Unmowed yards, filled with weeds, rank as one of the top complaints on the city’s reporting device, called UPLNK.
So far this year, 741 people reported tall grass or weeds using UPLNK, where you can send a picture of the offending issue to the city and county, Lancaster County Weed Control Authority Director Brent Meyer reported at a recent City Council meeting.
However, weed complaints were dwarfed by people reporting potholes — 1,862 complaints over the same period — he said, looking directly at Miki Esposito, the city's Transportation and Utilities director, who was also at the meeting.Ìý
“And you will never be No. 1,†she replied, in jest.
Sometimes the home with the unmowed lawn is in foreclosure and no one is living there. But sometimes people say a weed-filled lawn is intentional. Those cases are often contentious.
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Meyer said this winter he is putting together a group of people — city employees from other departments and homeowners — to help come up with some guidelines on native yards, where people say it is a garden but it looks like weeds to neighbors.
Meyer said he respects people’s desire to do what they want in their own yards, but unkempt yards can affect the property value of neighboring homes and are sometimes unsafe.
For example, ornamental grass can be planted in a yard, but an entire yard of ornamental grass creates rodent problems and is a fire hazard.
There is a difference between having a garden and just walking away and letting your yard grow out of control, he told City Council members.
The City Council accepted Meyer's annual weed abatement report at its Monday meeting, approving more than $26,000 in weed tax liens against more than 75 properties. These are the properties where the weed authority had to hire a contractor to mow and the property owner did not pay the bill.
The number of lawns that the county has to mow, after repeated attempts to get the owner to take responsibility, dropped dramatically several years ago when the county began putting orange signs in the yards of violators rather than just sending the owner a letter, Meyer said.
Stebbing considering run for mayor
Lancaster County Treasurer Andy Stebbing is thinking about running for Lincoln mayor, again.
Stebbing, who ran and lost four years ago against Mayor Chris Beutler, said many people have suggested he run again.
Stebbing lost in the spring primary when he sought re-election as county treasurer, in large part because he had been charged with several felony counts related to selling used vehicles. He would have been barred from holding office had he been found guilty of a felony.
Stebbing recently plead no contest to several misdemeanor counts related to the same issue, which means he can hold an elected office.
Who is not running for mayor
A number of high-profile Republicans whose names have been mentioned as possible candidates for Lincoln mayor say they are not running.
Lt. Gov. Mike Foley, former state auditor and state senator, says he's not running and is, in fact, supporting Cyndi Lamm, the only Republican announced as a candidate for mayor.Ìý
Jon Bruning, Lincoln attorney and former state attorney general, has been wooed by Republicans. But Bruning says he's not running.ÌýÂ
County Engineer Pam Dingman had some folks suggest she should run. But Dingman will not be a candidate for mayor.Ìý
County Commissioner Deb Schorr earlier said she will not be running. Councilmen Roy Christensen and Jon Camp are also listed in the not-running ledger.Ìý
Public Safety Director Tom Casady — the former police chief, who is registered nonpartisan — has put to rest rumors that he might run.ÌýÂ
The mayor's race is nonpartisan, meaning no party labels are provided on the ballot. However, both the Republican and Democratic parties recruit and support candidates.Ìý
With Beutler, a Democrat, term-limited and unable to run for re-election, Republicans are hoping to get one of their own in the mayor's office.Ìý
Lincoln has had a Democratic mayor for 19 years.Ìý Â
Price for a bike lane
The conflict between those who want more bike lanes and those who love only cars and trucks will likely continue as the city looks at expanding the bike network.Ìý
So here is a primer on the cost of bike lanes versus traffic lanes, provided by Kellee Van Bruggen, transportation planner for the city.
Bikes:
* Converting a lane of traffic to a bike lane, for bikes traveling both directions (with no other traffic changes like one-way to two-way street conversion), $17,000 per mile or $1,300 per block.
* Converting a traffic lane to a bike lane with other street configuration costs, $45,000/mile or $3,500/block.
* Building a standalone bike trail (not including land acquisition or bridge and railing costs), $380,000/mile or $29,000/block.Ìý
Streets:
* Expanding a street by one lane, $3 million/mile or $230,000/block.
* Resurfacing one lane of a heavily traveled street, $600,000/mile or $46,000/block.