Scattered thunderstorms developing during the afternoon. High around 65F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 60%..
Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Low 59F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
The former Green Thumb Garden Center on the west edge of Madison East Center has sat empty for years. Behind it is Mathnasium, which was formerly the site of Dairy Queen.
The former Green Thumb Garden Center on the west edge of Madison East Center has sat empty for years. Behind it is Mathnasium, which was formerly the site of Dairy Queen.
Q: The greenhouse at 619 Hope St. (west end of Madison East parking lot) has not been used for several years. It appears to be abandoned and is beginning to look a little unsightly. What does the city have to say about it? I am wondering if there are plans to use it in the future or to just let it continue to deteriorate?
A: The greenhouse has been closed for a few years. It was long Green Thumb Garden Center and was adjacent to a former Dairy Queen, now Mathnasium. Community Development Director Paul Vogel told Stand In Ask Us Guy that there are different scenarios that prompt an inspection of a building or structure by the city.
“In general, if we see something very egregious, we proactively address it.”
Otherwise, if the public has concerns about a building, they can put their concerns into the city’s 311 system, which can be reached with a 311 app, by calling 387-8600, or by going to the customer service page on the city’s website.
He said the city would then inspect the property and if code violations are found, work with the property owner to correct it.
He said city building code, state codes and city statutes are used to determine if there are problems that need to be addressed.
While some of those statutes relate to aesthetics, Vogel said the city doesn’t wade into whether someone thinks a building is just ugly. “If someone doesn’t like the color their neighbor painted their house, we don’t get into that.”
State code generally relates to structurally unsafe buildings, public nuisances, and structures that pose a public health or safety risk.
The two big greenhouses definitely have seen better days. But in Stand In Guy’s view, anyway, they don’t look like they’re about to fall down or pose any health or safety risk. The property is surrounded by a chain-link fence that prevents anyone from wandering into the old greenhouses.
As for the property’s future use, that will depend on the owners and/or someone who purchases the property from them. Currently no public plans exist on file for reusing the site.
Q: Can we safely dump the stuff that comes in freezer bags — sodium polyacrylate — down the household drain? The bag says to put the sodium polyacrylate in the trash, but that creates a gooey mess. Help!
A: One of the joys of answering a variety of questions is you often learn something new, something you never even thought about before.
That’s the case with sodium polyacrylate and the drain vs. trash question.
Stand In Ask Us Guy didn’t pay a lot of attention in chemistry classes after he first saw the Periodic Table and became slightly nauseous and very confused. He tried to blunt his high school science teacher’s frustration with him with humor — “When the elements saw a theft happening, they reported the crime to copper” — but it did nothing to help Stand In Guy’s final grade.
Sodium polyacrylate is a superabsorbent polymer that is used in gel packs and have long been used in diapers. But gel ice packs have become much more common today, thanks to the growth in meal kit delivery services.
Amanda Nienow, a professor of chemistry at Gustavus Adolphus College, said it wasn’t necessarily an issue she’s studied, but having a logical scientist’s mind, she knew one thing: “My gut would say I wouldn’t put it down the drain because it absorbs water and would goo up your drain.”
She has had her students cut pieces out of disposable diapers for experiments. “We pour as much water on it as we can. It gets pretty big. It’s very absorbent.”
A group of agencies that work to protect water in the San Francisco Bay Area apparently had the same question from people and put up an alert on their website.
As with most things, it turns out there’s not one answer when it comes to gel pack disposal.
There are, according to the Bay Area group, gel ice packs that are labeled “Drain-Safe” and you can follow the instructions on the packet to drain the contents down your drain.
Those ice packs don’t contain sodium polyacrylate but are made from a proprietary mix of ingredients that the manufacturer assures won’t clog drains and are easily processed by municipal or septic system treatment.
But for any other gel pack, the agencies say put them in the trash: “Never put them down the drain because they could clog pipes and create a mess, or backup.”
Tim Krohn is Stand In Ask Us Guy. Contact Ask Us at The Free Press, 418 S. Second St., Mankato, MN 56001. Call Ask Us Guy Mark Fischenich at 344-6321 or email your question to mfischenich@mankatofreepress.com; put Ask Us in the subject line.
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