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Parks asks council to consider re‑establishing city nursery to cut landscaping costs and support storm recovery
Summary
Parks director outlined options to revive a city nursery — staffing model, potential Hansen Street and Buckingham sites, water needs and partnerships with Naples Botanical Garden — estimating 2–4 acres would meet near‑term needs.
Elgin Hicks, director of Parks and Recreation, urged the council to consider reviving a municipal nursery to reduce recurring landscape replacement costs and to speed restoration after storms. Hicks said the city sold the prior nursery site and has since spent roughly $2.2 million on plantings and about $70,000 to replenish palms on a single boulevard.
Hicks outlined possible properties — Hansen Street (city‑owned) and a Buckingham parcel — noting both have reclaimed water access but may need wells and retention ponds for cultivation. "We could use 2 to 4 acres, and that would only give us our plantings," Hicks said, adding that a minimal first‑phase staffing model would rely on one experienced nursery technician and periodic contract crews to cultivate inventory and maintain operations.
Staff highlighted collaboration opportunities with the Naples Botanical Garden and the Calusa Nature Center as ways to reduce startup costs and build a hybrid model: Naples could cultivate seedlings and transfer trees to the city once established. Councilmembers asked for a comparative cost analysis of in‑house versus outsourced models and for clarification of potential impacts on ad valorem tax receipts if city land were repurposed.
