Most standard forms of contract have a provision to pay the contractor on a stage payment or quantum meruit basis, as the work proceeds. Without this provision the contractor would have to wait until the end of the contract before receiving payment and this would clearly be unworkable from a cash flow perspective. The stage payments or interim accounts are prepared usually on a monthly basis by the contractors surveyor and the clients quantity surveyor. Until recently it had been common practice in the construction industry for the contractor not to release money to domestic subcontractors until the contractor received payment, a system referred to as pay when paid. This practice caused many problems and disputes particularly between contractors and domestic subcontractors, as domestic subcontractors are not informed when the contractor receives payment and the contractor could withhold payment for weeks or longer. In 1996 the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act (referred to as the Construction Act) made pay when paid clauses unenforceable.
The Construction Act contained the following provisions for all construction contracts:
Pay when paid clauses are unenforceable
Payment by instalments for all contracts over 45 days duration
The contractor is to be informed when payment is due as well as the amount
The contractor is to be informed in the event of the client is to withholding payment
The contractor https://www.houzz.com/ has the right to withdraw from the site if not paid within a specified period.
When preparing an interim valuation the following items may be included, if appropriate:
Preliminaries as included in the bills of quantities
Measured works as included in the bills of quantities
Value of variations and extra works
Work carried out by nominated subcontractors and suppliers
Materials on site
Materials off site
Fluctuations
Approved loss and expense claims.
Shortly before the valuation date the sub-contractors and suppliers will submit their own interim valuations to the main contractor and these are included in the interim payment. Sub-contractors and suppliers payments are paid to the main contractor, who then pays them in turn, less any agreed discounts. Sub-contractors and suppliers are informed of the amount due and the main contrac tor must pay them within href=""> a prescribed period; if the main contractor withholds payment, then there is provision for the employer to pay them directly.
Despite the obligations on the architect and the quantity surveyor to produce both interim certificates and valuations, interim valuations are generally carried out together, i.e. between quantity surveyors, so that agreement can be reached between parties before certification.
SC Quantity Surveyors is a professional Quantity Surveying Practice which provides a full range of comprehensive and competitive Quantity Surveying Services and Construction Cost Consultancy Services to the Construction Industry.
An irrigation system should work perfectly for many seasons without any trouble. However, every sprinkler system eventually malfunctions. Luckily changing a single part usually returns the system to full working condition. With a little troublestooting advice, a typical homeowner often repairs their own sprinkler system without calling a professional contractor.
A sprinkler system consists of a few basic parts: a water source, pipes, timer, valves and the sprinklers. Many homes use city water as the water source, while others take advantage of a well or lake. A home using a lake or well as its water source needs a high-voltage pump. A timer wires directly to the pump motor. When the timer activates, the pump motor draws water from the source and forces it into the irrigation pipes. A sprinkler system connected to city water uses a low-voltage timer. A low-voltage timer's transformer taps into the home's 120-volt circuit. The transformer converts high voltage into the low volta ge power source the system requires. When the timer activates a zone, it sends the low voltage power source to the appropriate valve solenoid. Once activated the solenoid opens the valve, letting the water pass. Once it reaches the sprinkler heads, it is distributed across the landscaping.
Locating and Repairing Broken Sprinkler System Pipes
Eventually every sprinkler system suffers an underground broken pipe. Isolated areas of excessively moist soil, visible geysers and a water meter that runs with the sprinkler system off indicate that a sprinkler pipe has broken or cracked. In the worst cases, this problem can waste thousands of gallons of water each month. Finding the break often becomes frustrating. Common culprits include tree roots and careless shovel work.
If the break occurs before the valve, the broken pipe needs immediate attention. A break in this location leaks constantly and left unattended the damaged pipe will rupture. If a small area of the lawn turns exceptionally green or the soil seems spongy, check for a sprinkler pipe with a small leak. Once the pipe ruptures the constant water pressure bubbles up to the surface, clearly identifying the broken pipe's location.
Leaks after a valve will only appear when the timer activates the zone with the damaged pipe, resulting in a hard to find problem area. To find this type of leak, close or cap each http://www.nbcmiami.com/video/ sprinkler head and turn on the respective zone until the soil becomes wet. Carefully probe the wet area with a shovel to find the pipe. To close an adjustable fan-spray sprinkler head, pull up the sprinkler head's stem. Twist the top of the nozzle counterclockwise with one hand while holding the bottom of the nozzle still with your other hand. To close a rotor or gear driven sprinkler head, place the appropriate tool into the grove next to the arrow. Turn the adjustment screw counterclockwise. If the sp rinkler head will not turn off, remove the soil surrounding the sprinkler head. Unscrew the sprinkler head from its male adapter. Place the correct sized threaded cap, either 1/2 or 3/4 inch NPT, on the exposed male adapter and hand tighten the cap.
The materials needed for repairing a broken or cracked sprinkler pipe include a can of wet-or-dry PVC cement, a small section of the correct size PVC pipe and a few fittings. Turn off the sprinkler system's water source. Remove at least 6 inches of soil underneath the broken pipe. Cut out the damaged section of pipe and let the residual water drain into the hole under the break. Clean the debris from the ends of the pipe. Replace the missing section of pipe, using the appropriate fittings and pipe. To avoid digging up large lengths of pipe, finish the repair with an expandable coupling or flexible tubing.
Repairing or Replacing Damaged Sprinkler Heads
Broken and incorrectly adjusted sprinkler heads do not distribute water correctly, leaving large areas of a lawn dry. Returning a sprinkler head to its proper adjustment setting often fixes the problem. Due to a new sprinkler head's relatively low cost and the variations between manufacturers, homeowners often find a complete replacement of a broken sprinkler head the easiest and most cost effective solution.
All fan spray sprinkler heads have a distance adjustment screw, the screw located on the top of the nozzle. Many nozzles throw water between 10 and 15 feet, assuming 25 PSI of water pressure at the nozzle. Turning the distance screw clockwise increases the water throw. Twisting the top of an adjustable nozzle changes the arc. Rotor sprinkler heads have distance and arc adjustments. The adjustment procedure depends on the manufacturer. Some manufacturers supply an adjustment key, while others use a small slotted screwdriver.
Lawnmowers cause extreme damage to a sprinkler head. Cement landscaping donuts help prevent the lawnmower blade from hitting the sprinkler head. If the lawnmower broke the sprinkler head's body, replace the entire sprinkler head with an exact replacement. If the lawnmower blade damaged the top of the sprinkler head, either replace the entire sprinkler head or try to identify the brand of sprinkler head and replace just the broken part from a new head. Replacing a broken cap and stem, sometimes called the shaft, eliminates the need to dig up the body.
Automobiles often drive over sprinkler heads positioned next to a driveway, usually breaking the sprinkler head or pipe below. Often the best solution involves digging up the sprinkler pipe and replacing the short section of hard PVC directly below the sprinkler head with a flexible PVC pipe, then installing an exact replacement sprinkler head.
When a sprinkler head's shaft extends but water does not spray out of the nozzle, debris has clogged the nozzle or its screen. Turn the system off and remove the nozzle and clean all debris from the nozzle's screen. To remove the a fan-spray sprinkler head nozzle, pull the stem up out of the body with one hand and grip the nozzle with the other. Hold the shaft still and turn the nozzle counterclockwise. Many rotor sprinkler head manufacturers use a nozzle that is locked in place with a set screw. To access the nozzle and set screw, unscrew and pull the rotor's cap and stem from its body.
One or More Zones Will Not Turn On or Stays On
A system with a zone that will not turn on or off has a malfunctioning timer, zone valve or a short in the low-voltage wire. Troubleshooting a low-voltage circuit requires a multimeter. A technician uses the multimeter to read voltage and continuity across the individual system parts, isolating the faulty device.
If the timer does not work at all, check the timer's transformer for proper input and discharge voltage. Some transforme r's plug into a standard 120-volt receptacle, others are wired directly into the home's electrical circuit. If the transformer receives the proper voltage but its output voltage does not match its stated output voltage, replace the transformer. If the transformer works properly, replace the timer.
If only one zone will not turn on, check the timer's output voltage between the respective zone and common terminals. Activate the malfunctioning zone. Turn the multimeter to its lowest AC-voltage setting. Place one multimeter probe on the malfunctioning zone terminal and the other multimeter probe on the common terminal. Compare the multimeter readout with the timer transformer's stated output voltage. When activated, the timer allows low voltage to pass on the valve's solenoid. If the multimeter reads zero, replace the timer. If the multimeter shows voltage, turn off the timer and troubleshoot the valve's solenoid. Remove the wires connected to the valve's solenoid. Turn the multi meter to its resistance setting. Place a probe on each solenoid lead. If the solenoid does not have continuity, replace the solenoid. If the solenoid has continuity, check the low-voltage wires between the solenoid and the timer for a short. To check for a short, twist the two low-voltage wires at the solenoid together. Disconnect the common wire and the malfunctioning zone's wire at the timer. Using the multimeter, check for continuity through the wires. If the wires do not have continuity, replace the low voltage wires. If the wires do have continuity, reconnect everything. Tighten all electrical connections and test the zone.
If water seeps from the sprinkler heads in a particular zone after the timer turns off the zone, check the zone valve's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhxCu6cQBMs diaphragm for debris or damage. To inspect a valve diaphragm, first turn off the irrigation system's water supply. Remove the valv e's top. The removal procedure depends on the valve type and manufacturer. Lift the diaphragm and its spring from the valve body. Clean any debris from the valve body and inspect the diaphragm and spring for damage. Many home improvement stores sell replacement diaphragms for the various valve manufacturers.
High-Voltage Timer and Pump Issues
Because of the inherent dangers involved with high voltage, only individuals trained and experienced with high-voltage equipment should work on or repair the motor and timer. However, a basic understanding of how to troubleshoot this type of system works never hurts.
A sprinkler system drawing water directly from a pond or well usually uses a 240-volt pump motor, although, a few systems operate on a 120-volt circuit. A dual voltage pump motor uses a switch, located inside its electrical compartment, that allows operation with either voltage. Sprinkler systems that take water from a pond usually use a jet or transfer pump. Well pumps come in many configurations, including shallow well, deep well and submersible type pumps. Some systems use a pump start relay, while other pump motors are wired directly to a high-voltage timer. Many submersible pumps need a start capacitor as well as a run capacitor. A capacitor holds its voltage even after turning off the circuit breaker, making it a dangerous component until the technician releases it's charge with a screwdriver.
Some of the possible reasons that https://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=KhxCu6cQBMs a pump motor will not turn on include a malfunctioning timer, incorrect voltage, faulty capacitor or a dead short. A dead short trips the pump motor's circuit breaker immediately. The dead short often occurs either in the motor's winding or along a stretch of a wire with worn insulation. The repair depends on the location of the short. A service technician always compares the actual voltage at the motor with the motor's stated operating voltage. If the irrigation system uses a dual-voltage pump motor, the technician will verify the motor's voltage switch setting. Good signs a careless installer left the switch in the 240-volt position on a 120-volt system include a pump motor that struggles to reach speed and one whose housing gets hot quickly. If the measured voltage and the stated voltage do not match, the technician will trace the electric supply back to the timer and then to the circuit breaker. If the measured voltage and the stated voltage match, the te chnician should test the capacitor and look for a debris lodged between the impeller and the motor housing before changing the motor.
The time from May to August is the tourist season in most countries around the world because it is the time when the weather is very comfortable and the natural scenes also become more attractive. Many people love to visit various sea shores and enjoy taking sun bath while many others love to discover ancient cities around the world during their summer vacation. If you want a summer filled with romance and you love flowers, pay a visit to colorful flowers fields in Poland, Netherlands, India and so on will be a great suggestion for you. Let's have a stroll among flower fields as follows with your beloved people and you will have unforgettable moments in your life.
Kolomenskoye museum in Moscow, Russia is among the most picturesque and popular places in Moscow. The museum has many spacious lawns, so it is a favorite playground for many children.
Deep down we appreciate their steadfast and earnest guardianship, of course, but we can't help but laugh when these https://www.landscapingnetwork.com/arizona/ heroic pups are thwarted time and again by their elusive grass-watering enemies. So in celebration of our four-legged warriors, we searched for some of the funniest dog vs. sprinkler battles on the Web. Vote for your favorites below!
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:
living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful environment within the landscape.
abstract elements such as the weather and lighting conditions.
Landscaping requires expertise in horticulture and artistic design.
Contents
1 Understanding the land
2 Tools
3 See also
4 References
Understanding the land
Construction requires study and observation. It is not the same in different parts of the world. Landscaping varies according to different regions.[1] Therefore, normally local natural experts are recommended if it is done for the first time. Understanding of the site is one of the chief essentials for successful landscaping. Different natural features like terrain, topography, soil qualities, prevailing winds, depth of the frost line, and the system of native flora and fauna must be taken into account.[2] Sometimes the land is not fit for landscaping. In order to landscape it, the land must be reshaped. This reshaping of land is Sprinkler System Installation Rockwall called grading.[2]
Removal of earth from the land is called cutting while when earth is added to the slope, it is called filling. Sometimes the grading process may involve removal of excessive waste (landfills), soil and rocks, so designers should take into account while in the planning stage.[3][4]
Tools
In the start, the landscaping contractor makes a letter which i s a rough design and layout of what could be done with the land in order to achieve the desired outcome.[2] Different pencils are required to make graphics of the picture. Landscaping[5] has become more technological than natural, as few projects begin without bulldozers, lawnmowers, or chainsaws.[1] Different areas have different qualities of plants. Fertilizers are required for this purpose in excess amounts as natural landscaping is done. Some landscapers prefer to use mix gravel with rocks of varying sizes to add interest in large areas.[6]
See also
Aquascaping
Arboriculture
Ecoscaping
Horticulture
Landscape architecture
Landscape contracting
Landscape design
Landscape ecology
Landscape engineering
Landscape planning
Naturescaping
Sustainable landscaping
Terraforming
Xeriscaping
References
^ a b Natural Landscaping: Designing With Native Plant Communities - John Diekelmann, Robert M. Schuster - Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
^ a b c Landscaping Principles and Practices - Jack Ingels - Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
^ Landscaping - William Slack - Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
^ Taylor's Master Guide to Landscaping - Rita Buchanan - Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
^ John Smith. "Landscaping by landscape gardeners: Methods and Tactics". New Ways Landscaping Design. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
^ Sharon Cohoon and Jim McCausland. "How to Landscape Gravel - Page 2". Sunset.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - Landscape artist and environmental activist Jamie Durie is on a mission to make gardening sexy -- and to save the planet one backyard at a time.
"Gardening is no longer a granny sport," the Australian gardening celebrity told Reuters during a recent visit to Singapore, where he is landscaping a luxury housing compound.
A self-confessed frustrated architect who "paints with plants", Durie is a bit of a pin-up boy for gardening.
A qualified horticulturalist, he is the founder of the award-winning PATIO Landscape Arch itecture Design (www.patio.com.au) and author of five books on landscaping. He was host to popular Australian TV garden makeover show "Backyard Blitz" and currently hosts long-running American gardening and outdoor show, "The Victory Garden", for U.S. network PBS.
Durie also trained with former U.S. vice president and environmentalist Al Gore to become an environmental ambassador.
Q: How can landscaping help the environment?
A: Any plants that you can get into the soil will help absorb carbon dioxide emissions, and yes, it is possible to have urban developments and sustain the environment -- that's where landscaping comes in.
Also, if you take care of your own garden, it encourages others to do the same and then we'll be saving the environment one small backyard at a time. That's why I try and make gardens sexy, an evocative spa ce that provides a destination, not just something that you see from behind your kitchen window.
Q: So, is gardening fashionable now?
A: Certainly! People are becoming more creative and they recognize that gardens are as much a part of their decor as their living room. There's also a trend towards going back to nature, towards organic produce because of all the chemicals and hormones and gene splitting... that is more dangerous than actual warfare. Growing organic produce has never been more popular and it will continue to grow. We're in the middle of an organic revolution.
Q: What inspires your designs?
A: Everything. I travel extensively, so I often gain inspiration from the natural landscapes I see. You have to be receptive to your surroundings and keep your eyes open. One of my designs was based on a crack in the pavement. The bigger my library of concepts, the more I've got to give.
Q: Creating a beautiful garden can be very expensive and also requires space -- luxuries many people don't have.
A: That is true, but I want the homeowners of today to fast-track to what the older generation have achieved after years of working: the nice house with the big garden. See what gardens can do for you! They give you peace and tranquility. My advice would be to look at the value of your property and use that as a benchmark to decide how much to spend on your garden. If you're spending less than 5 percent, that's skimping, you can do better. And if you don't want to do it for you, do it for your kids. Do it for the environment. It's your responsibility.
Q: Do you have any tips for city-dwellers who would love to have a garden but who don't have the time or the space?
A: Go to your local nursery and start taking photos of plants you find attractive. Go to the botanical garden on the Sprinkler System weekend and see how plants are arranged. Fall in love with the plants and then take them home. By growing a plant, you're empowering yourself, giving yourself confidence, demystifying nature.
Everyone can have a little patch of paradise, there's no excuse not to.
"We're so used to Southern California having these beautiful, lush lawns and palm trees and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzdF7T-Gf6A seasonal flowers," she told me by phone from Culver City, a suburb of Los Angeles, where she is general manager at a landscaping business called A Greener Tomorrow. But now, because of the drought and new water regulations, "I'm telling you, all I see is Arizona and Las Vegas."
"Who's going to be willing to pay?" she said. "You can't maintain a lawn!"
The idea of Los Angeles -- much less Bel Air and Beverly Hills -- ripping out its water-sucking lawns and oh-so-thirsty flowers is indeed a shock, especially if installing and maintaining those lawns is your livelihood. But consider the context: California is in an extreme drought. Snowpack in the state, one http://www.coloradogardening.com/ measure of how much water w ill be available this summer, is at an all-time low, at just 5% of normal. Rivers are running dry, as I found last summer on a three-week trip down the San Joaquin. With no water at the surface, farmers are turning below the ground, pumping out groundwater at such an alarming rate that the land actually is sinking. In some places, that's happening at the truly astounding rate of almost 1 foot per year.
I see where Uribe's coming from. The 35-year-old loves the colorful, landscaped version of Los Angeles. And she fears a drab, monochromatic future -- a bl ah city, all dirt and rocks.
But this is a crisis. And the California lawn is a reasonable casualty.
I applaud Gov. Jerry Brown's recent push to require all cities and towns to cut their water use by 25%. To help local entities with the new mandate, the state plans to support the replacement of 50 million square feet of lawns with drought-tolerant plants (otherwise known as "cash for grass"), create a rebate system so residents will get help replacing water-hogging appliances with more efficient models, require golf courses to cut water use, and ban watering the grass found on public street medians, among other provisions.
The total savings, according to the governor's office, will be 1.5 million acre feet of water over nine months. For context, 1 million acre feet is said by environmental groups to be as much https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzdF7T-Gf6A water as 2 million families would need in a year.The state's focus on lawns makes sense given that grass and other landscaping account for up to 50% of all urban water use, said Ellen Hanak, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. "It's nice for us to have trees and landscapes, but we could do that with half of the water," she said. "It's not like it's going to mean the end of our economy or the end of our way of life."
If anything, the requirements don't go far enough.
Each year, California uses 6 million more acre feet of water "than our rivers and aquifers can sustainably provide," according to a 2014 report from the Pacific Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Those groups found 14 million acre feet of water per year could be saved if a number of changes were made to the way cities and farms operate. Among the recommendations: More-efficient farming techniques, including drip irrigation and "smart irrigation scheduling," which waters crops exactly when and where they need it. So Brown's plan won't fix California's water woes.
But it's an important start.
Next, the state should direct its focus to farms, which consume 80% of all human-used water in California and generate only 2% of the state's gross domestic product. It's reasonable, if politically tricky, for the state to focus more attention on the industry that consumes more water than any other. California can create a water budget that allows farms, people and fish to thrive.Much water can be saved with newer technologies, without forcing farmers to give up the land they use to grow crops, said Heather Cooley, water program director at the Pacific Institute.
She praised Brown's order as "a very positive step forward."
"California is facing a drought of epic proportions, and we need to work together to reduce the use of water so there's sufficient water for cities, for farms and for ecosystems," she told me. "We need to be preparing not only for this drought but fo r the next one."
And that's the crux of it.
This California drought has been extreme. But in the future, as the climate continues to warm, Cooley and others say the state likely will see more hot, dry years like this.
They won't seem so abnormal, sadly.
All the more reason it's good for California to deal with its grass problem pronto.
If it's smart, it can do so without looking like the Arizona desert.
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Tax, Estate Planning and Administration, Probate, Wills, Trusts, Small Business articles written by.. Steven J Fromm, a Philadelphia tax and estates attorney for 35 years
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NEW YORK LeRoy Neiman, whose distinctive, vibrantly colored paintings of sports figures and athletic events made him as famous as many of the athletes he drew, died on Wednesday at age 91.
Neiman, a showman known for his handlebar mustache, sometimes painted live on television during major events such as the Olympics and the Super Bowl, helping make him one of the world's most commercially successful contemporary artists.
A mong his subjects were boxing's Muhammad Ali, former New York Jets football star Joe Namath and baseball greats Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio.
Neiman had just published his memoirs, "All Told," which came out days before his 91st birthday on June 8.
"He had a happy birthday. He was so happy to see his memoir published," said Gail Parenteau, his publicist.
She said he died at Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan of natural causes. He had been hospitalized there in 2010 with vascular problems that required life-saving surgery to remove his right leg above the knee, she said.
By coincidence, his latest work - a multicolored golf ball 4 feet in diameter and completed in April - went on display in Chicago on Wednesday, said his archivist, Tara Zabor.
Neiman was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on June 8, 1921, and was of Turkish and Swedish descent "as near as I can figure out," according to his official website.
A child of the Great D epression whose father abandoned his family at a young age, Neiman enlisted in the U.S. military in 1942, later taking part in the invasion of Normandy and fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, according to a biography provided by Parenteau.
On returning home, he attended Chicago's School of the Art Institute on the G.I. Bill.
He became a contributing artist for Playboy magazine in the 1950s and established a friendship with its founder, Hugh Hefner, one of many famous friends including Frank Sinatra and Ali.
He painted about a dozen portraits of Ali, Zabor said, befriending the boxer when he was still known as Cassius Clay.
'TRUE ORIGINAL'
Neiman said he ignored advice that working with Playboy would ruin his career as a legitimate artist.
"But Playboy was liberating," he wrote in his memoir. "I was drawn to it and went for it full throttle. ... I lived my life as I wanted to http://painters.homeblue.com/pros/house-painters.aspx?hbc=13885943&hbg=1609467383 live it and screw what happens. I always stayed in tune with my own ambitions and attitudes and I'm still my intractable old self, for better or worse."
Patty Otis Abel, a contributor and editor on his memoir, said Hefner appreciated that Neiman came from a fine arts background.
"Hugh wanted to be able to combine a fine art and more of a commercial sensibility, and he felt that's what LeRoy brought," Abel said.
Neiman was named official artist of the Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid and Sarajevo in 1980 and 1984 and the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, cementing his image as a painter of athletic themes. He also painted U.S. presidents, jazz musicians, Las Vegas gamblers and the animals of Africa in addition to authoring 15 books.
Abel agreed he was a showman.
"There was always a genuine aspect to it," she said. "It wa s never phony. This was a genuine guy and a true original."
(Reporting By Daniel Trotta; editing by Christopher Wilson)
Many Americans https://www.walmart.com/c/ep/orbit-garden-sprinklers remember summers spent as a teen, learning about the value of money by opening up a lemonade stand, babysitting or cutting the neighborhood lawns.
Now the mayor of one city in Alabama is hoping to change a city ordinance to keep the tradition alive.
Teens in the Birmingham suburb of Gardendale are technically required to have a $110 business license to cut lawns.
The ordinance is not new. It was enacted in 200 7, and Gardendale Mayor Stan Hogeland told Fox News that it was never intended to apply to teens making a little extra pocket money when school lets out.
It all began when 15-year-old Alainna Parris mowed the lawn of her grandparents and a few neighbors last Thursday. She was hoping to earn extra money for a missionary trip, her grandparents Elton and Melba Campbell, told Fox News.
A man with a professional lawn care business, someone whom no one involved would name but who had been servicing many of the neighborhood lawns for years, reportedly approached one of the homeowners.
He allegedly told the homeowner that he noticed the young lady had been mowing lawns in the subdivision and threatened to call City Hall if he saw her mowing again without a business license.
That neighbor called Alainna's grandparents, and her grandfather shared his confusion in a private co mmunity message board on Facebook.
"I did not intend for all this to happen when I posted my question," Elton explained. "I simply wanted to know if a teenager had to get a business license."
Hogeland, who was born and raised in Gardendale, has served as a city employee for 35 years. He said that the incident was a first.
Though the ordinance as it now stands would legally require a teen who mows lawns, or babysits or even washes cars for pocket money to obtain a business license, he said that that that wasn't the "spirit or intent" of the ordinance.
"Typically," Hogeland explained, "if you're doing business, whether it's in Gardendale or New York City, if you're performing a service and you get paid for it, you're supposed to have a business license."
However, "it was never meant to deal with kids cutting grass," the mayor emphasized. "My clerk, in all her research reviewing the past five years, can't find anyone applying for the license in these kinds of cases."
The mayor added, "it's not something we look for, not something we've ever dealt with, because there was no need to deal with it. These are kids earning extra money in the summer, like they always do."
Hogeland said he's concerned young people will now worry that they will get in trouble, looking over their shoulder for a policeman Sprinkler System Mckinney or a city official every time they perform a task for some spending money - and he wants to change that.
At a Monday night council meeting, he plans to address the controversy over the ordinance and figure out how to clarify and change the policy to allow young people to mow lawns without a business license.
"My intent is to get something in our ordinance that tells that young lady that you don't have to look over your shoulder, we got your back, we've got you taken care of," Hogeland said.
For her part, Alainna told Fox News that she didn't feel threatened, but felt that "this whole thing has been blown out of proportion."
She said that she mowed lawns last year and there were no issues. "I don't know what made this year different," she said, adding, "I do hope that there is some kind of change that what make it safe for anyone under 17 or 18 years old to mow a lawn without being made to think it's a business. I'm looking forward to going to the council meeting on Monday to see if any changes will be made."
As for the Mayor, he says "it's commendable and I want kids to do it. They're learning the value of a dollar, and the value and rewards of hard work, they're also learning the value of seeing you create a job well done, stand back and say: 'I did that, I'm pretty proud of myself.'
"That's the kind of thing you want going through a kid's head, they can later move out into the workforce. Do something you'll be proud of, and reap the rewards of it by getting paid, that's the Sprinkler Installation American job description."
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Categories: Land use
