May 30, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

When Mitch Rayman and his family moved back to his hometown of Salem in 2011, he knew right where he hoped to buy a home.

“What drew us to that block was the neighbors and how well kept the block was,” he said. “In my opinion, it’s the nicest block in the city in terms of the yards and neighbors and how well kept up it is.”

A couple of years ago, the community made it official: Rayman’s house, newly renovated “down to the studs upstairs and the gravel in the basement,” was recognized as Salem’s Yard of the Month, an ongoing designation that recognizes outstanding property maintenance.

“We had done a whole face-lift of the yard, with brand-new landscaping — rocks, trees, grass — so I think that’s kind of what set ours apart,” he said.

It all started with a holiday contest in 2021, then monthly recognition May through September the past two years, as well as the holiday season.

“We’re also trying to get more people to move to Salem for housing, and we thought this would inspire people to keep their yards up and looking nice and entice their neighbors to do it as well,” said Charlotte Roesler, city assistant finance officer who also serves as an officer for Salem’s Chamber of Commerce.

“So it was a little incentive for community service to make sure you take care of your yard and make our whole town look better.”

Criteria for the Yard of the Month winner includes:

• Yard, trees and shrubs are well groomed and maintained.
• Walkways and driveways are in good condition, clean and free of debris and dirt.
• Buildings, fences, porches and patios on the property are in good repair.
• Yard is free of weeds, clutter, junk and debris.
• Yard is free of junked or inoperable vehicles, and no vehicles are parked on grass areas.
• Overall appearance is pleasing.
• Holiday criteria include materials, creativity and originality in ornamental lighting and decorations, with an overall pleasing appearance.

Residents can vote online for their favorite.

Participation is “very good,” Roesler said. “And then right before the 10th of the month, we go through the votes, and that’s the Yard of the Month.”

The winner earns “bragging rights and public recognition,” she said, which includes a photo of the home in the local newspaper and a Yard of the Month stake to display outside.

In May, more than two dozen homes were nominated. The winner, the Munsinger family, represented the final home to win on their block — Rayman’s block, as it happens.

“That whole block is beautiful,” Roesler said. “Their grass is just immaculate throughout the whole yard, and the house just always looks very nice and well kept.”

It gets noticed, Rayman said.

“When people come from other communities that haven’t been to Salem, whether it’s family or friends from other towns, they always mention our backyards and neighbors, the flowers and gardens, and how well kept the houses are in general,” he said.

The Yard of the Month program is a perfect example for other Sioux metro communities, said Tyler Tordsen, president and CEO of Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

“It’s simple, and that’s part of the appeal,” he said. “With a little additional community engagement, you can enhance properties, increase home values and ultimately entice more people to consider living there.”

That’s the idea in Salem, where the community is just about to sell the first new residential lot in its Colonial Estates development. It’s on the former site of a nursing home that was damaged in a derecho a couple of years ago. There’s also a new City Hall and community event center under construction, plus an extension of the bike trail to go from the park to the school, athletic fields and the new event center.

“We have a very low inventory of homes, maybe three on the market, and I’m guessing very shortly they all will be sold … and now we’ll have 35 to 40 new lots for new builds,” Rayman said.

“I think it (the Yard of the Month) has helped the community take awareness of their own properties, and the City Council and Chamber of Commerce really take pride in this type of event.”

And as for now, there appears to be no shortage of worthy yards to recognize.

“I’ve got votes coming in already for next month,” Roesler said.