“Spring forward, fall forward?”
No, that is not confused advice for adjusting our clocks twice a year.
It’s simply Mayor Brenda Moore with her belief that if the past three spring cleanups have helped Saginaw to move forward, a fall followup should reap a similar result.
In fact, she’s not even waiting for the official season of autumn to begin later this month. This coming Saturday, Sept. 9th at 8 a.m., revives “Team Up to Clean Up,” with volunteers gathering on the City Hall steps and then fanning out to designated sore spots, armed with donated trash bags and work gloves.
The mayor says, “Our spring clean up events have been very successful, building unity and pride in our neighborhoods and making a positive impact throughout our city. We want to keep that momentum going throughout the year. Let’s all do our part.”
Lunch will be provided at the noontime wrapup, returning to City Hall. The second-Saturday ‘s large and odd item trash dropoff will proceed at the regular 8 a.m. start time in the public works lot south of City Hall, with a driver license required for proof of city residency.
Impact from ARPA?
Moore and supporters, including city staff, have raised small donations and minigrants to support the cleanups, everything down to snacks for the picnic, rather than pressing the tight regular city budget. She did not pursue ARPA monies from the big one-time federal block grant of $52 million, and she joined a unanimous City Council in supporting a modest $800,000 share for improved vacant lot mowing. Related to appearance and infrastructure, millions more are designated for City Hall, Ojibway Island, Hoyt Park, and housing loans and grants.
Much of the $800,000 for cleanup remains unspent, the mayor said, because of difficulty in attaining timely shipment of desired new equipment. Meanwhile, record-setting rainfall in late summer has greenery flourishing on many of the more than 3,000 state tax-reverted vacant properties, and the council has received complaints of gophers and other woodsy-type creatures wreaking havoc.
Homeowners may obtain adjacent lots that the Saginaw County Land Bank Authority has obtained to avoid speculators at public auctions. The price usually is $150. For information, call (989) 792-6028 or click here.
One success story, the mayor says, is expanded staff legwork with S.C.E.N.I.C. (Saginaw Code Enforcement Neighborhood Improvement Cooperative), but the challenge is far more widespread and a stronger team effort is needed.
Moore aims to make a biggest-ever impact next spring, bringing in heavy equipment and union volunteers. In the meantime, on Saturday she would be happy to see a duplication of past May efforts.
“Imagine what our city will become,” she says, “if we dedicate two or three Saturdays a year as our ‘Team Up to Clean Up Saturdays.’ I know our citizens and how much they love this city, and I know we can do it. I invite everyone to join me on Saturday. It’s just a few hours, but it will make a big difference in our community.”
