Staffing issues hinder maintenance of Morningside open spaces

THE Grade 1 parks in Morningside will be attended to. That’s according to Councillor Ernest Smith, who assured residents of this move following a meeting with the Parks Department last week.

The news comes following further complaints about the state of Jameson Park, where the grass and gardens are overgrown and the pond needs to be cleaned out.

Visiting the park last week, Smith spoke to Berea Mail about the issues currently being faced by the Department, discussed at the meeting which was attended by ward councillors from the area.

“We dealt with issues plaguing parks in our wards. Jameson Park, Mitchell Park and The Cube look-out site are Grade 1 parks, and as such, are supposed to be cut once a week, but the Parks Department has said the rotational method being used for staffing now is causing issues. They are not always guaranteed they will have the staff compliment on duty and this is hindering service delivery. There are these benchmark standards, such as the maintenance of Grade 1 parks, in place however operationally these can’t be met due to Covid,” he said.

Smith said staff is rotated between the different number of parks in the area, however those that impact on tourism are first on the list for attention.

ALSO READ: Municipality to address state of Morningside park

“Once staff have seen to these parks, it leaves very little time to attend to other facilities,” he said.

Commenting on Jameson Park, Smith said grass in the park was cut this month, but due to the high rainfall during this period, the grass grows exceptionally fast.

He said there were plans to cut the park more frequently and for the pond and beds to be attended to. He said the fence at the top of this and Mitchell Park, which had both been broken, had been fixed, so work was being done.

“Considering areas that are looking shabby, I have requested issues be escalated such as long grass and overgrowth on verges and weed spraying. I have also requested grass cutting and edging at The Cube site and the area at the intersection of Venice and Innes Roads be done at the same time to get a uniform cut,” he said.

Smith said he hoped going forward that the Department would go back to full capacity so facilities in the ward will receive the attention they need.

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