Yard contest brings community together
By: DANNY ADLER
Bucks County Courier Times
MORRISVILLE
Residents can vie for the best yard of the summer and the most improved one.
Residents in Morrisville's First Ward have little more than one week left to finish sprucing up their front yards for a Yard of the Summer contest.
The front-yard contest was fueled by residents' concerns about the appearance of the borough's First Ward. It's sponsored by Morrisville First, a community group being run with help from the Bucks County Housing Group.
As Morrisville First was being organized years ago, residents of the area stated in a survey that they wanted their neighborhoods beautified and revitalized. A report by the group's organizers says Ward One, as it is also known, faces blight, absentee landlords, trash and increasing poverty levels. The ward stretches from Post Road in south Morrisville to Bridge Street.
The contest has been brought up at public meetings and is posted on the website www.morrisvillefirst.com. The idea for the contest is easy: Judges from Morrisville First will pick a winner for each of two contests - "Yard of the Summer" and "Most Improved Yard" in the ward.
First Ward residents can enter by going to the website or calling the housing group at 215-598-3566. All participants must enter by July 9. After that, judges will be hitting the streets to view the yards entered in the contest.
"First Ward residents are proud of their homes and we want to recognize those who maintain a nice appearance in the community," said Nancy Szamborski, executive director of the Bucks County Housing Group. The housing group helped form Morrisville First by securing a $400,000 neighborhood grant from the Wachovia Regional Foundation.
"Enhancing owner-occupied housing helps stabilize a neighborhood and increases property values," Szamborski said. "We like the idea of highlighting a neighbor who brightens up the community with beautiful flowers, a neatly trimmed lawn and interesting landscaping features. This helps encourage more participation among neighbors."
The winners will be recognized at the September Morrisville First Resident Advisory Board meeting.
July 01, 2010 02:10 AM
