Get out those reflective vests, work boots and gloves, the City of Moose Jaw wants you to help keep the community clean and experience satisfaction in a job well done.
Guidelines around the municipality’s Community Cleanup Program were unanimously approved during city council’s Sept. 9 regular meeting. The program encourages community groups to adopt specific areas of the municipality and clean up litter.
As part of the program, 100 safety vests at $6.90 each will be purchased for $690, while 100 pairs of gloves at $1.35 each will be purchased for $135, paid for out of the city manager’s special projects account. Landfill tipping fees of $69 per tonne of garbage will be waived as part of the program.
Garbage bags will also be provided
Highlights of the program include:
- The program will be in effect for one week in the spring and fall;
- Interested groups should submit their applications to the engineering department;
- The municipality will advertise the program and request participation in advance of each designated cleanup week;
- Groups and individuals are encouraged to pick up litter all year, however, if a group cleans up outside of the designated week, they should notify the engineering department.
The first community cleanup week is from Monday, Sept. 30 to Sunday, Oct. 6.
A full list of locations available to be adopted for cleanup can be found at www.moosejaw.ca.
Council discussion
“We are very excited to bring this program forward to council,” said city manager Jim Puffalt. “We look forward to publicizing the program in the community. We know that we have a number of groups that are already working hard to help us look after litter and keep the community clean.
“We need to do this as a community.”
City hall wants to take a main role in this program, Puffalt continued. City administration wants to have as many municipal employees help with the cleanup program as a way to lead by example.
If more than one group wants to clean the same area, city administration will see if both groups will work together or if one would take another location. Whether it’s a community organization or a group of family and friends, city administration wants residents to work safely and ensure they have their paperwork submitted for safety reasons.
“Our intent was to see how it goes the first year, and if we’re able to get a number of groups that take specific areas, we would probably leave that until somebody said, ‘I don’t want to do it anymore,’” Puffalt added.
“I love this idea … ,” said Coun. Chris Warren. “It really does add to a sense of pride and adds to the beautification of city.”
Coun. Crystal Froese was also excited for the program, saying she and Coun. Heather Eby attempted to have similar cleanups occur in 2012, but had sporadic results.
Froese added that the South Hill Community Association has already scheduled a cleanup on Oct. 22 and jokingly asked if city hall wanted to join the organization on that day.
There has been tremendous change in how the downtown looks ever since Puffalt arrived, said Mayor Fraser Tolmie, who noted they both picked garbage on Puffalt’s first day. Due to the city manager’s efforts, the flowers are looking good, while the streetlights are working and the streets are clean.
The mayor added that if city hall leads in this area and has community partners join, residents would see the enthusiasm for cleanliness being displayed, which could spread to other areas of Moose Jaw.
The next regular council meeting is Sept. 23.
