Neighborhood Re-landscapes Median with Subdivision Grant

Residents of Farnham Place subdivision have already cleaned up and cleared the dead trees and foliage from its median when they learned about the Subdivision Grant program through Jefferson Beautification, Inc. (The same program is available on the West Bank through Friends of Jefferson the Beautiful.)

The civic association chose Jean Preis as the subdivision leader (a requirement of the grant) to apply for and manage the grant. “We were able to match our monies dollar for dollar, which gave us $2,000 to put in an irrigation system and purchase materials,” she said.

While improvements were being made, the civic association met with landscape architects to gauge the cost of fully replanting the median. Every homeowner in the subdivision agreed to an additional dues collection in order to make the wholesale transformation possible.

“With 100 percent participation from the 41 homes that make up the neighborhood, we were able to get most of what we wanted,” Preis said.

This spring, Farnham Place was recognized as the “Nicest Street in Jefferson Parish - Kept Up by Neighbors” by the Parkways Department.

Matching grant funds remain available for subdivisions with an entryway on public property until the end of 2010. The money can be used to offset the subdivisions’ total cost of improvement for new signage, landscaping and other physical improvements up to $1,000 per neighborhood.