Maitland City Talk

Have your irrigation system audited by a certified irrigation auditor and have repairs/recommendations performed by a certified irrigation contractor.

Adjust your irrigation controller (timer) for seasonal changes. This can save more water and money than any other thing you can do. It costs nothing but a few minutes of your time each season. Most controllers even have a percentage key that makes changing the time quick and reasonably painless.

Run your irrigation system during the morning hours. Less water is lost to evaporation when the temperature is cooler; winds are usually lighter in the mornings. Watering in the evenings can lead to turf and plant disease problems because the water sits on the plants all night, especially in humid climates.

Relocate sprinklers so that they are between 4 and 6 inches from the edge of sidewalks, curbs, patios, etc. in lawn areas. In shrub areas, they can often be 12 inches from the edge, especially with a mature landscape. This will reduce the amount of spray onto the paved surface and will not create a dry area along the edge of the lawn. It will also reduce the amount of damage that trimmers cause to the sprinkler heads. Use flexible riser pipes for relocating sprinklers. Flexible riser pipe makes relocating the sprinklers easier and allows movement if a car or heavy lawn mower hits them without breaking a pipe or the sprinkler.

Install a smart controller. A smart controller does the work of periodically adjusting the sprinkler operating times for you. It changes the run times to reflect the current water needs of the plants.

Install a rain switch to comply with city codes. A rain switch is a simple rain sensor. When it detects measurable rainfall, it turns off the automatic irrigation valves.

Switch to drip irrigation for watering shrubs. Drip irrigation is about 20 percent more water efficient than sprinklers are. It is easy to install and reasonably inexpensive.

Separate plants into hydro-zones. A hydro-zone is an area where all the plants use more or less the same amount of water and have the same sun and wind exposure. For example, lawn in the sun would be one hydro-zone, the lawn in shaded areas would be another hydro-zone, lawn in the sun on a windy hilltop would be yet another hydro-zone (lawn in shade uses less water than the sunny area; the windy hill top uses more water than the sunny area, since wind dries out the grass quickly). Each hydro-zone area can be watered by a different valve, allowing you to water each hydro-zone individually for just the right time to apply the water needed by the plants, without over-watering.

—Mark Barton

Parks and Grounds Operations Superintendent

Public Works Department

City Council Meeting of Monday, July 25

The Maitland City Council met at 6:30 p.m. July 25 in the City Hall Council Chambers. Below is a synopsis of that meeting.

Remembrance of

Jim Houser:

Councilman Bonus provided a tribute to former Mayor Jim Houser in remembrance of his outstanding service to the community.

Decision Items:

Council set the rolled back millage for the 2011 tax year as 3.9621; set the proposed operating millage rate for the 2011 tax year as 3.8800 and set the proposed voted debt millage rate for the 2011 tax year as 0.5000, for a combined total of 4.3800 mills; and set the date, time and place for the public hearing on the tentative budget for the fiscal year 2011-2012 as Monday, Sept. 12, 2011, 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.

Paula Rue was reappointed and Lewis Earle was appointed to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board.

Michael Dabby and Dale McDonald were reappointed to the Planning & Zoning Commission.

Approved a 4 percent rate adjustment to the base collection and disposal fees as specified in the Commercial Solid Waste, Residential Solid Waste and Recyclable Materials Collection Agreement with Waste Services Inc.

The next regular scheduled Council meeting will be held on Monday, Aug. 8. For updates, please visit itsmymaitland.com