Courtesy Photo
MEEKER | Take a walk down Meeker’s Main Street during the summer and you can’t help noticing the beautiful containers of flowers placed strategically up and down the sidewalks. The containers are the result of a relationship that’s been in place for a while between the Meeker Chamber, the ERBM Recreation and Park District and the Meeker FFA Chapter.
Months before summer comes the chamber supplies funding to purchase seeds and bulbs. The FFA Chapter is in charge of growing and planting the flowers specifically for 40-some containers placed about town. The ERBM Recreation and Park District maintains the flowers by watering them daily, pruning the dead blossoms and then storing the plastics pots when the warm summer months bid us all farewell.
One problem remained with the program and was a sore spot in the beautification efforts of Main Street. Executive Director of the Chamber and the Main Street Program manager Stephanie Kobald said, “We had an issue where the planters were being used as garbage containers when there wasn’t a pot in there. So we thought, what could we do? We needed a lid. And so through our Main Street Program we came up with this project.”
That idea sparked the group and collaborators to come up with a solution and bring it to fruition. Funding was donated from the Town of Meeker and about 40 steel lids were purchased. Lee Overton of Northwest Auto Sales and Service was commissioned to use his plasma torch to cut the branded Meeker tourism logo into the lids. They were then sent to the FFA Chapter to weld legs onto the back that would keep them fitted on the container properly so that strong winds wouldn’t blow them off.
The steel lids are now in place around town thanks to the FFA Chapter placing them. Kobald also alluded to some other large scale projects that the Chamber is finishing, and new projects to come. Interested residents are encouraged to attend the Main Street program meetings that occur once a month at the Heritage Culture Center at noon, usually on a Thursday. The next meeting will be Dec. 20. Please contact the Meeker Chamber of Commerce with any questions at 878-5510.
By EMMA VAUGHN | [email protected]
It’s nice that they covered the flower containers, but what would be really nice is for the town to put trash receptables in the down town area. Several years ago, they removed most of the ones that used to be there.
Hi Cathie. From our vantage point here at the office, I see a trash receptacle (or 2) at every flower pot. Perhaps we need more, though. Thanks for commenting.