With the hope of warmer days ahead, many of us start thinking about spring cleaning and renewal. That can apply to our city as well as our homes. At my Coffee Klatch last week, one long-time resident expressed her dismay with the litter she sees in her neighborhood. Others talked about litter in parks
and trails. I hear about these concerns on a fairly regular basis, and I agree that litter can make a negative impression for visitors and residents alike.
Public Works crews regularly clean city streets and use seasonal litter pick-up crews. We also utilize Department of Corrections crews for this purpose when available but, unfortunately, we don’t have the resources to be everywhere at once. We appreciate the help of neighbors and community groups that help clean up litter in public places.
How can you help? Of course, the simplest way is not to litter in the first place, and to teach children how to properly dispose of trash. Like the woman we met at the Coffee Klatch does – if you can safely pick up litter you see while out on a walk, thank you for doing so.
If your family, neighborhood group, club or organization wants to participate in a more formal project, you can sign up for our Adopt-A-Street Litter Control Program. It’s a great way to help promote civic pride and make our city more attractive. Participating groups volunteer to remove litter from assigned sections of streets (usually at least six blocks) a minimum of four times yearly over a two-year period.
The Marysville Street Department will post street signage identifying your group and provide safety vests, hard hats and trash bags. When the bags are filled, leave them at the cleanup site for city solid waste collectors to pick up. If you are interested, visit www.marysvillewa.gov/310/Adopt-A-
Street to learn more.
In other spring cleaning news, mark your calendar for April 25, when Marysville presents its annual Clean Sweep for city residents. You’ll be able to bring all kinds of garbage, recyclables and other items to our Public Works facility to dispose of at no charge.
Keeping Marysville clean is one way of fostering community pride and sense of place. When city government, residents and community groups come together, we can do great things.
PS: If you have concerns or just want to learn more about your city, I encourage you to attend my State of the City address Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Opera House, 1225 3rd St. It’s free to attend, and I would love to meet and hear from you.
Jon Nehring is mayor of Marysville. His column runs monthly.
