by Melanie Jongsma
LANSING, Ill. (May 22, 2020) – Back in March, Beautification Committee Chair Vivian Payne had been hoping that life in Lansing would be “fairly normal” by now. New members were added to the team in March and early April, and because of coronavirus concerns, they have not been able to meet the rest of the committee.
But that didn’t prevent them from participating in spring plantings this week. Payne made arrangements for flowers to be delivered to the Lansing Public Works building, and she organized individual pick-up times for committee members—they wore masks and gloves, and they met Payne at Public Works at their assigned time. She helped load plants into their cars and sent them to an assigned location where they worked individually or with spouses.
Two years ago the Lansing Beautification Committee took over the responsibility of beautifying Lansing municipal areas, planting and maintaining flowers in the pots along the Ridge Road business district, at Village Hall, in front of the Patti Leach Youth Center, within the History Plaza, and at the entrance to Fox Pointe. The committee also plants and maintains flowers at all nine welcome signs at Lansing’s borders.




In a typical year, the Lansing Beautification Committee holds monthly meetings from May to October. This year Payne is relying on email and phone calls to share information.
The committee will maintain the areas they’ve planted throughout the summer and into fall. In September they will exchange the summer flowers for fall plantings.
Residents interested in joining the Lansing Beautification Committee and actively participating in keeping Lansing beautiful should contact Vivian Payne directly for more information:
- 708-895-7207
- [email protected]