Walter, In case you have been under a rock the last three years, we could fix it up faster if we had more workers.the landscape landscape has changed alot in the last five years. there are three workers doing the job of 56 just a few years ago. there have been budget cuts. citizens voted to cut funding and keep or raise core services. i attend meetings, i study charts. i get involved with my community. i poll shoppers and read alot of magizines. what i dont know, i make up.

Gee, another post whining about fewer workers, these pop up in the Newport News reports too, same style of writing.

"I attend meetings...study charts"? Where Newport News, Hampton?

The Hampton issue/problem isn't lack of workers, it is the lack of taxes coming into the Hampton. Builds like the Peninsula Town Center, where Hampton locked in a hugh amount of the taxes generated from the PTC to pay off the 96 million 30 year bonds that Hampton had issued to get the owners to build this is one of the main problems. Town center? All I see is yet another mall box constructing with faux store fronts on very narrow city streets to be torned down in mass and replace in 30 years. Hampton loses money to improve the rest of Hampton as the above taxes are locked in. The PTC robbed other liked businesses of the same ilk in Hampton. Example, the Mongolian BBQ place that was located just across the PTC for years. One overpriced Mongolian BQQ opened in the PTC, the one across the street changed hands, then closed, lack of business. I used to eat there all the time, you could afford to eat there. The PTC one I think is now closed, i think, I don't shop there. The one across the street payed its taxes to Hampton, the PTC not so. Where is the gain here? Ask a city council member how much taxes per year goes to pay the bonds off, ask how long must the bonds be paid, as how much is that shopper fee in dollars goes to the bonds, ask if any additional tax money has had to diverted from outside the PTC to help the bonds off since the build. Ask for the dollar figure minus the bond payments that makes it to Hampton's general fund that is generated here . Ask why the Goodwood store is closing? This store has been there for many years, generating steady taxes, not anymore. Ah Hampton's pipe dream, the Master Plan, over priced housing, overpriced cheesy franchised stores.

If they redo the redo of downtown Hampton expect another hole in the Hampton tax payer pocket.

To the Goodwood store, move to Newport News, my guess you will be welcome.

Most of Hampton needs the streets repainted, they seem to have plenty of funds for street flags and street flag poles.

please try to remember that the citizens voted to cut funding for landscape services and give more support to public works crews. They are the ones who respond to fallen tree calls, severe weather damage, and storm clean up. Not the landscape crews. there are only three of us when there was 59 last year. i am not from south east asia, or a city worker, i read magazines, i go to meetings and read books. i poll citizens at walmart. give us a chance and we can do better.

We do not have enough people to do all that is needed. It is that simple. We have been drained down to three workers when we had 73 a few years ago. We have not been able to keep up with all the work. That's why the boy scouts and other oganazations have been taking the excess work load from us. The boys outs have been repairing our parks with reclaimed wood from fallen trees. Other civic groups have been helping with plantings, litter clean up and grounds maintaince . We are spread too thin.

Well keep getting a message to close this, Hampton still hasn't fixed it. I don't want to hear the Troll posting whine and cheese about lack of people, I reported this in another posting well over 2.5 ago and it was never fixed and closed it. I am leaving this one which has been posted for months open until closed or a real reply from the city as to why not. I see what looks like new large flags flying just up from this location showing off part of the great Master Plan build/failure they have plenty of money for flags, flag poles and city worker's time to put those up.

Do not close the issue if it has not been addressed to the satisfaction of the orginial poster. The city will address this as time and resources allow. There have been budget cuts that have impacted our landscape crews and there are three workers doing the job of 70 just a few years ago. I know this because I read the books that have addressed the subject of the issues. Just give the city a chance to catch up.

city workers will not be managing those plantings. Citizens will be paying contractors(probably at higher
costs than city wokers),thus they will be replaced in a timely manner to satisfy the merchants. Contractors work to contract specs and only at the job hired for..or taxpayers get a bill ;unlike city workers whom are pulled constantly from their jobs to tend to other work in or out of the arena they were hired for
as those way above the laborer demand preformance for.This is one of the many reasons city landscaping never gets properly maintained and in a timely manner.Your Parks department currently has 6 men mowing the city where 40 could not do it. The handle all the special events,schools,all the parks,the ball fields (school and city,dittchlines,lots,economic developments needs,some housing dept needs,codes dept needs,support public works in storm prep/recovery,parades,party for the drunks,Ft Wool,Ft Monroe,the newly acquired Harbor Square apt playgrounds along with school/park play grounds,shelter maintenance,boat ramps and the list goes on.

This post will be losed for the end of year 2012. If this issue has not been addressed to the satisfaction of the orginial poster, Please open another blog in the 2013 year.

Thank you.