By Marcus Uhe
The City of Casey continues to face criticism from ratepayers for its upkeep of parklands throughout the municipality despite a recent change to their maintenance schedule.
While some sections of parkland have been addressed, grass remains at long lengths in others, and recent mowing by the council’s contractors last week saw grass clippings left-behind on Linsell Boulevard in Cranbourne East.
Cranbourne East resident Ross Mackay has taken matters into his own hands, mowing a section of land belonging to the council at the end of his street, intersecting with Linsell Boulevard after running out of patience with waiting for a council representative to do it.
He described parklands near his home as an “eyesore”.
“I started doing it in November 2021 and it was prompted by out-of-hand grass as a result of the storms,” Mr Mackay said.
“(It takes) around an hour-and-a-half each time I do it, probably once every two or three weeks.
“People say I should be sending the council a bill for my mowing work.
“If you’re going to do a job, do it properly.”
Manager City Presentation David Richardson said ongoing issues associated with the pandemic are still plaguing the contractors.
“Covid-19 is still impacting the council’s open space contractors like the broader workforce when required to comply with isolation requirements,” Mr Richardson said.
“Many of our contractors are also still experiencing delays in the equipment supply chain and the recruitment of staff.
“Council is approaching other contract providers to fulfill the shortfall where possible.”
Confusion has also arisen regarding the contractors schedule and processes after some sections of park were left untouched by contractors while other areas were mowed.
Fellow Cranbourne resident Ric Stewart also expressed his frustrations, saying that his local municipality has grown to look “tacky”.
“There’s no value for our rates,” Mr Stewart said.
“This has got to get back to the administrators somehow.
“What they’re doing is just not good enough.”
Mr Richardson said the contractors deliberately leave the cut grass behind.
“Our contractors do not collect grass clippings when maintaining areas of public open space,” he said.
“Grass clippings are spread evenly across the areas maintained to avoid grass being left in clumps or rows.
“Open space areas are grouped based upon service levels, maintenance frequencies and geographical location, with an expected start date and an expected finish date.
“Since February 2022, we have adjusted the maintenance schedule for the open space areas in the Central area of the municipality and are continuing to work closely with the contractor to ensure we can get back to maintaining our parks and open spaces in line with the regular services schedule and the community’s expectations as soon as possible.”
