MUKILTEO – City officials have received so many complaints about the landscaping in the median of the newly expanded Mukilteo Speedway that they’re sending a letter to the state expressing their concerns.
The letter was drafted last week and will be sent as soon as it is signed by Mayor Don Doran, who was out of town. The letter refers to the complaints and asks the state to correct the problems, city administrator Rich Leahy said.
People have been calling regularly in recent weeks, he said.
“They think it’s us” who are in charge of the landscaping, Leahy said.
Callers have complained about what they think are dead trees, that sprinklers are watering asphalt, and “they don’t like the weeds,” Leahy said.
The City Council asked staff to send the letter, council president Cathy Reese said. “I’ve had a lot of people complain to me about it.”
The state spent $438,000 on the landscaping as part of the $13.7 million Mukilteo Speedway widening project, completed late last year.
The state had the median landscaped in May and June, with the agreement that it would be responsible for it for at least a year and then turn it over to the city. Before that happens, though, the city must agree the plants are healthy and drainage and irrigation systems are in good working order.
“We need to remove the dead plants, because they’re dead, and they aren’t coming back,” Reese said.
Several maples in the median between Chennault Beach Road and Harbour Pointe Boulevard N. appear to be in the worst shape. Most of the other plants appear healthy.
Some are turning color, and some may now be dormant, state officials said.
The state has discussed the issue with the contractor handling the work, A1 Landscaping and Construction of Snohomish, said Marlin Lenssen, who manages the Mukilteo Speedway project for the state.
The sprinklers where the medians are narrow, at the north and south ends of the roadway, will be modified so they don’t spray as far, Lenssen said.
“The contractor will have to go out there and take care of the weeds again,” he said.
One resident also complained that the median had been driven over and not quickly repaired. Lenssen said that has been fixed.
An official with A1 Landscaping and Construction declined comment.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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