Ironton in Bloom Brag Book 2010
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P.O. Box 4599 Ironton, Ohio 45638 [email protected] IRONTON, THE GATEWAY TO SOUTHERN OHIO Ironton In Bloom Welcome! tion now taking the lead in stroyed because of ar- planting and growing cheological studies and to pride for the City of Iron- reestablish their home at Typically when one thinks ton. the principal interchange of a ―Bloom‖, one thinks of into the City. perhaps the most beautiful The Ironton in Bloom pro- part of a plant. However, gram is now in its 3rd year The blooming process of there is also the act of the of existence. The first the City of Ironton is not Board of blooming process. Accord- year of the organization‘s limited only to its plantings ing to Mr. Webster, to effort was to establish flo- and floral efforts. Ironton Directors ―Bloom‖ is; 1) to shine with ral arrangements to com- continues to bloom in pre- Executive Board: health and vigor, or 2) to pliment streetscaping im- serving its heritage Chair: Carol Allen grow and flourish. It is the provements for the City in through the nomination Co-Chair: Randy Lilly goal of the Ironton in Bloom a principal nine block and award of its down- Secretary: Viviane Vallance, area of the downtown. town as an official historic Project to do just that, to LEDC grow and make the City of For its efforts, the City of district. The City‘s down- Treasurer: Cindy Caskey, CAO Ironton shine through the Ironton was honored with town continues to reinvent establishment of community the America in Bloom itself through the preser- pride long denied the City award for its floral com- vation and restoration ef- Board of Directors: through past devastating petition in 2008. The fol- forts of three historic City of Ironton Mayor economic times. lowing years have not only buildings currently under- (standing seat) allowed the organization way. The City continues to Phyllis Volgares, As with a blooming plant, to replicate the beauty of bloom as it becomes a Downtown Committee Chair the floral arrangements of leader in preserving its that pride began with a Judy Sanders, seed. That seed was its first year, but also al- environment with several Residential Committee Chair planted by a City Council- lowed for the growth of brownfield cleanups, a man Randy Lilly at a time those arrangements and multimillion dollar invest- Mike Corn, in 1999 when the City had landscape areas to larger ment in improving its water Entrance Committee Chair no where to look but up- portions of the downtown and sewer system, and in Mike Caldwell, Publicity and ward. With little or no including the City Fountain its Solid Waste District Marketing Committee Chair resources and only the area, the Slagel memorial taking a leadership role in Viviane Vallance, brooms, hoes and some garden, the up and com- the State of Ohio for its Fundraising Committee Chair ing downtown Friends recycling efforts. bags of mulch that a small Steve Call, group of volunteers and splash park and the four Travel and Tourism Committee groups of high school stu- entrances of the City. The As in the blooming process dents could gather, day focus includes the introduc- of the plant generated Chair lilies were planted and the tion of local naturally from a seed, the City of Garry Castle, downtown streets were grown plants. One high- Ironton is continuing to Design/Color Committee cleaned that first Saturday lighted activity of the or- grow and flourish, to be- in May. Just as a bloom- ganization was a come healthy and vigor- ing plant, that seed has ―daffodil rescue‖ which ous………to blossom! now flourished and spread, involved saving the bulbs ultimately leading to the in a field of daffodils that Ironton in Bloom organiza- were slated to be de- Ironton In Bloom, Inc. Table of Contents Municipal Information Page 3 Tidiness Pages 6-11 Environmental Pages 12-14 Community Involvement Pages 15-18 Heritage Pages 19-26 Urban Forestry Pages 27-35 Landscaped Areas Pages 36-39 Floral Displays Pages 40-43 Turf and Ground Cover Pages 44-45 Best Practices Pages 46-47 Sponsorship List Pages 48-49 Page 2 Ironton In Bloom, Inc. 2010 City of Ironton, Ohio Municipal Information: Population Category: Over 10,000 Income Tax Division America In Bloom Participation History: 2008 Criteria Finance Department Award for Best Floral Display City Council Population: 11,211 Police Department City Website: www.ironton-ohio.com Fire Department City Contact Name: Mayor Rich Blankenship Municipal Court America In Bloom Committee Chair: Carol Allen, Randy Lilly Co-Chairs Number of Volunteers: 100+ Town Area in Square Miles: 5 Do You Have a Volunteer Coordinator?: No Miles of Streets: 60 What Volunteer Opportunities are Promoted for Civic Acres of Active Recreation: 30 Improvement: (See Community Service Article) Chamber of Commerce: Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Convention and Visitors Bureau: Lawrence County Con- vention and Visitors Bureau Number of Schools: 8 (Ironton Kindergarten, Kingsbury Elementary, Whitwell Elementary, Ironton Middle School, Ironton High School, St. Joe Catholic School, St. Lawrence Catholic School, Ohio University Southern Campus) List of Civic Organizations: Ironton In Bloom, Friends of Ironton, Ironton Art- ists Association, Ironton Arts Council, Garden Club, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Child Welfare Club, Ironton Co-Op Club, Ironton City Missions, St. Joe Women‘s Club Number of Municipal Employees: 130 Services Provided by Municipal Government: Mayors Office Public Service Department Building & Code Enforcement Utilities Administration Recreation Department Benefits Department Economic Development Water Administration Water Filtration Water Distribution Waste Water Collection Waste Water Treatment Street Department Sanitation Department Flood Defense Health Department Page 3 Meeting Notices every third Tuesday at The Ironton In Bloom 5:30 p.m. in the Ironton General Membership City Center. meets every second Tues- All community members day at 5:30 p.m. in the and interested parties Ironton City Center. are welcome to attend The Ironton In Bloom and give ideas on the Board of Directors meets beautification of our city. A Message from Our Chair, Carol Allen Dear America in Bloom Judges, but notice and appreciate the change. Our residents were encouraged to work on their own properties and The city of Ironton welcomes a Yard of the Month contest was established from April your return to our beautiful through September. Pansies appeared in all of the pots community. We are anxious to in October, and spring came early to Ironton as their show you both the giant steps blooms returned and reached toward the sun in all of as well as the baby steps we their glory! They personified Ironton. We, as a commu- have taken to plant pride in nity, began to believe that we WERE special and that, Ironton since our September working together, we could and would create a better 2007 beginning. place to live, work, and play. Ironton was already on the During your two day visit, we plan to show you the move when Ironton in Bloom (IIB) was organized. Indi- manifestations of Ironton in Bloom. We will meet with vidual citizens had stepped up to provide leadership our city leaders, community heroes, business owners, for our new Port Authority and the volunteer group, organizational movers and shakers, and the wonderful Friends of Ironton. A progressive mayor and city council citizens of Ironton who are the heart of our community. were elected in 2007. Our brown fields were being We will share with you the steps we have taken to im- cleaned up, and our citizens voted for a levy to provide prove our city based on the AIB evaluations received in new schools for students, K-12. Yet the average citizen October, 2008 along side the vision already held by didn‘t seem to notice the changes and held on to the our community leaders and city government. We know negative attitudes long held in our town. you will enjoy seeing all we‘ve planted: not only the beauty of a profusion of blooms, but the blooming of To encourage a new vision, Ironton in Bloom became the pride in our community once again! catalyst for belief in ourselves. This is how we accom- plished this change of vision: we told the public what we were going to do, and we followed through. One hun- Sincerely yours, dred pole planters appeared on the downtown streets in early May, and 30 pots were placed along the three major entrances into Ironton along with 24 hanging bas- kets cascading with blooms. The flowers were main- Carol B. Allen tained through the summer and bloomed profusely. Everyone coming into and out of Ironton could not help Ironton In Bloom, Chairperson Page 4 Ironton In Bloom, Inc. The Ironton In Bloom Organization hosts a monthly ―Yard of the Month‖ competition in the City of Ironton. This judging competition starts in April and ends in September. Yards are judged by their unique design, landscaping, floral displays, uniqueness of plants, etc. Our organization also hosts a monthly ―Business of the Month ― competition in the city. This judg- ing competition lasts all year. Business are judged by their window displays, landscaping, and tidiness. Page 5 Ironton In Bloom, Inc. Tidiness Efforts Municipal: The city streets and curbs are main- tained and cleaned by the City on a regular basis. The 2010 City Street Sweeper schedule is at- tached. The City maintains its ad- ministrative offices in a refurbished building downtown once occupied by J. C. Penney‘s. Ironton Utility Plants (i.e. Water, Sewer and Fleet Maintenance) are located in other areas of the city. Ironton has an annual Volunteer Day, which is now in its 11th year.