City clean-up kicks off

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

SPRINGFIELD One of the first steps in a new effort to address trash in the city has been reached.

At the kick-off of the Keep Springfield Beautiful Initiative on Friday at the Springfield YMCA, it was announced the affiliation fee of $4,600 to the Keep American Beautiful organization was achieved. The city's Parks and Recreation Department contributed $2,500, Pride Gas Stations committed $500 and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce donated $1,600.

The Keep Springfield Beautiful Initiative is a multi-tiered effort to control trash and litter in the city. The goals include:

the building of a city-wide grassroots effort to monitor and address litter and decay in the city's neighborhoods;

a month-long program in April 2007 to promote personal responsibility and a citywide campaign to reduce trash;

a comprehensive plan to monitor and fight litter and decay that would include the completion of a quantifiable Litter Index, survey tool to determine the current status of the trash issue in the city.

Steve Clay, the president of the YMCA of Greater Springfield called the Initiative "a very exciting and wonderful program."

Clay added that the Springfield YMCA learned from its participation in the revitalization of the Liberty heights neighborhood the importance of keeping an area clean.

Charles Contant explained the Initiative grew out of discussions among members of the grassroots Citizens for a Clean Springfield that started in 2003.

Clay said that the April 2007 cleanup of the city will involve thousands of volunteers. Tim Siddle of Waste Management explained that at that time the company will place 17 dumpsters in the city's neighborhoods to be filled. The goal is to remove 150 tons of trash in one day.

Colleen Walsh, the city's School Department's director of health and physical education, said that lessons on littering and trash will be part of the health education curriculum.

Participating groups in the Keep Springfield Beautiful Initiative include Citizens for a Clean Springfield, the YMCA of Greater Springfield, Baystate Health, MassMutual, Pride Gas Stations, American International College, The Springfield Chamber of Commerce, Springfield College, Waste Management, Western Massachusetts Electric Company and the city's municipal departments. The city's neighborhood councils and civic associations are also members of the Initiative.

"This is what a community is all about," Mayor Charles Ryan said. "This is one of the things we have to do. We're making the kind of progress we need to make."