I want to publicly thank Larry Franks for all of his work helping keep Overton Park good for the people who use it. Larry is Administrator of Maintenance for the Department of Park Services, and he's working hard to keep all the parks of Memphis running on an increasingly trimmed budget. He's been very responsive to requests for maintenance in the park. First I wrote and told him about broken water fountains and missing garbage cans. Everything was taken care of the next day. Then I wrote and asked him if we could catch the fish in Rainbow Lake as they drained it to do repair work. He was immediately responsive and worked with the Zoo curators to get that done, in spite of the fact that it threw off his work schedule on the project by most of two days.
Finally I wrote him a couple of days ago and asked about getting the Greensward mowed, since we were beginning to wade through a hayfield out there. The Dallas grass is the bane of my existence, both at home and in the park. I made the case that we don't need an army of weed-eaters every time -- if we could just keep the middle of the field knocked down, it would make a huge difference. Despite the fact that the city is now confined to a 25 day mowing cycle for parks because of the budget, he got someone out to mow the main field THAT DAY.
Thank you, Larry! Please thank the DPS employees when you see them in the park. They work hard and have tough circumstances on the job right now.
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Martha, the formal gardens in Overton Park have never looked better. In fact, they are spectacular! The residents of Kenilworth (across the street) are the very proud beneficiaries of the Parks Department's hard work this summer. Many, many thanks to Larry Franks and his crew for the beautiful plantings and well kept beds. It has even become a popular wedding destination. We all admire and appreciate the efforts-- Kathy Smith at 327 Kenilworth
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