"And I was there 26 years ago when we started the program it was when I was on the city council and we wanted to do something to beautify the downtown area," Co-Chair of the Flower Committee, Bonnie Rietz said.
Rietz was on the Austin City Council when the baskets were brought to the area, up until 2003 when the basket program almost ended. Rietz said, "Our budget got cut and at that point, the council voted to stop the flower program." The council decided they would pay for part of the program and collaborate with the community to raise the rest of the money to keep the flowers in the city. Today, more than 100 residents and businesses and Hormel company help bring the $46,000 to the program each year. This past fall, Rietz asked Impact Austin to help promote the program and grow it even more. Impact Austin Coordinator, Mary Anne Duren said she always thought the flowers were fully funded by the city. "It was neat to see and learn recently that this is a community-wide effort, so how can Impact Austin help spread the word that hey you can be involved in helping beautify downtown Austin and other areas as well," Duren said.
This year Impact Austin and Rietz will be adding fall and winter décor to downtown as well. For Rietz, it's one way of seeing your local dollars spent on something that can be enjoyed by all. "People like to be apart of something that beautifies their community and it's something that they can see," Rietz said. The new mayor of Austin, Steve King is the third mayor to support this program. "It is just nice to continue that legacy that Bonnie started, a beautiful legacy it is kind of out of the box it's not really within the realm of the city within our core function, but to see that flourishing and continuing to flourish is amazing," King said. Something that is bringing peace and beauty during an uncertain time. "Even during a pandemic, it's not just about surviving, it's like how can we still thrive and make our community beautiful and make it a place where people want to be," Duren said.
If you are interested in donating to the flower program the donations are needed by the end of January. As of Tuesday afternoon, the program has reached 75% of its $46,000 goal. You can send a tax-deductible check made out to the City of Austin with "Flowers 2021" written in the memo and mail it to:
Tom Dankert
c/o City Hall
500 4th Avenue NE
Austin, MN 55912
Click here for more information.
January 06, 2021 at 08:14PM
https://www.kaaltv.com/austin-minnesota-news/austin-flower-basket-program-growing-into-its-26th-year/5969785/
Austin flower basket program growing into its 26th year - KAAL
https://news.google.com/search?q=Flower&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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