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Council ends 'No Mow May' after officials say program was abused
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Summary
Mayor Matt Zacker said the council voted to eliminate the "No Mow May" program, arguing it had been widely abused with properties left uncut into June; he said organizers encourage planting pollinator gardens instead.
WISCONSIN RAPIDS — The city council voted to end the "No Mow May" program, Mayor Matt Zacker said, after officials concluded the program had been widely abused and left properties with excessive grass through June.
"The council voted to do away with it," Zacker said, explaining the program began to give pollinators more access but in practice many properties were left uncut into June and required follow-up enforcement. He said pollinators rely more on flowers than grass and encouraged residents to use pollinator gardens or small flower plantings they can mow around.
Zacker acknowledged the change provokes differing views: "If it's my yard, I can do what I want...But at the same time, we are a community, we're a municipal organization, we want people to move here, we want, you know, businesses to get to grow here and that's not gonna happen if the city looks horrible," he said.
Next steps: The mayor said code enforcement and parks staff will implement the council's decision; the transcript did not include the vote tally or a date for when the change takes effect.
