Spruced up after complaints Landscaping at Saxonburg store fixed
SAXONBURG — Lax landscaping, which caused the borough to send Dollar General corporate headquarters a notice of multiple violations when neighbors complained, has been fixed.
“They were like ants on a sugar cube,” borough manager Mary Papik said of the crew that whacked weeds, removed dead plantings, trimmed trees, applied truckloads of mulch and planted new ground cover at the store on West Main Street.
Papik sent a letter in late June to Dollar General headquarters in Tennessee, warning the company that it had not complied with the landscaping plan that originally was approved by the borough council five years ago.
The letter stated that the borough would consider issuing citations if the problem was not fixed.
Papik received a call recently from a consultant hired by Dollar General to deal with landscaping issues and violations at its Pennsylvania stores.
“He was genuinely interested in solving the problem,” Papik said.
As requested in the violation letter, the consultant met with Papik, the property's landscaping contractor and Councilman Joe Sepich at the store, which is across from the borough building. The trio walked the entire property, with Papik showing the consultant the plans that were approved in 2014.
She said the landscaper took copious notes while the consultant pointed out areas that were to be upgraded.
“They walked through the entire property,” Papik said.
A large crew arrived early Thursday with landscaping tools, plants and several truckloads of mulch and tore into the job full steam, Papik said.
“It was amazing how much work they got done,” she said.
Papik said the consultant will ensure that the landscaping is kept up and the separate contractor hired to mow the grass does so regularly and properly.If she has any complaints, Papik is to call the consultant.“I have a name and a cellphone number now,” Papik said, “as opposed to someone hiding behind a corporate veil.”The crew also repaired the 200-foot strip of landscaping behind the building along Bella Drive.Several residents of the senior living development behind the store attended the June council meeting to voice their anger over the weeds, faded mulch and dead plantings along Bella Drive.Papik said the crew on Thursday removed dead trees, cut down weeds and applied heavy-duty landscaping fabric and a thick layer of dark mulch in the strip of landscaping.Karen Kennedy, whose condominium faces the Dollar General and the landscaping that was ignored for four years, called the job “the first step” in improving the rear of the Dollar General property.“We all sat out in front of my porch last night and gazed at it,” said Kennedy. “I'm grateful and I thank Mary, but the job isn't finished yet.”She said the grass around the mulched area and in a retention pond behind the store has not been cut. She added Papik told her that separate crews tend to the landscaping and cut the grass, and the mowers are scheduled to perform their duties any day now.“I wish they would have done it in one fell swoop,” Kennedy said.
