Edmond Town Hall Landscaping Gets A Free Make-Over

By Steve Bigham

Edmond Town Hall is looking better this week following the completion of a landscaping overhaul along the front of the building.

The Town & Country Garden Club, with the help of LRM Landscaping and a handful of local businesses, has completed a major upgrade of the bushes and shrubs that adorn the Newtown landmark. On Monday, workers from LRM Landscaping of Newtown converged on the scene. Throughout the day they planted crabapple trees and rhododendron and replaced worn out hedges with Barberry (a prickly bush that will keep the vandals away). The plant material was donated by Planters Choice.

The Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers sought out the help of the Garden Club in its effort to make the outside of the 70-year-old building more visually pleasing and easier to maintain.

“This is the first time anyone has ever really done anything out front. We’re looking to improve the appearance of the building and grounds,” noted Edgar Beers, chairman of the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers. “The Garden Club was the obvious choice to lead the project because they’re into that stuff. They know what to put out there and what not to put out there.”

The “raggy” bushes that once graced the front of Edmond Town Hall have been replaced with plantings designed to instill a little pride in the landmark building.

Edmond Town Hall first opened in 1930 after being built with funds set aside by Mary Hawley. Today, the building houses several town offices, in addition to a movie theater, gymnasium, and the Alexandria Room. On Wednesday, townspeople approved a $21.8 million spending plan, which included $1 million for code updates and other renovations to Edmond Town Hall.

In recent years, the Board of Managers has spent a lot of money replacing the roof, putting in a new sidewalk, and upgrading the building’s antiquated electrical system. This week’s landscaping project is a continuation of that effort.

On Monday, workers arrived on the site to remove old plantings, which was a project in itself. From there, topsoil was put down, followed by the plantings and the mulching.

Barbara O’Connor of the Garden Club said Barberry was used because when you are dealing with a public building you have to compromise aesthetics with practicality.

“It’s not the ideal, but it’s what’s best for the amount of traffic from the public you get there,” she said.

LRM Landscaping was one of several local landscapers who bid on the project. It was the only company that offered to do the work for free.

Michael Burton Builders donated the topsoil, while J.F. Walsh Logging & Mulch donated the mulch.