Case Date:

6/22/2021

the abominable condition of the large homeless camp has been made even more disasterous by flooding. Debris and probably syringes are now plastered onto trees for a great distance

Case Date:

8/29/2022

Around 6pm on 8/29/22 I was in upper cascade and a man drives a truck right up to me in the shelter house I started to gather my things even though the sign said open I saw the city work flip it to that this morning to open and seen many workers though out the day and was not told about any resuvsions so when they so when they told me they had this for the Bloomington north volleyballso I told him he should have reserved it and you really shouldn't park up here if you're not city, he told me they did reserved it and they just talked to a city worker that it was okay drive up to the sheltet, I told him that the really should have the sign right sorry to bother you and left to go to lower cascade to make this report.

Case Date:

4/17/2019

Two dead trees on property by road: Inquiring about responsibility: City or property owner: 208 Hillsdale Drive, corner of Hillsdale Drive and Hillsdale Court

Case Date:

1/16/2019

Hi, I contacted the city a few weeks ago regarding the status of Park Ridge Park and the materials on areas around the park and shelter in that park. In that note, I suggested cleaning up the debris in the park so as to prevent having to mitigate the problems caused by leaving them over the winter. The past two years, erosion mitigation was done on the park and it occurred to me that if the debris were removed, their would be less work in the spring to get the park back to the way it was at the beginning of fall. That suggestion was passed on to Dave Williams and I have not yet heard anything back from the parks department. I would like to know what the plans are for park with regards to debris removal. I am concerned now that since the true winter has begun and the city leaf removal is over, the debris will now remain in place all winter, hopefully to be removed soon enough in the spring such that only minimal work will have to be done in the spring. Perhaps if I had none that Parks would not be able to handle the debris removal, we could have organized a neighborhood effort to take care of the problem but it seems like that time has passed. To be clear, I really appreciate the responsiveness the Parks Department has had to suggestions and concerns about the Park Ridge Park and no doubt all the other parks. The erosion mitigation efforts conducted over the last two years did have a very positive effect and the park, the neighborhood and the city are all better for them. I am sure that something will get worked out this time as well and look forward to hearing what the plan is going forward for our wonderful, small and highly shaded park. Thank you.

Case Date:

12/7/2018

First - thank you for how responsive the department has been to our observations about Park Ridge Park. We really appreciate it! Park Ridge has a density of plants in and around it and is a relatively small park. As such, the amount of debris that can accumulate on the park compared to its size is quite high. We have witnessed that this debris tends to remain over the winter and well into spring if it isn't removed. We have seen that this eventually causes problems as the debris prevents grass from overwintering well and regrowing in the spring. This leads to bare spots (especially since the park is pretty all sloped except for the build in structures) leading to erosion. The Parks Department has worked diligently to mitigate these erosion issues through sowing grass seed, putting down straw mats, etc. This has been effective at at least stopping the erosion. However, I wonder if these mitigation efforts will have to be repeated next spring given the amount of debris in park. I suggest removing the debris now to hopefully prevent future problems and accompanying efforts to fix those problems. Please let us know what you think and thanks again for your responsiveness and hard work at making Park Ridge and Bloomington a great place to live and work. Cheers, John

Case Date:

6/3/2019

Hi, First, thank you for removing the leaves from Park Ridge Park, the excellent park in the Park Ridge neighborhood, in April. Now, it seems like it is in need of a little bit of post-winter care. The areas where the leaves laid overwinter have become bare (see the picture). This is a spot that the Parks Department has worked hard trying to recover before and I suppose it is time work on it again. There are also other bare spots in the park where leaves had laid over winter (by the shelter - to the east) and for some unknown reason to the south of the swings. Could these areas please be addressed with grass seed and straw to make sure that park stays maintainable, that the structures don't end being compromised by erosion, and to make the park less of a mess after a rain? Also, the mulch covering the area underneath the playground structure may need refilled, in particular underneath the swings. Finally, is there a regular schedule under which these aspects of the park(s) get addressed? I am sure there are priorities and limited resources. We do not want to bother the department - if we knew that this maintenance would be done (based on a known schedule), then we would only have the thank yous to include instead of a thank you and a request. Thanks again.

Case Date:

10/28/2019

Hi, Regarding Park Ridge Park, as the fall leaf season approaches, I want to bring up leave removal at the park. It does seem as though some bare ground did develop at the park this season and I would say that it is due in part to the lack of leaf removal. Neighborhood residents might be able to aid in getting our very shaded and "treed" park cleared. To make the most of that, we would appreciate it if Parks and Rec or some other city agency could help out with coordinating with the leave removal crews to ensure that if we do gather the leaves that they will be picked up. Is that something that the department can help out with? Thanks as always, John

Case Date:

6/16/2019

Thank you for putting down straw and grass seed in Park Ridge Park as well as putting out more playground fill!

Case Date:

3/28/2017

The wood mulch surface of the playground structure at Park Ridge park needs replenished. As a regular park goer, it appears to me that the wood has degraded and other wise been slowly moved away from the play area over time. Currently, there is bare ground in spots of high foot traffic and increased potential of erosion from those spots, plant growth, etc. Also, I am not aware of the mulch having been replenished since the park was remade. Given that that renovation was completed 3 years ago, it seems like it is just time to add some more mulch. If it would be helpful to have pictures or additional information, please feel free to contact me and request that. Thank you for addressing this concern. Sincerely, John Metzcar

Case Date:

4/9/2017

In reference to case #158545 regarding Park Ridge Park, we looked at the park and the mulch cover appears to be unchanged since the case was closed. There is still a general lack of mulch and several bare spots underneath the playground structure. Also, the first mowing occurred, which is great. Unfortunately, it has revealed bare spots in the grass surrounding the playground, in particular along the north west side of the park. Leaves were piled in that area over winter (and several other areas) and the grass has not come back. Could grass seed/straw be put down in that sloped area northwest of the playground structure as well as other areas that need it? Thank you.