Discovery Bay’s increasing plethora of putrid plants, bushy brush and toppled trees has prompted the CSD board to take a closer look at who is tending the community’s gardens.

The board, in a unanimous vote at the June 17 regular CSD meeting, agreed to ask officials from the town’s vendor, ValleyCrest Landscaping, to report to the board at the next available CSD meeting.

“I will be the first to say that the entrance to Discovery Bay looks not so good,” said Director David Piepho, who brought the motion before the board. “The front entrance to our town is like someone’s front door … our contractor needs to be doing a better job.”

Lackluster landscaping has long been a hot-button topic in Discovery Bay. Last year, the town fired its landscape manager but never hired a replacement.

Vice President Mark Simon said he thought it might be time to look into refilling the position. “I think this all comes from not having a landscape manager,” said Simon. “We need better accountability … our vendor should be reporting to us at least once a quarter.”

Resident Rich Kier, who attended the June 17 meeting, reminded the board that this is not a new topic. “I’m sorry, but you’ve touched a nerve with this,” said Kier. “I’ve been coming to these meetings for six or seven years, and we’ve been complaining about what’s going on. We’ve offered to help but have been told no. You haven’t had a landscape manager for a year and the one you had before wasn’t doing his job.”

Piepho agreed. “I guess I have a problem also with the reporting end of this,” said Piepho. “If there is a light out somewhere, why do we have to take care of it?”

General Manager Virgil Koehne, who has been filling in as landscape manager, said there are some difficulties regarding maintenance when it comes to property that sits along state and county lines.

“There are many issues when it comes to Highway 4 and CalTrans right-of-ways,” he said. “We are limited in areas that we can go into. If there are sidewalls coming down or trees hanging over Caltrans property (for example) then sometimes it’s up to them (CalTrans) or the homeowner, depending upon where it is. But I do agree that they (Valley Crest) are not doing a good job, and I personally think they are not using enough water.”

Per the CSD motion, town staff will draft a letter to Valley Crest Landscaping asking for a report to be presented to the board at the next available CSD meeting.