New city budget includes keeping downtown decks clean

Published: Monday, July 1, 2013 at 12:19 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, July 1, 2013 at 12:19 p.m.

Keeping the city's decks presentable can be a daily battle, yet Councilwoman Laura Padgett wants crews to fight harder.

The city decks can be disgusting, Padgett said at a June 17 council meeting. She had attended a formal event at the Wilmington Convention Center and was disappointed in the cleanliness of the deck next door.

"The other decks remain dirty and smelly a good part of the time, too," she said.

While some agree that the decks could be cleaner, not everyone agrees that cleanliness is a problem.

Keeping decks clean

The city is preparing to hire a contractor to pressure wash the city's decks from top to bottom for the first time in four years.

Due to budget cuts, the decks were last power washed in the summer of 2009, said Betty Gurganus, the city's parking manager.

This year's city budget includes a 14 percent increase in parking operating expenses to cover the costs for pressure washing, along with painting work and purchasing trash cans and cigarette butt urns.

The city pays Lanier Parking to manage and operate its downtown decks, and Lanier crews are tasked with the everyday cleaning. Every morning, crews walk through the decks, when they assess what will need to be addressed that day, such as graffiti or a broken light. They clean up any bodily fluids right away and sweep daily.

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New city budget includes keeping downtown decks clean