Volunteers urge green-infrastructure approach as trustees approve village phase of Alfredo Park drainage work

Several volunteers and dog-park gardeners told trustees on July 21 they value the open, free-flowing nature of the dog park and expressed concerns about the Crawford/Alfredo Park drainage plan’s northern section, where mature trees and a native-plant pollinator garden exist. Ben Lentz and other volunteers emphasized the area’s multiple functions—dog recreation, native gardens and habitat—and asked for close collaboration with the contractor to identify trees and gardens that can be saved or transplanted.

Resident Lisa Grama (reading a statement from Green Committee member Ellen Edwards) urged the board to employ green infrastructure—retention, infiltration and planting native species—rather than rely solely on channels and stone-lining that may increase runoff or require extensive maintenance. "A significant solution to both problems is to capture the water, retain it, and direct it into the ground where it can percolate through the soil becoming cleaned of toxins in the process," Grama read from the statement. Administrator Jim Palmer acknowledged resident concerns, said phase 1 approval covered the village component (not final landscaping), and committed to additional on-site meetings and collaborative landscaping design.