Grass gets taller as Dayton falls behind on mowing vacant lots

A man rides through tall grass in Dayton. STAFF

A man rides through tall grass in Dayton. STAFF
Dayton
By Cory Frolik
May 24, 2017
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Dayton is about two weeks behind on mowing scores of vacant lots across the city, but officials hope to catch up soon by having crews work overtime.

In November, Dayton voters approved increasing the city’s income tax to generate about $11 million in new annual revenue.

A portion of the new money is supposed to cover the cost of enhanced and routine upkeep of the more than 5,700 vacant lots in the city’s care.

RELATED: Dayton asks voters to raise income taxes

However, wet and rainy weather this month has resulted in some delays, and the city has been able to cycle through about 75 percent of the city’s neighborhoods, said Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein.

“We know the grass is getting really tall in our last 25 percent of our neighborhoods,” she said. “I’m really disappointed that we’ve not been able to stay on track.”

But the city plans to catch up and then hopes to get ahead of schedule by authorizing overtime for crews to work weekends, Dickstein said.

Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said, “I’ve seen some high grass in my neighborhood, as well as across the city, so I could tell the weather had gotten us apart.”

RELATED: Dayton’s income tax hike passes

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About the Author

Cory Frolik