Only a week after holiday planters were set up on Main Street in downtown Galt, local workers were dismayed when they came out to find them destroyed and in pieces Monday.
Belleview Landscaping has been creating holiday themed displays for the downtown BIA for the past two years, but owner Adam Braun said he has never encountered something like this.
"It's just a shame honestly," said Braun. "We put so much work into this and to see it destroyed is really unfortunate."
Around five of the festive planters lining Main Street were broken, ripped apart and scattered on the sidewalk.
The displays were made from new and upcycled materials from the landscaping company's farm, Belleview Farms. The crew spent close to 100 hours pruning and trimming branches to have them neatly put into displays along Main Street, Braun said.
Braun and his team have also been maintaining the summer foliage on the street during the road closure and have never had any issues with damage or vandalism.
"We don't really understand why anyone would want to do this," added Braun. "When something like this happens, it affects not just us, but the local BIA and the other businesses who are stakeholders."
Brian Kennedy the executive director for the Downtown BIA wants to get the displays back up and ready as soon as possible.
"This cruel act will not dampen our spirits and all the warmth felt by our community, who continue to come out and enjoy our holiday festivities downtown," said Kennedy in an email to CambridgeToday. "As a city, we can rise above these acts of vandalism by showing our unwavering support for our small businesses this holiday season."
The cost to rebuild the new displays is currently unknown as most of the pieces used from the Belleview Farm are no longer in season and are not able to be replaced.
Braun notes that the new decorations will be built as vandal proof as possible and will be up later this week.
"I just want to let everyone know that if you see something, say something," he added. "There's a lot of people behind the scenes doing a lot of work to try to bring community together and create something that people want to see and come down and enjoy. So it's a bit of a setback, but you know we can fix it."
