Woman with sharp objects insists on meeting City Council

She's a hardy perennial who won't take no for an answer.

She's demanding a face-to-face meeting with our City Councillors.

She has a really, really sharp hoe.

It's time to cover your bulbs and hide your tubers, Council, because Susan Milne will be at your next meeting.

Milne is determined to keep the Sault involved in Communities in Bloom, the Canadian beautification awards program that thinks Sault Ste. Marie isn't good enough to compete at the national level.

Disappointed by the 76 percent mark we got last year (at least 80 percent is needed to compete nationally), City staff have been wanting to give up on Communities in Bloom.

Parks and recreation staffers estimate they put in $6,400 worth of time last year.

They felt their hard work wasn't at all reflected in the ratings bestowed by judges Angela Vieth and Ken Hunter, especially at our historic sites.

But Milne won't take no for an answer and last week she went back to the City's Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) with support from groups including Clean North, the Sault Ste. Marie Horticultural Society, the Master Gardeners, City Beautification Committee, the Downtown Association and Algoma's Water Tower Inn.

At a special meeting of PRAC last night, staff concerns were addressed and Milne got unanimous consent to continue involvement in Communities in Bloom with volunteers at the helm.

City Council will be asked at its next meeting to endorse the City's continued involvement in the program.

"[The] recreational department will continue to provide some admistrative support but the majority of the initiative will be driven by volunteers," Milne tells SooToday.com

"This will actually help the program since we have enlisted a good number of volunteers which will help provide new ideas.

"We want to improve awareness of the program right across the community and the larger committee will make this easier.

"Community involvement is one of the judging categories so the more individuals or groups participating the better. Communities in Bloom is not just about flowers but the improvement of the city as a whole," Milne said.

To learn more about Communities in Bloom, please click here.