Yard Cleaning and Such

We, as mayors, have been meeting together for breakfast for a number of years. It gives us a chance to learn about issues in our different cities, share ideas, and discuss what direction we would like to see our city (and our county) go. We discuss what we might think is a good, or maybe not so good, and good discussions helps determine that. The meeting we had this morning (Friday) was just that.
We, as mayors, really have to say how much we enjoyed Mr. Steve Christensen’s article about “Help your city out, clean your yard.” Each and every mayor faces disgruntled, concerned citizens who run to city hall, attend city council meetings, and make phone calls to the mayor about properties in their area that are unsightly.
Mr. Christensen hit the nail on the head when he made the statements, and we quote, “the city, county – all government – is being asked to more with less,” and “But wait a minute, do anything you want, but don’t raise my taxes!”
We all want the most property value we can achieve, but we can’t always choose our neighbors. And their values and standards may not be as high as ours. Sometimes it really hurts. Most of the time our landlords just plain won’t take responsibility to clean up their rental properties. Why? Isn’t their land value of importance? It should be. Maybe the property owner is aged, or handicapped. Can’t our neighbors get together and help these folks out?
We had a “Community Day of Caring” going on in September…but September isn’t the only month out of the year that yards and properties need attention.
Many in the communities we live in are striving to “sell our area” to bring in more economy, encourage people to move here, and encourage housing developments. Isn’t it hard for them to do what they are trying to do when the local businesses, and citizens don’t even have enough pride to take care of what we have?
Please take the initiative to clean your yards, and go the extra mile to clean around your sidewalks and fencelines, and maybe even go one step further and help your neighbor. There is joy and satisfaction in hard work, and helping someone out. Thank you Mr. Christensen for your well-written article. We appreciate the positive media support.
—Price Mayor Mike Kourianos, Helper Mayor Lenise Peterman, Wellington Mayor Joan Powell, and East Carbon Mayor David Avery