State Arboretum explains landscaping options

The Nebraska State Arboretum wants to transform Second Street in Grand Island into a showcase for drought-tolerant plantings.

"In public places it's important to send a message of conserving water," said Justin Evertson, assistant director of community programs for the Nebraska State Arboretum.

Sustainability of the landscape is a growing concern because of the quality of water and quantity of water available, he said.

That's why he proposed a plethora of native Nebraska plants and prairie grasses to be included in the landscaping plans in the newly proposed Second Street business improvement district from Grant Street east to Eddy.

The right-of-way nearest the street -- most often about four feet wide -- will be planted to Buffalo grass, Evertson said. It's not as green as cool-season grasses, but requires less water and less maintenance.

Trees and "splashes of color" through shrubs and other perennials will be focused behind the sidewalk, he said.

"Our vision is water conservation," Evertson told district property owners during a Thursday open house at the Grand Island Public Library.

He sees the Second Street widening project -- complete with landscaping -- as a way to spruce up Grand Island, but also as an educational tool for the entire state on how drought-tolerant plantings can be attractively used in a large-scale live demonstration project.

Community Redevelopment Authority (CRA) Director Chad Nabity said the CRA has already put about $60,000 into the project to pay for underground conduit that can be used for future watering or lighting.

Improvement District organizer Bob Dodendorf plans to ask the CRA for $90,000 more to help cover the cost of plants.

District property owners are then being asked to pay about $25 per front foot along Second Street over the next five years to cover the cost of watering, mowing and maintaining the district. That assessment would come in the form of a $6 per front foot bill in year one, about $5.50 per front foot in the second year and down to $4 a front foot in the last year, Nabity said.

Should the district be created Sept. 9, it likely would be recreated after the five years is up in order to continue the maintenance of the landscape, he said.

But not everyone attending a morning open house was sold on the creation of the district itself.

Al Gosda pointed out that the car wash he owns on the west end of the Second Street district has no landscaping at all on the proposed plan. It's close to the overpass and locked in with a lot of concrete.

Instead, Gosda's property is recommended for "hardscaping," such as brick pavers. Yet he's still assessed the $6 per front foot fee that the other 70 property owners are.

"It's concrete now and you want to put in pavers?" Gosda questioned about the benefit to his property.

But Scott Griepenstroh, project manager for the Nebraska Department of Roads, said the assessment isn't just for Gosda's pavers -- it's for landscaping up and down the entire Second Street corridor.

"It's not just you. It's a community," Griepenstroh said.

Second Street business improvement district organizer Bob Dodendorf said the landscaping proposed for his business property likely won't be covered by the $400 assessment his business is to pay.

Dodendorf represents Five Points Bank, which has a drive-through bank at the corner of Broadwell and Second. All four corners of that intersection are among the most heavily landscaped of the nearly mile-long corridor.

Super Saver also has a corner at Broadwell and Second and has given the OK for the additional land to be used for the cornerscape there.

"It helps beautify the area and makes our business a little more attractive," said Super Saver manager Fred Groenke.

Groenke did suggest modifications to some of the landscaping near the Super Saver driveway on Second Street. The draft design was a little too wide, making it difficult to access the grocery store's cart return area.

He said the assessments were a little higher than he expected.

Mary Story, 816 W. Second St., has lived in her home for 40 years and was concerned about the landscaping she already started. Specifically, she worried about having to remove beloved roses that she feared may not match the newly planned landscaping.

Nabity said existing landscaping not in the right of way will not be disturbed.

Story and her daughter, Carol Staples, also raised concerns about the $400 assessment for a traditional 60-foot-wide residential lot.

"She's retired," Staples said. "That's a lot of money."

Library Director Steve Fosselman was excited by the plans -- and the potential for lowering watering needs and the watering bill. He was working with Evertson to develop additional drought-tolerant and "zeroscaped" beds on library property.

"We'll have to modify our sprinkler system, but we're watering all the way to the curb and there's some overspray," Fosselman said. "This should lessen our water bill."

The district assessments range from about $200 to $1,600 and were listed in Thursday's Independent in the legal notices on page 7-C.

Nabity said property owners in the district should receive a protest form in the mail in the next few days. If fewer than half of the owners object, the district will be created and the landscaping installed, with the state Department of Roads paying for the Buffalo grass and the pavers.

Individual property owners with wide enough lawns will be approached to have trees planted that will eventually canopy the new street.

"This will make this a more attractive corridor than it is now," Griepenstroh said.



Second Street's plant palette

Here are some of the drought-tolerant plants suggested in a Second Street landscaping plan that requires less water and mowing.

Turf

Buffalo grass

Blue grama grass

Grasses

Feather reed grass

Prairie dropseed

Fountain grass

Little bluestem

Blue oat grass

Chenault coralberry

Juniper

Pawee Buttes Sandcherry

Gro-low sumac

Autumn Amber sumac

Alpine currant

Trees

Kentucky coffeetree

Bur oak

English oak

Shumard oak

Black maple

Freeman maple

Hackberry

Accolade elm

Valley Forge elm

Ornamental trees

Miyabe maple

Japanese tree lilac

Ohio buckeye

Frontier elm

Ornamental pear

Perennials

May night salvia

Purple poppy mallow

Yarrow

Catmint

Jupiter's beard

Speedwell

Missouri primrose

Cranesbill

Daylily

Sedum

Purple coneflower

Black-eyed susan

Lamb's ear

Soapwort

Dwarf Blue False Indigo

Basket-of-Gold

Dotted gayfeather

Aromatic Aster

Russian sage