“A situation of ongoing, profound degradation, which is worsening day by day”. As Paolo Armellini described the current state of public greenery – from his point of view – in the city of Cuneo. He spoke about it in the City Council last night, Tuesday 25 June, discussing the question presented by the representative of the Independents. Among others, the document cites the entrance areas to the city from Borgo San Giuseppe and Madonna dell’Olmo, Viale Angeli and the stadium area in Corso Monviso as the most critical areas.
The first to intervene in the debate was Beppe Lauria: “We always end up in the same funnel: who controls? Who does what? What always comes up is the lack of control that only the Municipality can do”. From the minorities he also spoke Claudio Bongiovanni (Cuneo Mia): “It all started with the previous administrations, who decided to raze the greenery office to the ground, no longer hire employees and contract out the maintenance of greenery in the city. We see areas of Serie A and Serie B, others of Serie C, where the grass is cut perhaps once a year”.
Along the same lines Ugo Sturlese (Cuneo for Common Goods): “For some sectors of the majority, greenery is seen as an obstacle. One gets the impression that there is a lot of attention paid to major works, those with great media impact, while the maintenance of roads and greenery takes a back seat, with municipal offices depleted of resources”. The opposition also came with a request to draw up a new green regulation, with the councillor Noemi Mallone (Brothers of Italy) which has undertaken to convene a commission on the topic shortly.
The intervention was harsh Franco Civallero (Forza Italia): “Cuneo was a ‘flowerbed’ city, we were proud of it, people came to admire our greenery: now it’s something to be ashamed of“.
The reaction was immediate Vincenzo Pellegrino, group leader of Centro per Cuneo: “Let’s not exaggerate. Cuneo is a beautiful city and continues to be so.” From Pellegrino, then, a proposal (received with hilarity by the minorities, dr): “I’m thinking of synthetic greenery: it will be the future thanks to the low cost of maintenance. In many municipalities in Italy this is already done. There are situations in which I challenge any of you to recognize it from the natural green: it would be a virtue of necessity, with less water consumption. We have already experienced it in the San Rocco Castagnaretta nursery school”.
Then the mayor also intervened Patrizia Manassero: “With respect to the narrative that was given this evening, I must say that I don’t know where you live. I have seen the cleanliness of the greenery and the trees: everything can be perfected, but there are a lot of square meters of green surface. Perhaps you got distracted during the last budget change, dedicated precisely to the maintenance of the greenery, thanks to the request of councilor Demichelis“.
The answer to the question was entrusted to him Gianfranco Demicheliscouncilor for public green spaces: “I thank all the advisors who send me reports on the most critical areas every day, I always try to respond in a timely manner. I recognize that there is room for improvement, but I also want to say that I struggle to accept what is reported in some parts of the question, especially when it comes to ‘permanent and profound degradation, which worsens day by day’. I don’t agree with this passage. Anyone who doesn’t know our city and finds themselves reading these words receives a business card that creates a distorted reality that doesn’t correspond to the truth. I find that passage demeaning and disrespectful for those who work in the public green sector, who dedicate body and soul every day”.
Demichelis then took stock of the organization of work related to greenery in the municipal area: sixteen companies operating for the Municipality of Cuneo, each involved with a number of operators ranging from one to ten; There are four green workers employed by the Municipality, three of whom are part time and one full time. “The resources available – continued the councilor – they are between 500 and 530 thousand euros per year, for the current year approximately 574 thousand euros. In addition to these for the ordinary part, those for extraordinary interventions come from the budget. It is our intention to approve a green regulation as soon as possible. It will require commitment and hours of work, it is a very complex document. In conclusion, a heartfelt and public thank you to the many volunteers on whom we can count, who free us from many interventions”.
“I invite you to take a tour of the city. There are major shortcomings: it’s not us who say it, but the citizens“, Armellini replied in his closing speech.
