The landscaping ideas to be found on Pinterest are almost endless, but there are some photos that are pinned over and over. Here are more of the most popular designs on the photo sharing social site.

Click on images to see larger versions.

Hardscapes are just as important as the plants that accompany them. This herringbone pattern walkway was a favorite of 771 Pinterest users.

 

From Drummers Garden Center Floral, take a look at this corner landscape design. Have you thought of pinning landscape designs? Almost 200 users have pinned this to their boards.

 

Outdoor rooms, like this one, are hot. The fire pit is an inviting centerpiece of this backyard.

Check out the water features and fireplace in this outdoor room. This photo has been pinned 176 times by Pinterest users.

 

 

Traditional is still popular. This more understated backyard landscaping was appealing to 130 Pinterest users.

 

A modern take on a landscape staple, look at these bushes arranged in a checkerboard pattern in this landscape. More than 60 Pinterest users liked it.

 

Incorporating stones and crotons, this landscaping idea was saved by more than 200 users.

 

Combining several elements, this cozy outdoor room with raised beds is also a favorite of more than 200 Pinterest users.

 

A batch of empty newspaper and apartment guide boxes sit on Norfolk Avenue, with a tattered Gazette edition from 2007 as the only outward sign the vending machines were ever used.

As residents, business owners and local officials begin a visioning process for the future of downtown Bethesda, one minor but consistent gripe has been the boxes, viewed by many as needless clutter in the age of online publishing and declining print newspaper sales.

“Sometimes we have some stragglers,” said Tim Gibson, distribution director for The Washington Examiner, which closed its local news section in June.

Gibson said his staff picked up about 700 boxes in Maryland and Virginia throughout the summer and that there shouldn’t be any more boxes in Bethesda. We found one on St Elmo Avenue, in a batch of other empty boxes including one from the financially troubled Washington Times.

At the corner of Norfolk and Cordell Avenues is another batch of boxes, one from The Gazette business paper with a lead story titled “How the Deal Fell Apart,” published April 13, 2007. Another Gazette business paper box across from the Lionsgate condominium on Woodmont Avenue features the same edition.

Jean Casey, circulation and marketing director for The Gazette, said the weekly local paper relies on its delivery personnel and residents to call in unused boxes that need to be repaired, replaced or picked up. A freshly stocked Gazette box sits near Veterans Park, just two blocks from the long unused boxes at Norfolk and Cordell.

Casey said a manager will go out Thursday to investigate and make necessary changes.

Responsibility for picking up or repairing unused boxes falls to the publishers of those products. Jeff Burton, deputy executive director of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, said he works with the Washington Post legal staff to coordinate pick-ups or repairs for unused or broken boxes.

A Washington Post spokesperson said the company generally doesn’t keep boxes on the street it isn’t servicing those boxes and will respond if any unused boxes are flagged.

Of equal concern are the various “Apartment Showcase” and other free rental publication boxes that line the streets. Apartment Showcase is a publication of The Washington Post.

During the last monthly meeting of the Woodmont Triangle Action Committee a group of residents, business leaders and county officials brainstormed a list of successes, challenges, opportunities and threats for downtown Bethesda.

Among the ideas were cost-of-living, the perception that it’s hard to park, the lack of recreation space and those empty newspaper boxes.

At an Advisory Board meeting on Monday, Bethesda Urban Partnership Executive Director said he still gets complaints about the boxes. The nonprofit’s board has discussed the issue.

The Partnership is funded by the county to maintain the appearance of downtown Bethesda through landscaping, trash clean-up and other means.

Since his paper downsized, Gibson said his distribution staff has been real careful not to leave any boxes behind.

“When we were a newspaper and had local news, we actually had a great pick-up rate, because we are free. We tracked returns so we didn’t have any problems with boxes being empty or overflowing. That’s how in the past we used to do things,” Gibson said. “It’s just the nature of distribution. Having empty boxes on the street, first off, it’s a cost to us. We can use them in other places. It’s all money.”

The Barrow County Chamber of Commerce asked candidates running for contested races in the Cities of Winder and Auburn to submit their comments from questions asked by the Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Committee.

To follow are the Winder city council candidates unedited responses to those questions. Incumbent Bob Dixon is facing off against Lorin Sinn-Clark and Nicole Tobias.

The Barrow County News will run candidate QAs with Bethlehem and Auburn candidates in its Sunday edition.

1.) What’s your position on implementing a city tax to cover any increased costs at the local level?

Robert “Bob” Dixon – A city tax is not needed. We have re-organized city government, and have it running like a $30 million business. We have made several million dollars in improvements over the past 20 month, and our cash reserve has gone from $8 milion to $11 million dollars. I can make the tough decisions, but I don’t’ foresee a need for a city tax in the near future. I plan to help keep it that way. The fire tax roll back issue on city property owners will hopefully be corrected in the near future with the evaluation of service delivery discussions.

 

Nicole Tobias – I am always against a tax increase as a first or primary means of raising funds. I believe that before a tax increase should be considered, a greater analysis of the current spending of the City Council is necessary! At the last City Council meeting $30,000 was approved for the library so they would not need to close on Friday and Saturday mornings. Very little discussion was had about that expenditure, and there was NO talk about the current budget and whether or not that money was available. In addition, the Mayor made an excellent point in stating that a larger conversation needed to be had between the Council and the library administration because they library couldn’t expect to

Come to the Council annually for money to allow their business to stay in operation, but that didn’t stop a unanimous vote affirming the distribution of the $30,000 in addition to their already budgeted $100,000. In the months prior to the September meeting, the Council approved a $58,000 expenditure to purchase a digital sign that currently lists the date, temperature, and photos of the current Councilmen. Is this the best use of the City’s money? And then there is the golf course. The purchase of the golf course is a huge expense to the city,and for what gain? Perhaps it is fun to play golf, but who in the City knows how to manage a golf course? I think we will have to wait and see who is placed in the key positions of the course and “follow the money” as they say.

When it comes to technology purchases, the City has a habit of borrowing money on a longterm basis. I understand the temptation of doing this, as the payments are stretched over time, but the City continues to pay for the loan long after the technology is outdated.

Finally, I don’t think that it is any coincidence that the Barrow County Commissioners raised the millage rate for Winder as the City of Winder continues to allow properties to be annexed into City limits. The County needs to make money to operate, just like the City does. Perhaps the Council should have analyzed the longterm effects of annexing property into the City before blindly allowing it, one property after another. This annexation stretches the services the City has to provide, from police to EMS and beyond. Ultimately, all of the citizens of Winder will pay more as a consequence to too little homework being done and too few questions being asked on the front end.

But that is the trouble, isn’t it? That the Council makes decisions without all of the information or analysis of the consequences of the decision before it is made.

In addition to being more conservative in spending, I would want to explore cutting unnecessary costs, putting expensive goods and services out to bid to determine if more cost effective options were available, and determining if the expense was truly a needed one.

There are also many other borrowing options, ways to share expenses with taxpayers, grant opportunities, and partnerships with local industry that could be explored. While I am not an expert in this area, there are ways to research these options, and the City Administrator should be trained, through his education and experience, to help find this information. It is incumbent on the City Administrator, the Mayor, and the City Council to do the research, to know the facts, to collect and analyze the information, and to think about the benefits and consequences to the City and its residents from a much more strategic and long—range perspective. As a member of the Council, these are the kinds of things I would be thinking and asking about!

If all other means of collecting or raising funds have been exhausted and a tax increase is being considered, multiple opportunities for citizen input need to be offered and their opinions need to be taken into consideration. Communities are created by and FOR the people within them. A community that runs efficiently and effectively requires informing the citizenry and building buy—in among them.

 

Lorin Sinn-Clark – I am vehemently opposed to implementing a city tax. The recent purchase of the Chimneys Golf Course – to date $923,000 spent ($600,000 purchase price, $150,000 operating costs, $160,000 landscaping equipment, $13,000 three-year radio contract to operate irrigation equipment) – would seem to indicate that the city is not hurting financially, so it is unclear why such a tax would be needed or suggested.

 

2.) Why do you feel you are the best candidate for the City of Winder?

Robert “Bob” Dixon – I am the best qualified for the At-Large post on the Winder City Council. I have the business experience having retired from a top 500 corporation, as well as having been chairman for 3 terms on the Barrow County Board of Education. This have given me a lot of experience in building budgets. I sincerely love this city, and want Winder to continue to prosper.

 

Nicole Tobias – There are several reasons why I am running for and believe I am the best candidate for the Winder City Council. To begin, I would add diversity to the Council by adding a woman’s perspective, bringing a different educational and professional background to the Council, and being able to bring the perspective of a different age population than is currently represented on the Council. In addition, I have significant experience serving on boards and councils, I am analytical, reliable, responsible, a problemsolver, I do what I say I will do, I am an effective and efficient administrator, and I have experience managing crisis situations. I am used to working with diverse groups of people and creating results. Most importantly, perhaps, is that I have not lived in Winder for a majority of my life. Many citizens in the City are clamoring for change in the City Council. Having lived in other places, paired with my professional and educational experiences and training, make me uniquely qualified to serve on the Winder City Council and raise the questions and suggestions that have not been in the past. I am not part of the deep—rooted traditional politics that seem to exist in pockets in Winder. I have an energy and determination that produces results and I care very much about the people I work with and for. If you would like to learn more about my professional or educational experiences, please feel free to email me, or to review my campaign Facebook page by searching “Nicole Tobias Winder City Council.”

I welcome the opportunity to discuss and debate issues with others with the hopes of educating one another and creating the best plan to move the issue and the City forward.

 

Lorin Sinn-Clark – I offer a new voice, fresh perspective and a level of enthusiasm and energy that can help the council face current and future challenges in ways that may not have been considered in the past.

During my 24 years in Winder, I have gotten to know and love this community. Reporting for two local newspapers over a nine year period gave me a solid understanding of the “ins and outs” of not only our governing bodies, but also our schools, civic clubs, service organizations and the things that concern citizens. We live in a home in Winder’s historic district that was condemned when we bought it. Restoring and maintaining it has not been easy or inexpensive. We have a stake in Winder’s history and preservation of that is important to me. Volunteering, initially in my children’s schools, later as a student mentor, and currently in animal rescue work, efforts to feed the hungry and events to support historic preservation, has introduced me to a wide range of people who care about Winder and have ideas and energy to offer. As a city councilman, I pledge to listen to those ideas, discuss them and bring them into the light. I am tired of hearing things like “nothing ever changes in Winder,” or “it’s not who you are, but who you know.” Winder is a good place to live, work, raise a family and retire. Improvement is always possible and new ideas and new perspectives are useful tools.

My pledge is to listen…think…respect…and serve the citizens of Winder with a high level of approachability and humility. I have a servant’s heart, a bright mind and the ability to lead. As a councilman, I will meet the citizens where they are, rather than expect them to come to committee meetings and work sessions in order to know what their city is doing, how city funds are being spent, etc. I will also support city employees and emergency workers, doing all that I can to be sure they have what they need to best serve the citizens, fight crime and keep us safe.

In terms of age, outlook, experience, wisdom and perspective, I am midway between the incumbent and the other challenger. I believe the unique tone and useful balance I can offer to the council may be just what Winder needs right now.

 

3.) What do you see is your role in city council in economic development, to support and grow business?

Robert “Bob” Dixon – I promoted and pushed for the DDA, through the city , to hire a full time director. This has led to the promotion of Friday and Saturday night activities to bring people downtown. They city has implemented a %5,000 fire line discount, and the city/DDA are jointly working on an “opportunity zone” project that will offer tax credits to new and existing businesses that meets specific requirements. We are constantly working on ways to promote business.

 

Nicole Tobias – I believe that it is the City Council’s role to help recruit business to the area; to be honest, fair, and up front in policy and decision making that affects local business; to be fair and equitable in the treatment of those businesses; to help advertise their events through a local/community calendar; to support the business by attending their events and purchasing their goods and services; and to involve business owners and leaders in the conversation and listen to them so we can use their input with sincere and genuine consideration.

 

I also believe strongly that we need to find ways to provide small business owners opportunities for professional development, teaching and training, and mentorship. There are a lot of people in this area with significant experience in owning businesses, supervising staff, managing finances, marketing/advertising, legal affairs, and working with the local government. I am sure that some of them would be happy to serve as presenters to new or incoming business owners and leaders and that some would even consider serving as mentors to those same owners and leaders. The City Council can help to find and recruit a cadre of people with these skill and are willing to share their expertise and their own personal stories. People who have overcome the struggles that some new business owners and operators face could be infinitely helpful for the newcomers and could help them navigate the systems and processes. The City Council can also help to create a calendar of these talks, panel discussions, training sessions, etc. in an attempt to help small businesses to be successful in Winder, and especially downtown.

 

Lorin Sinn-Clark – Winder needs to be a “business friendly” city and I am hearing from some business owners it is not. That needs to be looked at and if necessary, changed. “Business friendly,” however, does not mean gutting city ordinances or simply not enforcing them. It means crafting ordinances that make sense, are not excessive, and then enforcing them equally and fairly. The council has an obvious role in this.

Winder needs to support the businesses that are here and work hard to help new businesses not just survive but thrive. That could be done through a variety of steps the council could take, including exploring what kinds of incentives could be offered for locating in Winder, seeking grant funding to improve the city’s “face” and working closely with the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and the Chamber of Commerce to actively recruit retirees to relocate to Winder. Those retirees could provide the needed “tipping point” income and spending-wise that could allow small businesses in downtown Winder to thrive again.

The city council can also continue to and/or increase support for adult education, the schools and local apprenticeship programs. Businesses look at education quality and an educated workforce when considering locating in Winder or Barrow County.

 

4.) Do you feel local government supports economic development adequately, and should there be more or less than what is currently being done?

Robert “Bob” Dixon – No, local government does not support economic development adequately. This is an area that needs to be enhanced county wide. The city of Winder has done a decent job with their infrastructure of water, sewage, gas and has had moderate success. For example, the Barrow Crossings area has been able to grow, and Trinity Rail’s request for an enhanced natural gas supply was met within 90 days without major issues. The city is optimistic in expanding our raw water source through a revised program with Fort Yargo. When completed, this could meet our water needs for the next 30-40 years. This should encourage industry to consider Winder for new or expanded growth.

 

Nicole Tobias – The city of Winder, at large, seems to be growing and thriving overall. But there is a clear need for more support of local business in the downtown and on May Street as there are dozens of vacant buildings and too many businesses that come and are not able to survive in Winder.

It is incumbent upon the local government to complete assessments to determine why businesses are unable to come to the City, or why they aren’t able to survive and thrive when they do come. With these assessment results, the local government along with local business and community leaders need to come together to create responses and action plans to respond to and help mitigate the reasons why so many businesses are unsuccessful in the area.

One response could be teachings, trainings and mentoring like mentioned in question #3 above.

 

Lorin Sinn-Clark – There is always more that can be done.

It is my understanding that the city council pushed for the creation of the full-time DDA director’s position, which is a good thing. The city also funds the DDA with $77,000 annually. I am unfamiliar with other areas of city funding specifically to aid economic growth, but I believe the city also partially funds Choose Barrow, which does some effective marketing of our county.

Funding of economic development is important, but when city funds are spent a level of accountability has to be adhered to. A working partnership between the city council, the DDA, the Chamber, Choose Barrow, etc. needs to be prioritized and efforts to market Winder need to be proven effective as city funds are allocated

 

5.) How can we “get on the same page” to work for a common goal, and who should set that goal?

Robert “Bob” Dixon – A complex question for a city council race, but the answer is leadership. The building authority, the municipalities, the county government and the chamber must come together to develop a plan and set goals. A worthy undertaking.

Nicole Tobias – I called and left a message with Mr. Jennings to ask who the “we” is in this question. His response was that it is the City Council, the citizens, the Chamber, business owners, the County Commission, etc.

While I am not running to become an officer of the county, I do see how the City needs to work with the county and with the businesses and organizations within Winder in order for the City and the Council to be as effective as possible.

This is certainly one of the most important, and most complicated questions facing everyone in Winder.

It is from this lens that I will respond to the question. It seems to me that there could be quarterly meetings of the key and influential leadership in the City to compare the visions and strategic plans for the City, the County, the Chambe

Of Commerce, etc. to determine where there are similar hopes for the future and where there are differences in goals. It would also be useful to determine where there might be overlap in services offered or competing initiatives.

This would require that the membership be composed of those people who are able to work effectively together and would require a facilitator for the conversations that does not have a vested interest in the outcome. There are consultants who do this work regularly, and grants that can cover the expense of it. It may sound like a daunting task, but it is the only way to determine if the key players are moving in a similar direction or if groups are working against one another.

As in most situations, agencies and organizations within the City can always be more transparent, open, and frequent in their communications with one another and the citizens of Winder. Very little of the work being done by the City, the county or the Chamber would be considered confidential or would be excluded from the Open Records Act, so those groups should not be hesitant to have honest and open conversations.

I am not of the belief that any one person or agency has the authority, capacity, mission or task of getting the collective “we” on the same page, but together we can determine the vision for the city and the community we live in and a variety of perspectives should be taken into consideration when determining this. Clearly these groups need to obey the law, follow the rules and processes of the law, and manage crisis situations as they arise, but outside of that there is a lot of room for discussion, negotiation, and brainstorming in order to come up with action plans and decision making that is better than it might have been with only one entity working on it.

Lorin Sinn-Clark – “Getting on the same page” implies cooperation, teamwork and open communication. This sets the stage for the setting of common goals, which then can be met with continued cooperation, teamwork and open communication.

While I believe the various “players” in our community share common goals, it is not clear that the various bodies cooperate with and support each other as effectively and enthusiastically as they could. As a councilman, I would work to be sure the city council, city administrators, city departments, the DDA, the Chamber, the Barrow County Board of Commissioners, the school system and other invested parties actively support each other’s endeavors. I would also do all that I could to help ensure that common goals are clarified and worked towards in a steady and unified manner.

Obviously, as a Winder City councilman, what’s best for Winder would be my priority, but sometimes what’s best for Winder in the short term is not what’s best for Winder in the long run. I would endeavor to consider both perspectives in dealing with current and future challenges.

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The Muppets’ Kermit the Frog is famous for singing, “It’s not easy being green.” Perhaps he is feeling better about that color after a landscape architecture grant awarded to the city of Leland.

Mississippi State University was recently recognized by a $25,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant benefitting the city of Leland.

Officials with the university’s landscape architecture program and John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development collaborated with counterparts in the Washington County municipality and its Jim Henson Museum to apply for an “Our Town” grant.

Joan Shigekaw, NEA acting chair, said these awards fund community projects designed to improve quality of life through creative placemaking. The grant will be used to develop the Jim Henson Creative Park, to be located along the shores of Deer Creek where the Muppets creator may have first imagined Kermit the Frog.

Joe Fratesi, Stennis project director; Jeremy Murdock, Stennis research associate; and Taze Fulford, MSU associate professor of landscape architecture, were instrumental in securing the selective grant. Of the 59 awarded communities, Leland is the only one in Mississippi and one of just seven first-time grantees with populations under 5,000.

“Being the land-grant institution that we are, it is our mission and our privilege to work with Leland and offer assistance in landscape architecture and community planning,” Fratesi said. “That expertise, combined with the institute’s ability to identify what resources the university can provide, is just another good example of the university engaging the community.”

MSU faculty and administrators have forged a long-term partnership with Leland leaders, he explained. After Stennis representatives completed a community assessment in 2012, Fratesi and Murdock invited Fulford’s landscape architecture design studio to assist the community by addressing the design-related challenges the assessment identified.

The students toured the community and developed ideas for a master plan. Students focused plans on the site along Deer Creek, and their emphasis on that area inspired Fratesi, Fulford and Murdock to apply for the grant, Fratesi said.

“When the students got there, they just sat down and started sketching ideas along the creek,” Fulford said. “They really fell in love with the site and came up with a lot of different types of design, from geometric to organic forms. The more we looked at the site, the more we all realized the creek is the lynchpin.”

Deer Creek is the center of Leland, Murdock said. Not only is the Jim Henson Museum nearby, a school is also quite close. Additionally, a floating Christmas parade has been held on Deer Creek for more than 45 years, and many residents fish there.
“Deer Creek links the entire town, and it’s the best spot for a community space–a space they can use and enjoy while creating a city-wide amenity,” he said.

Fulford said he is excited about the site’s potential to become an ecological park, which informs residents and other park visitors about the need to protect water.

“It’s going to be a great place, right in the heart of the community, to teach about why we need to protect water,” he said.

MSU’s long-term collaboration with Leland is special, Murdock said, because the residents there are invested in improving their community.

“There’s passion in Leland; people there know they can make a difference,” Fulford agreed. “They want to see their community improve, and when we find those little spaces that want to be special, that’s where we spend our effort.”

Fulford, Fratesi and Murdock recruited 1986 MSU alumnus Robert Poore, landscape architect, to develop a design for the Jim Henson Creative Park, Fratesi said. Poore is a principal of Native Habitats, a Flora-based landscape architecture firm.

Because community input will be critical, a series of design charettes, or collaborative planning sessions, will be held to establish the community’s vision for the park, Fulford said. Once the design is finalized, Fratesi and Murdock will assist Leland leaders in developing an implementation strategy.

Fratesi said the city already has set aside some money to supplement the grant award, but more will need to be raised.

Park features will include pathways, seating and a feature piece of art, he said. Also, an abandoned city-owned building could become an additional exhibit space for the Henson Museum.

“This project is about teaching and learning through research and service,” Fratesi said. “It’s all about making Leland a better place and making a difference.

“All of us want to see Mississippi communities succeed, and this has been another great project that’s making that happen.”

Two people walk by an example of a positive visual element of downtown Mount Airy Tuesday afternoon, a mural on a wall near the Franklin Street public…

It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, which could describe a project under way by a local group to highlight good and bad appearance elements of Mount Airy’s central business district.

“Picture Downtown” has been launched by Mount Airy Downtown Inc. — an organization that recently replaced Downtown Mount Airy Inc. — as part of a visioning process that coincides with the city recently rejoining the North Carolina Main Street Program.

Lizzie Morrison, Main Street coordinator, has sought to recruit 36 local citizens to take photographs of various design elements within designated boundaries of the downtown area. Participants are asked to document a total of nine elements they either like or dislike, in preparation for an upcoming meeting geared toward downtown revitalization.

The Downtown Mount Airy Community Economic Vision 2018 Forum will be held on Nov. 19 at Mount Airy Museum of Regional History from 6:30 to 9 p.m. It will provide stake-holders including residents, business owners, property owners and community leaders an opportunity to participate in shaping long-range plans for the central business district.

That includes its appearance, Morrison said, with the photos now being taken to be a key part of the Nov. 19 session.

“They’ll serve as talking points, so they’ll be at the entrance of the meeting,” she explained.

This will provide meeting participants a visual display of various aesthetic elements that should be preserved, or perpetuated, as well as those which should be corrected or eliminated. At the same time, new ideas could emerge, Morrison added.

The design elements can include such features as buildings, alleyways, signs, trees, streetlights, benches, sidewalks, natural areas and others.

Murals And More

As an example gleaned from the pictures turned in so far, the coordinator said one photographer submitted a scene of a bare wall to make the case that it would be “a great place” for a mural, she said.

Morrison, who began work on July 1 and has a background in art, has said more public art, such as sculptures as well as murals, is one way to enhance the appearance of downtown Mount Airy. That would be in addition to traditional steps such as storefront and landscaping improvements.

The “Picture Downtown” project has met with enthusiasm from the 36 citizens initially selected to participate in the project, Morrison said.

“I haven’t heard back from everyone I’ve reached out to, but I’ve gotten a pretty good response,” she said, which includes about 20 people so far.

Anyone else who would like to participate can contact Morrison at 786-4511 for further instructions.

The photographs must be submitted by Nov. 12 in order to be printed in time for the Nov. 19 meeting, where they will be displayed anonymously.

Vision Is Goal

The objective of the Nov. 19 meeting is the development of a vision statement for the next five years for downtown Mount Airy.

Many agree that the city’s central business district presently is thriving, but that a more-organized approach is needed to sustain its vitality in the future and remain competitive with other cities — including doing a better job of branding itself.

That was among the reasons for Mount Airy rejoining the North Carolina Main Street Program, which it initially became part of in the 1980s before later withdrawing. More than 60 communities were participating in the initiative at last report.

The state program is designed to stimulate economic development within the context of historic preservation. This is accomplished through a comprehensive four-point approach to downtown revitalization developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and used by the National Trust Main Street Center to assist communities across the country.

By rejoining the program, Mount Airy can receive technical assistance, program guidance, networking opportunities with other communities and additional services.

The Nov. 19 meeting at the museum seeks a broad spectrum of community representation in shaping long-range plans for downtown Mount Airy. In addition to business or property owners, this can include arts and cultural groups, the educational community, civic organizations, city public works and safety officials, real estate agents, bankers and anyone else with a stake or interest in the situation.

Participants will break into small groups to identify strengths and weaknesses and offer suggestions about what they would like to see downtown Mount Airy become on a long-term basis.

Reach Tom Joyce at 719-1924 or tjoyce@civitasmedia.com.

Traditionally the Midwest has come up with more good business ideas than venture capital funding to support them. Billionaire J.B. Pritzker hopes to help change that, and he took a small step in that direction Tuesday by announcing a $45 million investment in SMS Assist, a Chicago-based company that uses technology to match gritty blue collar workers with Fortune 500 companies who need their services.

Together with a $17 million investment two years ago, J.B. Pritzker and his brother Tony now have $62 million behind SMS Assist, most of any of their venture investments.

“Companies who are in the Midwest are flying out to the coasts because they need to find capital,” said J.B. Pritzker. “We are stepping into, if not a void or vacuum, we’re stepping into a space you’ve identified where there’s real opportunity.”

The Pritzkers still have more venture money invested outside of the Midwest than in it. A quarter of their investments is in Silicon Valley, 30% is in the Midwest and 45% is dispersed throughout the rest of the country. Their future investments will also be spread throughout the country, J.B. Pritzker said. But compared to other venture capitalists, the Pritzkers’ money is more likely to end up at companies in the Midwest.

The Midwest has produced about 18% of the country’s patents in the last five years, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. But only about 7% of the nation’s venture capital has gone to the region, according to PriceWaterhouse Coopers. That gap suggests that Midwesterners are starting fewer businesses not because they don’t have good ideas but because they don’t have rich investors near them who will support those ideas.

One investment won’t do much to close that gap, but the Pritzker brothers are just the sort of people the region needs. As two of 11 heirs to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, they are worth an estimated $3 billion (as of September), and they fund their Pritzker Group Venture Capital out of their own pocket.

The Pritzkers changed the name of their group from New World Ventures to Pritzker Group Venture Capital a week ago. Along with the name change, they also announced that would be add more companies in the pre-IPO stage to a portfolio that had previously focused on early-stage ventures.

That’s encouraging news for entrepreneurs in the Midwest, who can often raise early funds close to home but have to head to New York or Silicon Valley for later rounds of capital.

“This is a great example of the larger, later stage investing that we’re adding on to what we’ve traditionally done,” J.B. Pritzker said. “The company is doing extremely well.”

SMS Assist is an old school, hands-dirty business with a digital age twist. Traditionally, Fortune 500 companies have local store managers hire contractors to do the dirty work at their facilities, like landscaping, window cleaning and snow plowing. But SMS Assist signs massive contracts with Fortune 500 companies, some of which total over $100 million, to handle companies’ maintenance needs around the country.

SMS Assist also works with local contractors, offering them jobs at several different stores that are close to one another. The workers get an efficient way to pick up jobs, and the Fortune 500 companies save 10-20% on maintenance costs while getting to pass on the worry about who’s going to shovel their parking lots and clean their floors.

It’s all managed through an online program that allows workers to find jobs and businesses to see where they are spending money on maintenance. SMS Assist has 220 employees in Chicago, another 120 in northwestern Indiana and a team of computer programmers in China.

“You wouldn’t think a facility maintenance company would have 75 IT code writers,” said Michael Rothman, CEO of SMS Assist. “That’s our secret sauce, is our ability to code so quickly.”

The computer platform has allowed the company to expand quickly without too many growing pains. It now works with 28,000 contractors and does maintenance for 50,000 facilities owned by about 50 corporations like Best Buy and Office Depot. The company had roughly $2 million in sales when Rothman bought it from his brother in 2003. Over the last five years, it has grown at an average annual rate of about 80%. This year, it will have revenues of nearly a quarter billion dollars. In three or four years, Rothman expects to be running a billion-dollar operation.

But in order to do that, he needed some extra capital in the short term. Fortunately for him, he already had a prior investor eager to bet more on the company.

“A lot of people saw us as sort of a local, Midwest thing,” Rothman said. “The Pritzker Group is building an ecosystem in Chicago-for jobs in Chicago because this is J.B.’s passion-and they’re trying to compete with Silicon Valley and the East Coast.”

Roads

Notes from Seattle: Neighborhood greenways

by Dan Reed   •   October 21, 2013 12:48 pm

Several GGW editors and contributors are in Seattle this week for the Railvolution conference. While there, they’ll offer a series of short posts about their experiences.

Seattle residents were sick of speeding cut-through traffic on neighborhood streets. In response, the city is creating a network of “neighborhood greenways” designed to slow drivers and make it safer to get around by foot or bike.

A cyclist and a driver navigate a roundabout on a “neighborhood greenway” in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. All photos by the author.

Neighborhood greenways are sort of a carrot and stick approach: speed bumps, physical diverters and small roundabouts at each intersection slow drivers down, discouraging them from cutting through the neighborhood, or at least encouraging them to drive more carefully.

Meanwhile, improved sidewalks and marked crosswalks make it easier and safer to walk. Bike lanes and sharrows, or shared lanes, give cyclists a safer ride as well. And all of those roundabouts and bumpouts are great places for landscaping, putting the “green” in “neighborhood greenway.”

Seattle first got the idea from Portland, which pioneered the neighborhood greenway a few years ago. The city has completed neighborhood greenways in two communities, including Wallingford, where I’m staying this week.

There are nine additional greenways elsewhere in the city in various stages of planning and construction. Residents are big fans of the project, and have even started a citywide advocacy group to identify potential greenways and push for them.

Ellsworth Drive in Silver Spring is closed to through traffic, but lacks amenities for walkers and cyclists.

If the neighborhood greenway is a carrot and stick, traffic calming in the DC area is often just the stick. Hearing complaints from neighborhoods abutting commercial districts, local departments of transportation often respond by closing streets off entirely. This creates “fake cul-de-sacs” that not only push through traffic to main streets, but sometimes local trips as well.

But unlike neighborhood greenways, these treatments don’t always come with pedestrian and bicycle improvements. In Bethesda, where Montgomery County’s department of transportation limits access to several streets around downtown, parents say they can’t safely walk their kids to school because of too-narrow sidewalks, poorly-timed stoplights, and a lack of crosswalks.

Speeding drivers and cut-through traffic can be a safety hazard, especially on narrow residential streets. But the answer isn’t simply to keep them out, as some neighborhoods seek to do. By making it easier to get around without a car, neighborhood greenways create more transportation choices and make the street a more welcoming place for all.

Dan Reed is the associate editor of GGW. A planner and architect by training, he also works for the Friends of White Flint, writes his own blog, Just Up the Pike, and serves as the Land Use Chair for the Action Committee for Transit. Dan lives in downtown Silver Spring. 

The $180 million expansion to Akron Children’s Hospital is ahead of schedule and under budget.

The seven-story addition to the downtown hospital campus is now expected to be finished Feb. 20, 2015 — two months earlier than originally planned, said Grace Wakulchik, the hospital’s chief operating officer

“And we’re hoping it will be earlier than that,” she said.

Wakulchik estimates the hospital saves about $7,500 in construction costs for each day early the project is complete.

Children’s broke ground this spring on the 368,735-square-foot addition, which will house a new emergency department, outpatient surgery center and 100-bed neonatal intensive-care unit, as well as a new unit for high-risk labor and deliveries.

The hospital expects to add 175 to 200 new employees, including doctors, support staff, respiratory therapists, environmental services and others, when the addition is complete.

The first phase — a six-level parking garage off West Exchange Street — opened to employees last month, said Stephen Powell, onsite program manager for KLMK Group, the owner representative for the construction project. The garage will be used for patient families and visitors when the new tower opens.

The portion of Locust Street between Cedar and Exchange streets that has been closed while the parking garage was built is scheduled to open mid-November after minor work and landscaping is complete, Powell said.

The total construction cost for the parking garage is still being finalized but appears to be $500,000 to $1 million less than the $20 million budget, he said.

Work will continue through winter with the help of snow blankets to cover new concrete and other construction areas, said Nick Loughrin, production manager for the Boldt Co., which is heading the construction with Welty Building Co.

The seven-story building should be “topped out” by spring, he said.

About 120 construction workers are at the site, with another 130 expected as the project moves forward, said Patrick Oaks, project executive and president of Welty Facility Services Group. About 87 percent of the workers are from northern Ohio.

To encourage a focus on safety and efficiency, construction workers are receiving reward decals with the Children’s Hospital “bambino” logo to put on their hard hats for sharing suggestions and implementing even small changes, Loughrin said. The concept is similar to the buckeye leaf decals the Ohio State University football team gives its players to put on their helmets to recognize hard work and good performances.

“As we’ve gotten this program developed and really working, we’ve seen some good ideas,” Loughrin said. “The site is organized.”

Children’s Hospital is seeking at least $50 million in donations to help pay for the projects, according to officials. The rest will be funded through borrowing and hospital reserves.

Hospital employees and staff have donated almost $4 million during the quiet phase of the fundraising campaign, Wakulchik said.

The hospital also plans to raise $10 million to help Ronald McDonald House expand.

Online updates about the construction project, traffic impact and a live construction camera are available at http://building.akronchildrens.org/

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.

Increasing residents’ awareness of environmentally friendly practices is the goal of Frank Avino.

The seven-year Norridge resident is president of the Norridge Green Team, a barely two-year old-volunteer organization.

The team got its start when former Village President Ron Oppedisano approached Avino with the idea of increasing residents’ awareness of recycling.

“It’s all about sustainability,” Avino said. “We’re running out of space in the landfills.”

Last month Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago presented its sustainable landscaping award to the Green Team for its work to enhance recycling sustainability, water conservation and flood control practices.

The group serves as a resource for information for residents who may not be aware of all the options on environmentally friendly practices or who might not know how to go about implementing such ideas.

“Like recycling old paint,” Avino said. “We don’t do it, but we can do the research and find out where you can take it.”

The Green Team has worked with the Norridge Park District to bring in vendors of environmentally friendly products.

“We have them set up outside the fields during Little League opening day,” Avino said. “They showcase items like wind and solar energy, green roofs and other sustainable practices for residents to see.”

The team also has expanded its recycling collection program to two days this year, and is looking to offer paper and electronics recycling on a quarterly basis.

“You can’t throw those old electronics out with the trash anymore,” he said.

On the list of projects is a survey of residents to find out their thoughts on replacing the small home recycling bin with something larger, with a lid and on wheels.

“We can go out for government grants for that,” Avino said.

Grants go a long way to funding the Green Team’s activities.

Working with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the team has been able to secure a few hundred dollars so far.

The team also is looking at expanding the use of rain barrels in the village.

Since heavy rains are becoming a more frequent occurrence, diverting some of that water would go a long way to reducing flooding.

“The barrels would work hand in hand with the village’s flood mitigation grants,” Avino said. “If it picks up, we may be able to apply for water conservation rebate grants.”

The village offers grants of up to $1,800 to residents who install flood control devices.

“And we’re always looking for suggestions,” he added.

Avino acknowledged the team isn’t moving any mountains, but it is making progress.

One of his goals for the future is to take the experience of one of the team members who is a teacher and has her class recycle. He would like to engage all the local schools to follow that lead.

Questions and suggestions may be submitted to Avino by calling (708) 453-0800, Ext. 5398 or by emailing him at favino@villageofnorridge.com