WESTBROOK— The newly formed Downtown Clean Team began patrolling downtown on Monday, picking up trash throughout the area in an effort to beautify the city and make it more of a summer destination.

The Clean Team includes two temporary employees that will collect debris that public services has a hard time getting to.

The team, which is under the umbrella and budget of public services, will operate summers through early fall, which is when roadside trash is at its worst. Clean team members are set to be paid $12 hourly, which was able to be absorbed by the budget.

“I am very excited to work with Dan Stevenson, the director of Economic Development, on this joint project,” Public Services Operations Manager Arty Ledoux said. “When Dan first presented me with the concept of a clean team working downtown,  I was thrilled. The city center is a major focal point for the city, and the residents, business owners and visitors expect and deserve a clean downtown area. This collaborative effort between the two departments will allow for Public Services to re-assign key staff  to other priorities while still being able to address the cleanliness of the downtown corridor.”

City officials began working on the clean team last year, after getting a call from a resident who was upset over the amount of trash on the sidewalks and streets in downtown.

Smaller pieces of trash, like alcohol “nip bottles,” cigarette butts or plastic wrappers, are just too small for public services to effectively get to, Stevenson said. However, just a couple of people cleaning downtown would make a notable impact.

“I pride Westbrook on our public services, but it is difficult to keep up on that trash in the summer” Stevenson added.

The clean team started off with just one member on July 22 before a second cleaner will come onboard within the next few weeks.

The plan is to have the cleaners begin early July each year, when trash really begins to collect outside. The position is currently set-up to taper off in September before the fall.

“It’s important because it is a quality of life issue,” City Administrator Jerre Bryant said.

The cleaners will focus on all of the streets downtown, from Route 25 to the public safety building, as well as from William Clarke Drive to the river walk, stretching towards the outdoor pool and skate park, Ledoux said.

The cleaners will be equipped with gear to pick up trash, as well as orange vests and T-shirts.

“This is something we can do for our downtown, where the impact is notable immediately,” economic development director Dan Stevenson said. “It cleans up downtown, but shows that we care about downtown and our small businesses.”

 

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