Village Hopes to Have Basin Steward Program Running by Summer

By this summer, the hopes to launch a steward program for the 24 naturalized basins it maintains.

And even though few people turned up for a Thursday night meeting to help determine the shape of that program, village leaders are still excited about the possibilities.

The steward program would be designed to pair up interested residents with the natural grass basins in their neighborhoods. These stewards would become the point of contact between the residents living around the basins and those maintaining them—the village, and Leland-based Pizzo and Associates, the company that has been planting and working on the basins since 2008.  

The idea of planting natural grass around these basins, according to Chris Adesso, general manager of Pizzo’s western territory, is to improve stormwater detention and reduce flooding. But the naturalized areas also provide a habitat for wildlife, improve water quality, and look good in the bargain.

Pizzo’s work is funded through special service area taxes levied against those neighborhoods. In February, the Village Board voted to extend Pizzo’s contract for 2012, with a not-to-exceed total of $432,085.

Mike Pubentz, Montgomery’s public works director, is hoping to find volunteers who are interested in helping these native plants thrive. On Thursday, he and Adesso held a brainstorming session at the Montgomery Police Station on Civic Center Avenue, to find out just what interested residents may want the stewards to do.

Eight Montgomery residents turned up, most of whom live on the west side, near those naturalized basins. Pubentz and Adesso asked them what they would like to see happen at those basins, and heard several ideas, from providing more access and stock for fishing to increased education campaigns, to inform residents about the importance of the natural grass.

Marion Bond, who lives in the Foxmoor subdivision, is the first to sign up as a steward for a basin. On Saturday, she and her husband, Trustee Stan Bond, organized a litter cleanup for the Foxmoor pond, and Pubentz mentioned that stewards could arrange these efforts, and they could lower Pizzo’s bill.

“Their contract is a not-to-exceed, not a guaranteed minimum,” Pubentz said. “If they don’t spend time picking up trash, the cost to the village, and to the special service areas, stays lower.”

The brainstorming session ended with several ideas for the role of a steward: to communicate between Pizzo and the residents; to arrange on-site education sessions; to encourage fishing habitats in the ponds, and help create stone outcroppings for fishers; and to improve access to the basins.

Pubentz and Adesso said this program is new territory for them—Adesso said no similar programs have been tried with Pizzo, to his knowledge. The program is a work in progress, and Pubentz said even if they only have one steward this summer, they will see how it works.

Pizzo maintains basins in 11 Montgomery neighborhoods—Arbor Ridge, Balmorea, Blackberry Crossing, Blackberry Crossing West, Fairfield Way, Fieldstone Place, Foxmoor, Marquis Pointe, Montgomery Crossings, Orchard Prairie North, and Saratoga Springs—as well as two owned by the village.

If you are interested in becoming a steward, call Pubentz at 630-896-9241.