Volunteers pitch in to beautify city
About 50 volunteers gave downtown Butler a thorough spring cleaning early Saturday morning.
The city Shade Tree Commission and Butler Downtown coordinated the annual Big Spring Clean, with volunteers roaming up and down Main Street cleaning, sweeping sidewalks, weeding and mulching trees.
“We’re getting the city in shape for spring,” said Julie Dandoy, a leading organizer of the event with the Shade Tree Commission.
Dandoy said maintaining healthy trees downtown is an important part of having a healthy downtown.
“It’s important to green up the city,” she said.
The commission recently planted four lilac trees in front of the public safety building and five London planetrees on McKean Street. Funding for those trees came from a $25,000 grant the city received last year from Canadian National.
Dandoy said one of the biggest struggles on Main Street is cigarette butts.
“It’s a huge problem,” she said. “It would be great if people could use the receptacles a little. It’s a concern every year.”
Bob Dandoy, a lead organizer with Butler Downtown, said keeping the streets clean is vital for businesses.
“It’s a visible demonstration that people care in the community,” he said.
Butler Downtown is a nonprofit group aimed at promoting business downtown.
Dandoy said it’s the little things that can change the perception of a city. He said the downtown group used to hang flower baskets on the city’s street lights before they were changed to a newer pole.
“I think that got more attention than major infrastructure projects,” he said.
Dandoy said Butler Downtown is doing a streetscape plan it will pitch to the city that would lay out the framework for how the city should look.
“It’ll show how sidewalks should be, what trees to plant, what benches to use — that way there are uniform guidelines across the city,” he said.
He expects the plan to be done this summer.
Barry Cummings, owner of Cummings Candy and Coffee on Main Street, spent the morning with his daughter, Thomasina, 10, cleaning the sidewalks.
“I think even more than the actual cleaning, this serves as a bonding time for people in town,” he said. “It’s great to clean up, but it brings people together.”
Samantha Thomas, 13, of Summit Township said she was excited to get out and help make the city a more beautiful place.
“It’s nice to have a nice place to go,” she said. “And it’s good for the environment.”
