Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Well, do you have a neighbor or maybe know of a local business that really keeps their property up impeccably? Would you like to nominate them to become a neat neighbor? Here in Quincy? The neat neighbor contest is underway. Paul Doherty's here from the Quincy Parks Department to tell us about that and an opportunity for you to adopt an island in the city. So, Paul, great to see you, first of all.
[00:00:21] Speaker B: Thanks, Joe. Nice to have. Nice to be with you today.
[00:00:24] Speaker A: Thanks for stopping by here in the waning days of summer and going quick.
[00:00:29] Speaker B: Although the heat continues on. You know, it's been a hot summer.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Indeed it has.
[00:00:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:00:34] Speaker A: Neat Neighbors contest. It's not new.
[00:00:36] Speaker B: Right.
[00:00:37] Speaker A: It's been going on for a while.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: It's been going on quite a while. And it's a real favorite project of the mayor, Tom Koch. He encourages residents to nominate their neighbors or friends in the city that maintain their properties in a way that is outstanding.
And it's a great program. We kick it off every year, June 1, you know, roughly beginning of the planting season, and we run it through the summer, ending it on Labor Day weekend.
We cover the whole city.
There are 30 areas of the city wards and precincts. And so we go out into each one of those areas and we pick a property that has either been nominated by a neighbor or we have our own committee that goes out and actually looks. And so we make sure that there's no street that we haven't looked at.
[00:01:35] Speaker A: Oh, very good.
[00:01:36] Speaker B: And so that project is ongoing.
[00:01:39] Speaker A: Oh, so even if you haven't been nominated, you could still be selected by your committee.
[00:01:44] Speaker B: Yes. And so I'm actively out almost every day. I'll go out and review properties.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: Pen and paper. Right. Make John.
[00:01:53] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:54] Speaker A: Or take them pictures or whatever.
[00:01:55] Speaker B: Take it. Well, we verify all of them.
And so, you know, we take pictures and I, you know, we, we publish that.
But it's really a lot of fun. And, you know, some properties get multiple nominations.
[00:02:11] Speaker A: Oh, I'm sure everybody has that. Like that one neighbor that's out there all the time, planting and mowing and everything. You know, tending to all the gardens and making it look gorgeous. Everybody's envious.
[00:02:22] Speaker B: No, it's, it's, it's great. And we, not only, you know, we look at this is the important part, I think, for folks that want to nominate is that we're looking at the front of the house.
A lot of folks have really nice backyards, but we can't. Those can't count because we can't encourage folks to go into someone's Backyard, obviously. Right? Yeah. So it's forward facing type of things that we look at. Curb appeal. Curb appeal, exactly.
We look at the house and we look at the front yard. We look at the area between the sidewalk and the street.
Some people keep that up really nice. Other people, you know, they plant flowers and things in it, so we give credit for that. And then we also take into account any, you know, kind of special landscaping. You might have bird baths or, you know, just kind of fun stuff.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: So lawn art.
[00:03:14] Speaker B: Yeah. And so we have a little informal, you know, kind of scoring system.
And, you know, we have a lot of fun with it. We hope everybody else does as well.
[00:03:25] Speaker A: Do you know how long this program's been going on, Paul? Just even. Just roughly?
[00:03:28] Speaker B: Well, I've been here for 10 years and it's been active as long as I've been doing it.
In fact, I had my own island and I still do across the street from my house, and I've been doing that for probably 30 years. You adopted it? Yes. Oh, yeah. So it's been going on quite some time. I think, you know, previous administrations have supported this as well.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: So the idea is, you know, obviously recognize folks who are putting out a lot of time and effort to keep up their properties and also have some fun and maybe encourage other folks to do the same thing.
[00:04:02] Speaker B: Do the same thing. It's contagious, Joe.
[00:04:04] Speaker A: Oh, sure, yes.
[00:04:06] Speaker B: People see you out there working, planting flowers, the next thing you know, they would be doing the same thing.
[00:04:10] Speaker A: It is true. Yeah.
[00:04:11] Speaker B: And it takes one house to get it started.
[00:04:16] Speaker A: It's so true. You know, even if you just upgrade a little bit.
[00:04:19] Speaker B: A little bit. Yeah, yeah. It doesn't take much.
[00:04:22] Speaker A: What does the winner get, Paul?
[00:04:24] Speaker B: So at the, at the end of the, at the end of the summer, we, we get, we put everything together and we award 30 gift certificates, $30 each, and we're. That you can redeem those at Armquist Flowerland up on Franklin Street. And they've been longtime partners with us in the program.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: Okay, very nice. Excellent. Is there like a formal ceremony for that or you just kind of mail them out there?
[00:04:51] Speaker B: No, actually we mail them out, but we also place a neat neighbor contest winner sign on your front lawn.
[00:04:59] Speaker A: Oh, fun. Okay.
[00:05:00] Speaker B: You know, so I have the opportunity to go out and deliver the check and also plant the sign.
[00:05:07] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:05:07] Speaker B: And the cool thing about this, you know, as we go into the fall, some people leave the sign up for a week or two.
[00:05:14] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:05:14] Speaker B: Some people leave them up all year round.
[00:05:16] Speaker A: Well, you know, it's Important, right?
[00:05:18] Speaker B: Yeah, very proud.
[00:05:19] Speaker A: Nice. Sounds like a lot of fun.
[00:05:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:22] Speaker A: And I know that you mentioned try and keep it equitable as possible, Right? Spread it out all over the city.
[00:05:26] Speaker B: Yes, yes. I mean, you know, it's. I think that's the, it's the right thing to do. You know, there are, you know, there are areas of the city that are beautiful and, you know, home after home is gorgeous. People spend a lot of time and effort. But, you know, again, we're trying to. We're trying to spread this thing out through the whole city and be fair about it.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: I'm thinking, you know, for maybe folks in apartments that have little terraces, maybe. Has that ever been consideration?
[00:05:53] Speaker B: That's a good question. Although, no, it's really more directed toward people that own the property.
[00:06:00] Speaker A: All right, very good.
And Labor Day is the deadline, right?
[00:06:03] Speaker B: Labor Day is the deadline. So there's a few more weeks to go. Couple three weeks to go. You can call our office or you can send me an email, and both that information, I'm sure, is available on the.
[00:06:17] Speaker A: Yeah, we'll put that up on screen. On the screen. Just peteordynzma.gov Correct. Right. Or 617-376-1251 for folks who are just listening to this program.
[00:06:27] Speaker B: Right. And, you know, you don't have, if you want to be anonymous about it, you can do that.
[00:06:31] Speaker A: Oh, you can.
[00:06:32] Speaker B: You know, in other words, if you want to nominate yourself and be cool about it, that's fine.
[00:06:37] Speaker A: Okay.
How many nominations have you got so far?
[00:06:41] Speaker B: Well, so far we've got 50, and, you know, we're looking for 25 or so more. Yeah, we seem to settle in around 80 or so. 70 or 80 every single year.
[00:06:52] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:53] Speaker B: From which we choose the 30. So.
So, you know, we're getting there.
[00:06:57] Speaker A: Okay. Did you have repeat winners from years past?
[00:07:01] Speaker B: We do. And. But we try again. We do not award them back to back.
[00:07:05] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:07:06] Speaker B: So if you won last year, you will not win this year. Okay. I can tell you that right now.
[00:07:10] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:07:10] Speaker B: And. But, you know, there are, there are homes that come up every year, so I think there'll be a couple in this year's list that have been represented
[00:07:21] Speaker A: before because folks, because they do such a great job, like to take care of their places. Right. And keep them up. Yeah. Okay. Sounds like a lot of fun. Sounds like a great time, actually.
[00:07:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:30] Speaker A: Now, that's a limited program, right? That's just June 1st, Labor Day.
[00:07:34] Speaker B: Yes, yes.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: Adopted island program is different.
[00:07:37] Speaker B: The Adopted island program is a different program. It's more of a year round program.
And you know, the adopted islands, there's over 100 of them in the city.
[00:07:49] Speaker A: Traffic islands.
[00:07:50] Speaker B: Traffic islands.
You know, that's where they're primarily traffic islands.
But in the case of the island that I adopted, it's a triangular shaped island, it's got a big flag pole on it. And so it's not really a traffic island. It just happens to be in the neighborhood that I live and my wife kids me about it because that island is bigger than my yard.
So.
So when you take the, the grass space that I. That I take care of on the island, combined with the, my yard, you know, it keeps me busy out there on the weekends.
[00:08:29] Speaker A: You put your lounge chair out on the island.
[00:08:31] Speaker B: Yeah. So.
So, you know, so these islands are available. The city maintains a bunch on their own.
[00:08:39] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:08:40] Speaker B: You know, and you might see those in the, in the busier intersections.
We have a gardener, two gardeners actually, that work for us that, that plant the flowers and keep them looking nice, you know, more the gateway.
Gateway intersections in the city.
[00:08:57] Speaker A: City property, right?
[00:08:58] Speaker B: City. These are all city property? Yeah, they're all city property. And, and so we maintain about 35 or 40. And that leaves the balance to interested residents and businesses that take an island and maintain it.
And you know, there's, there's a lot of creativity that goes into these, these islands. You know, we don't have any rules really on what you can or cannot do. It just has to be done, you know, tastefully and, and you know, if you're a business and you want to sponsor an island, most businesses would, you know, tend to be conservative.
[00:09:39] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:09:39] Speaker B: And you know, do plantings or landscaping.
[00:09:42] Speaker A: That is, it's a reflection of their business.
[00:09:43] Speaker B: Right. And of course in the city as well. So.
[00:09:46] Speaker A: Okay, how does one adopt an island call?
[00:09:49] Speaker B: Same thing. You can contact me at the office. And we can, because they're available all over the city.
We can kind of figure out where you know, where you are, where you live, where the business is located, and then, you know, try to point you in the right direction.
Getting an island that would be easy for you to maintain, you know, convenient.
[00:10:10] Speaker A: Close to you.
[00:10:10] Speaker B: Yeah. And easy to get to.
You know, again, plantings, landscaping, you know, the theme of it can be pretty much what you want. Oh, all right.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: I know some of the garden clubs already adopt a couple.
[00:10:23] Speaker B: Yes, thank you for mentioning that. So we've got Wollaston Garden Club, that's got four or five islands that they adopt. You've got the house Neck Garden Club. That does a fantastic job in House Neck with Leo Kelly park and a few of the other ones. The welcome Rock when you come into House Neck. Yes, that's the most kind of one.
So the garden clubs are very helpful seaside gardeners.
[00:10:45] Speaker A: I know.
[00:10:45] Speaker B: Exactly. Spawn them. The causeway, as you go out to spawn them. There's about 40 beds there that. Dave Blayton has taken that over, and he does a great job with that as well.
The plantings there tend to be daylilies, and they're gorgeous, you know, so that. That really is a nice entryway to Squantum.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: Yeah. And once you adopt an island, is it always yours? You know, is there like a timeline?
[00:11:12] Speaker B: Yeah, it's yours until you want to give it up. And so that's why there's a little bit of a turnover, you know.
You know, people may be unable to keep up, keep the island. So they turn it back in.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:11:24] Speaker B: And we find a new, you know, a new owner, so to speak.
And we, you know, we're grateful for people and businesses to do this.
[00:11:34] Speaker A: So they're spending their own money. Right. To maintain it. So they get. Yes.
[00:11:39] Speaker B: So hopefully this will stay.
So this is an example of the signage that we would put up recognizing an individual or an organization or a business, you know, for their support.
And, you know, they basically say, this bed is maintained by, you know, in this case, Quincy Lions Club.
We're working with them to find a suitable island, and they've been very patient, and so we're hoping to get that squared away this week.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: Oh, this is nice. This is a metal sign too, by the way.
[00:12:13] Speaker B: Yes, yes, that'll last. Yeah, we. We work with the signorama folks up on Wood Road and Braintree, and, you know, stuff like this. It's like a system, you know what I mean? So they have our template, and it's very easy to work with them in getting the new signs.
[00:12:28] Speaker A: Call them up and say, fill in the blank.
[00:12:30] Speaker B: Fill in the blank, or send them an email.
So that type of thing is very quick turnaround, and we're able to get the stuff out and have people enjoy it and take some pride in their work.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think we talked about earlier, obviously, spring and summer and fall months. Yes, prime. Adopt an island months, but winter, too, right?
[00:12:49] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, you know, primarily the residential. The residential islands, they're the summertime, you know, but the business adopted islands, you know, like some of the funeral homes and things like that. They'll maintain the island year round with the fall planting, you know, like moms in the fall and in the wintertime, you know, just, just keeping it neat.
[00:13:06] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:13:07] Speaker B: You know, and removing the, you know, the dead plant growth and things like that.
[00:13:11] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:13:11] Speaker B: So for some, some folks it's a year round thing.
[00:13:14] Speaker A: Okay. And back to Neat neighbors for a sec.
Can it also be businesses, Paul, that can be nominated to win or.
[00:13:22] Speaker B: No, not really, no. I mean, it's a good question. Although. But we haven't had any. It's mostly homes, you know, the neighbor type of thing.
[00:13:30] Speaker A: Gotcha.
[00:13:31] Speaker B: Although if you had a small business in a neighborhood, you know, they would qualify. This is what I'm thinking. Yeah.
[00:13:36] Speaker A: All right.
[00:13:37] Speaker B: We're open to it all, Joe.
[00:13:39] Speaker A: Okay.
No rules here.
[00:13:41] Speaker B: Not really.
A question that comes up a lot with the neat with the Adopted island is watering the plants. Does the city provide water? And unfortunately we do not.
We have a watering truck that goes around and what is the stuff that we maintain. But part of taking on the responsibility as a resident would be to, you know, to bring your own water over.
[00:14:09] Speaker A: Gotcha. You know, good to know.
[00:14:11] Speaker B: Yeah. And it isn't. I guess the trick to that is to plant things that are drought tolerant.
[00:14:15] Speaker A: Of course. You know, you mentioned daylilies. Those are perfect, right?
[00:14:18] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: Hosta are another good one. Yeah, they're pretty resilient too.
[00:14:22] Speaker B: They are, yeah. Yeah. Although the bunnies like them.
[00:14:25] Speaker A: Yes, they do. And the deer. Yes, I know.
So education in horticulture.
[00:14:31] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
[00:14:34] Speaker A: Very good. So anything else we should let folks know about right now?
[00:14:37] Speaker B: I don't think so, Joe.
I just wanted to take the opportunity to come on the broadcast and let people know that both programs are alive and well.
[00:14:47] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:14:49] Speaker B: And with Neat neighbors kind of wrapping up for the summer, we're still looking for new nominees.
And then of course, the year round adopted island.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Okay. This could be on your front lawn. Yes.
Again, it's emails pdority at quincyma.gov or phone 617-376-1251. Great, thanks so much, Paul.
[00:15:12] Speaker B: Thanks, Joe.
[00:15:13] Speaker A: Enjoy the rest of your summer.
[00:15:14] Speaker B: You as well.
[00:15:15] Speaker A: All right.
