Tauranga City Council is rejecting a free park because it doesn't want to pay to mow the lawns.
Council estimates it costs $30,000 yearly to cut the three hectares of grass at Sydenham Park and has recommended dropping the park in its draft annual plan.

Frank Sydenham bequeathed the land on condition it be maintained as a botanical park. The council has managed the property since 2006.
'The arrangement is the land is owned by the estate of Frank Sydenham and is to be administered by the trust,” says former botanic gardens trust chairman Richard Hart.
'Council can't do what they want; it's not their land to sell. They have the use of the land in perpetuity provided they maintain it as a botanical park.”
Richard says council is threatening to drop it.
'Various people have rung me because of my past involvement and I have said I would arrange a public meeting.”
The meeting held at Brookfield Primary School hall, 7.30pm Wednesday, March 30, is to encourage submissions on council's annual plan.
'Arbour Care, a city partner, has been gifting a lot of work in there over the last five years at no charge to the city. We had a couple of working bees, there is quite a community of interest.”
The rare kauri collection donated by Graham and Mavis Dyer is regarded as world class.
'We went to the city about 15 years ago and said there are no collections of kauri in Southeast Asia or the Pacific,” says Graham.
'The city gave us Sydenham Gardens and we started planting about six years ago.
'They are doing extremely well.
'We are very concerned. We've spent a lot of money, and we've got quite a bit of documentation here that they were a partner to it. It's not a legal agreement we have got, but we have a series of documents. We are vey concerned they want to walk away.”