What to do with Grass?

No playgrounds but the Johnstown Area has enough green spaces to fill 20 soccer pitches!

This is no exaggeration and this calculation excludes all the IDA land. There are only a few areas where an actual pitch could fit but we've many small patches and long strips of green lawns. With over 220,000 sqm of lawns it's the equivalent of an extra 10m by 10m front garden per house!

Annual Funding.

Recently you've probably been asked to help fund grass cutting in your estate since no one cuts them for free. With the exception of the lease agreement for JPP residents there's no mechanism in place to automatically pay for the upkeep of these areas. The cost is over €20,000 per year and excludes the JPP area.

Why are we being asked to pay?

New residential areas were previously developer led projects which required a certain amount of open common area to form part of the planning application. Once properties were sold and works completely finished the developer normally handed the estate over to the council's ownership and reclaimed their 'bond' money.

This sounds like a smooth process but it's missing one vital detail. There is no long term maintenance package put together for the estates upkeep. When the developer leaves so does all their assistance. Despite the land now belonging to the council they have no obligation to cut the grass just like they've no intention to paint the inside of your house or replace your garden fence when they blow down. It's simply not part of the deal and we don't think people are fully aware of this.

Most of the estates within Johnstown are in fact not 'Taken In Charge' by the Council. The Council still hold the developer's bond money and all our estates are sufficiently completed for residents to be unaware who the owner is. Only when things go wrong do we discover our liability issues. Unless your developer or even main building contractor is still around then home owners are potentially liable to equal shares to repair bills involving more expensive elements than simple grass.

New Estates and Renting.

For those new residents in the Cois Glaisin estate and those looking to purchase in Dunville or indeed any new estate containing grass lawns....be warned, the grass grows but guess who'll have to pay to have it cut each and every year once the developer leaves? You!

If you've bought a house recently or rented one as either landlord or tenant then I wonder if anyone's even mentioned grass cutting? It seams as though there is an expectation that someone else does this as if by magic and that it doesn't involve residents, landlords or money.

Why isn't this part of the Property Tax?

Lets be blunt - the property tax is convenient and could well have been given other names. It's a tax linked to a physical asset that can't be hidden, owners can easily be found, identified and then taxed.

No current tax pays for the grass cutting of a privately developed estate.

The Contributions.

It's time we all forgot about the words 'voluntary contribution' since it's misleading. 'Maintenance Fees' are closer to the mark but we shouldn't see it as that either. The focus should be on enhancing our Community for the benefit of residents, their families and visitors. It's not a tax but rather a benefit whether we wanted it or not.

We each chose to live here for various reasons but one of these is likely to be that it's an open, pleasant family environment. If your home was surrounded by fields of 4ft high grass strewn with rubbish you'd think twice about living here, the house value would be low and the rent would be incredibly cheap.

What's the Problem?

The contention arises because whether you're the owner occupier, landlord or a tenant not one of us wants to pay for something we didn't buy, we don't own, possibly don't make use of and in some cases didn't even know about.

However the fact remains that the lawns are there, they need regular seasonal maintenance and we're the ones left to do it year after year. Therefore what will it take for each and every resident to share the burden?

The Alternative Solutions

I think I've heard all the solutions over the past few years, mainly from those not wanting to pay. It is good to hear that people have given it some thought so here's the typical solutions and responses:

Let's cut it ourselves.

Unfortunately this usually means 'someone else' doing the cutting. Buy a machine, store and secure it, insure it, provide fuel and maintenance together with €500 public liability insurance. This does mean that all you could potentially save on it the annual labour cost since you're not going to get paid to do the work or to remove the enormous mountain of grass cuttings.

Initial enthusiasm by the majority turns to disappointment that people take advantage of good will and free labour and end up relying on very few volunteers.

Let it grow.

Bailis Downs did in 2016 and within 9 weeks 89% of the estate paid up to have it cut because mother nature isn't a great re designer of lawns. Left to her own devices she doesn't produce pretty urban wildflower meadows but instead prefers 4ft grass, brambles, weeds and ..... rats.

Turn it into a car park.

Apart from looking dreadful, tarmac can cost far more than 30 years of grass cutting and what happens to the surface water since we've already got water logged gardens?

What are estate groups doing?

Throughout Johnstown our Community Spirit is tested during this season with resident volunteers forming groups to call door-2-door and raise money for grass cutting. Many give money willingly but some residents will go into lock down mode in the hope of avoiding being seen or answering the door.

Although a large percent of those asked to contribute will do so willingly regardless of whether they are the owners or tenants because they share the responsibility of looking after the environment and community. Unfortunately they are also funding those unwilling to contribute.

What's the issue with those not giving.

Again, as a collector for several years I've heard all the excuses and with dwindling contributions a significant change was needed. In 2016 non contributor residents of Bailis Downs had a shock. The point needed to be made and non-contributors needed to see what they were being asked to pay for.

• Carried out an information fortnight calling door-2-door talking to residents without asking for or collecting any money. Simply to explain in person what was about to happen and why.
• Window Stickers were issued to contributors to visually show and stop the circular argument of "I'm not paying because no one else does".
• A graphic totaliser naming recent contributing households further emphasised that residents are contributing.
• The grass wasn't cut until +80% had contributed. This took 9 weeks, lots of leg work and eventually a huge grass cutting bill. However the point was made.

Those unable to afford it were managed discretely but there really is no excuse for those who annually hide and fail to share the community burden.

What happens in your estate is probably the same throughout Johnstown. Grass costs are an issue but if we ask the Council to intervene we know that we'll be paying for a desk job to manage it and we'll end up paying more.

The choice is yours.

Will you contribute to your community?