Potsdam code enforcer not thrilled with 'No Mow May'
May 27—POTSDAM — "No Mow May" may have gotten a bit out of control in Potsdam this year, according to the village code enforcement officer.
"Last year at this time, we were deeply enthralled in No Mow May, where the village got behind not mowing the lawn," said Village Code Enforcement Officer Greg Thompson said during the May 19 village board meeting. "We have not done that this year."
Thompson noted that his department had been lenient so far. "My department has been very forgiving to this point, but after driving around the village today, there are a lot of lawns that have to be mowed," he said.
He warned that non-compliance with village codes would come with consequences. "We will cite you. If you do ignore it, we will have it mowed with a 25% surcharge added to the price. So we're asking people, 'Mow your lawns.' That includes trimming and mowing all the way to the curb," Thompson said.
He emphasized the impact a well-kept lawn has on neighborhood appearance.
"You know, when we leave our lawns long like that, number one, when you do decide to mow, it's incredibly hard on your equipment. And, number two, it can shock your lawn and actually kill the grass. So there are a lot of negatives to letting that lawn go unattended," he said.
Mayor Alexandra Jacobs Wilke mentioned that Rose Rivezzi from the Climate Smart Communities Task Force had recently addressed the board about No Mow May. Jacobs Wilke said the recommendation was to mow, but not too short, "at a longer grass setting than golf course level."
"She had other information from the pollinators group about other ways to support pollinators ... and a page was just added to our website that brought together those resources so that it can be shared online. We can put a link on our social media page and online later for people who are interested in helping the bees," the mayor added.
Village Trustee Lynzie Schulte referenced related research. "There was a great article from Cornell Cooperative Extension on this. If anybody saw it in the paper. But by shocking it, you're actually like causing a lot more damage to anything living in there as well," she said. "Because now they have nowhere to go."
Thompson also raised concerns about the aftermath of mowing overgrown lawns. Homeowners often rake up the clippings and leave them at the curb, creating hazards.
"It creates an issue if we get a heavy rainstorm and that washes out into the road. It's incredibly dangerous for motorcycles. It becomes almost like an icy surface when it's wet for a motorcycle to traverse upen," he said.
"And number two, affecting me more than the others, is the fact that (grass cuttings) will run down and clog up a storm drain if we get a large quantity of the grass," Thompson added.
"So there's a lot of benefits. We just ask people to please make an effort to keep your lawns mowed if they would," he said.
The efficacy of No Mow May, which originated in the United Kingdom, is up for debate. The American nonprofit Bee City USA argues that it allows plants to propagate that are beneficial to pollinators. Critics say that in many lawns, plants that are of no use to pollinators end up benefiting the most.
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