times better than
existing facilities, opening up new possibilities for researchers in for
example health, environment, climate, energy, transport sciences and
cultural heritage. ESS is an intergovernmental research infrastructure
project, and it will be built in Lund in southern Scandinavia. Currently
17 European countries are Partners in the ESS project, and will take
part in the construction, financing and operation of the ESS. Sweden and
Denmark will co-host the ESS and cover 50 percent of the 1,4 BEUR
investment costs and 20 percent of the operating costs together with the
Nordic and Baltic states. The European Spallation Source ESS AB is a
public limited company, today owned by the Swedish and the Danish
states. ESS AB is currently working on finalizing the ESS technical
design, planning the future research at ESS, preparing for construction,
and planning the future international ESS organisation. This is done in
collaboration with a large number of research institutes, universities
and laboratories around the world. Construction is expected to start in
2013, the irst neutrons to be produced in 2019 and the facility to be
fully operational around 2025. ESS is expected to support a user
community of at least 5000 European researchers and will have great
strategic importance for the development of the European Research Area.
Near by there will be complementary laboratories, such as the
synchrotron MAX IV in Lund and XFEL and PETRAIII in Hamburg.

This information was brought to you by Cision
http://www.cisionwire.com

SOURCE: European Spallation Source AB



        
        Colin Carlile, ESS Director-General. 
        E-mail colin.carlile@esss.se 
        Tel. 46 46 888 30 33 
        or 
        Marianne Ekdahl, Communications Officer Press  Politics. 
        E-mail marianne.ekdahl@esss.se 
        Tel. 46 46 888 30 66

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LandscapingNetwork.com Focuses on Landscaping Design Ideas with New …

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Spring and summer are optimal seasons to take on new landscaping projects at home. Photo: LandscapingNetwork.com

Landscaping provides an ideal setting for homeowners to express creativity by creating custom gardens, outdoor retreats and entertainment areas.

Calimesa, CA (PRWEB) June 07, 2012

LandscapingNetwork.com, a leading online resource for landscaping information and design ideas, features new landscaping articles weekly on its website covering all aspects of landscaping. From new, weekly landscaping picture and video features to seasonal landscape design trends, and product information, The Landscaping Network is consistently updated with new information for consumers and landscaping professionals.

Landscaping provides an ideal setting for homeowners to express creativity by creating custom gardens, outdoor retreats and entertainment areas. From small backyard sanctuaries to resort-inspired pool areas, and inviting front yard entryways to intimate courtyards, the site’s weekly features guide consumers through a multitude of landscaping options and ideas to gain inspiration from.

While the decision to take on a new landscaping project at home is not one that should be taken lightly, it should remain an enjoyable experience. Landscaping Network is an extensive resource for consumers and professionals, alike, to gather a 360 degree view of the landscape design process, and sort through important questions.

To start, landscaping projects include having to do extensive research to gather design ideas. Next, the homeowner must decide what features, options and amenities their project will include. Finally, the homeowner must choose the right landscaping contractor to take on the project.

Consumers who have gathered ideas, and are ready to take the next step, can go on to find a landscape contractor on Landscaping Network through the site’s online contractor directory.

About LandscapingNetwork.com

http://www.LandscapingNetwork.com works with a team of professional landscape designers and writers to bring together the very best landscaping resources and information available. Homeowners, landscape designers and architects, builders and more can also stay up-to-date through the site’s extensive collection of articles, landscaping photos and videos on landscape design ideas, products and more.

For consumers ready to turn their landscaping design dreams into reality, the site offers an easy-to-use Find a Contractor directory to find local landscape contractors and designers throughout the United States and Canada.

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Amherst residents compile list of improvement ideas

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Town and Amherst County residents have formed a list of dozens of ideas to improve the downtown and other town areas at little, if any, expense.

“This was a very low-key sort of effort,” said Scott Smith, a senior planner for the Local Government Council of Region 2000, who presented the results last week to the Amherst Town Council.

“The Town of Amherst has existing project ideas, documents adopted over the years,” Smith said. So, residents met and arrived at a consensus. Such meetings often are held for deciding projects in towns or whatever particular buildings should look like, he said.

“What this basically was was kind of a little bit of a restart of previous downtown planning,” Smith said. “As opportunities arise … I think the town has been approached by folks who would like to do something but don’t know what to do.”
The ideas are organized into four categories: events, facilities, infrastructure and programs.

Events: The list includes restarting the Amherst Live concert series, a spring cleanup, a downtown health fair, a road race and a welcome-back festival for Sweet Briar College students.

Facilities: Consideration of converting the former Amherst Baptist Church (at Second and Washington streets) into a community arts center; and a community outreach facility, such as renovation or construction of a building as a site for meetings or a farmers market.

Infrastructure: Installation of flower baskets and planters and improving the garden at the Second Street traffic signal; creation of a town square on East Court Street; installation of directional signs; expansion of the mini-park; hanging seasonal banners from utility poles; moving utility poles to behind sidewalks when replacing them; addition of a sidewalk from the traffic circle to the Food Lion shopping center; and addition of plaques identifying the historical significance of various buildings.

Programs: Provide downtown maps and brochures, including a restaurant guide; form a downtown advocacy group; establish architectural guidelines; create a commissioned public art program, in addition to continuing with the town’s ArtMeters project; focus on downtown marketing and creation of a downtown website.

The Town Council approved a survey in April to solicit ideas.

The town hasn’t set aside money for improvement projects but wants to begin the discussion, said Jack Hobbs, the town administrator. The survey wouldn’t necessarily guarantee that a particular idea would be accepted.
Here’s the list of Downtown Amherst project and program ideas:

EVENTS
E-1 Downtown events. Promote more and better downtown events.
E-2 Amherst Live/Concert Series. Concert Series.
E-3 Amherst Day Celebration. Town-wide event with parade, crafters, games, music.
E-4 Dancing Through Amherst. Site Specific Dance and Music program featuring “real dancers” from the Amherst area .
E-5 The Spring Clean. A day of community service around the town of Amherst.
E-6 Summer Sports Spectacular. A partnered event between IRON and the Amherst town and county law enforcement.
E-7 Town of Amherst Cruise-In. Classic cars at Goodwin Court Streets.
E-8 Downtown Health Fair. Courthouse square, festival atmosphere, vendors, services that focus on health and safety.
E-9 Road Race. Bicycle, running, etc.
E-10 Zombie Walk. Zombie Walk event in town.
E-11 Welcome Back Festival. Partner with Sweet Briar College to host annual “welcome back” festival downtown for students.

PROGRAMS
P-1 Downtown Maps Brochures. Develop brochures and maps.
P-2 Coopeerative Advertising. Cooperative advertising programs for the downtown merchants.
P-3 Downtown Advocacy Group. Form group whose purpose would be to promote and advocate downtown Amherst.
P-4 Architectural standards. Develop suggested architectural guidelines for signs and storefronts.
P-5 ArtMeters. Maintain and improve the ArtMeter program.
P-6 American Flags. Maintain and improve the American Flag program.
P-7 Door decorations. Promote door decoration on holidays.
P-8 Farmers Market. Develop a farmers market.
P-9 Restaurant Guide. Organize menus for all of the town’s restaurants in one place, either in print or online with schedule.
P-10 Commissioned Public Art Project. A piece of public art would be proposed by a number of visual artists for the site chosen.
P-11 Windows on History. National Art Society students to paint 8 windows on the 2nd Street façade of the Goodwin Building.
P-12 Amherst Historic District. Create a State/National (not local with all the rules) Historic District in Amherst.
P-13 Amherst Student Art Program. Engage H.S. students each summer to complete a beautification project/public art project.
P-14 AmherstInteragency Council. Participants would be reps from area service and civic agencies to share ideas and resources.
P-15 Historic Walking Tour Brochure. Brochure giving history of town and buildings.
P-16 Enterprise Zone. Pursue Enterprise Zone designation w/ County.
P-17 Sister City. Establish Sister City with Auvillar, France.
P-18 Downtown Marketing. Educational/Public Relations Strategy.
P-19 Downtown Website. Create a downtown website.

INFRASTRUCTURE
I-1 Traffic light Flower Garden. Improve the flower garden under the traffic light.
I-2 Support the Village Garden Club. Support/maintain/improve landscaping in the MiniPark, museum, post office and traffic circle.
I-3 Street trees. Encourage the planting of street trees.
I-4 More downtown flower pots. Install more flower planters in front of merchant shops on Main Street.
I-5 Hanging baskets. Install hanging baskets with flowers on utility poles.
I-6 Municipal parking. Improve the parking lot off Kent Street.
I-7 Bike Racks. Install bike racks along Main Street.
I-8 Town Square. Install the Town Square project on E. Court Street.
I-9 Wayfinding Install. Wayfinding signage.
I-10 Banners. Move the S. Main Street banner away from the downtown power lines.
I-11 Christmas Decorations Wiring. Replace wiring for ChrIstmas decorations.
I-12 MiniPark Expansion. Expand the MiniPark to include the S. Main/E. Court/Goodwin/2nd St. Block
I-13 Street Sweeping. Increase the frequency of street sweeping.
I-14 Trash Cans. Install more/better waste receptacles along S. Main Street.
I-15 Utility Pole Banners. Hang seasonal banners from utility poles
I-16 Underground power lines. Bury or move overhead utility lines.
I-17 Power pole relocation. Moving the power pole at the corner of W. Court Street Mt. Olive Road.
I-18 Move utility poles off sidewalk. Have APCO and Verizon move utility poles to behind the sidewalk when replacing them.
I-19 Crosswalk Study/Improvement. Evaluate locations and improve crosswalks.
I-20 U.S. 60 Sidewalk. Install a sidewalk along U.S. 60 from the traffic circle to Mountain View Shopplng Center.
I-21 Traffic Circle Sidewalks. Install pedestrian improvements in the area around the traffic circle.
I-22 Downtown Sidewalk Repair. Fix patchwork sidewalk between W. Court Street and the traffic light.
I-23 Gutter Repairs. Fix broken up concrete gutter pans and entrances along N.Main Street.
I-24 Community Park. Park with picnic tables, ball field, playground, grass, etc.
I-25 Gateways. Improve gateways and physical connectivity to districts outside the core downtown.
I-26 Infill Development. Identify opportunities for new infill development and redevelopment in and around downtown.
I-27 Historic Building Plaque. Plaques with historical information on/in front of buildings.

FACILITIES
F-1 Amherst Community Arts Center. Amherst Baptist Church.
F-2 Community Outreach Facility. Town build/renovate a building and site for meetings, farmers market, etc.
F-3 Establish YMCA. Or community access to Sweet Briar College gym.

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