MANSFIELD — Jennifer Kime stood at the corner of Fourth and Main streets Tuesday morning and looked around at a swarm of activity before 10 a.m.
The annual Downtown Beautification Day — a public-private-volunteer partnership — was already underway and will conclude with the 28th annual Operation Clean Sweep late Tuesday afternoon.
“We start today with the downtown having no flowers and litter and then we end the day with a clean and sparkling downtown ready for summer,” said Kime, the CEO of Downtown Mansfield Inc.
On Tuesday morning, city workers and volunteers were busy planting and watering flowers, prepping to plant flowers and working to improve features in Central Park.
“It’s a cooperative project between DMI, the City of Mansfield, donors and more than 100 volunteers working together,” Kime said.
She said Richardson’s Greenhouse in Loudonville delivered about 2,000 plants on Monday afternoon.
“Richardson’s has been growing our plants for a number of years now,” Kime said. “We sort them all out and get them delivered this morning to the spots. Then the volunteer groups come and plant them.”
(Below are photos from downtown Mansfield on Tuesday morning as the annual beautification day efforts began. The day concludes with the 28th annual Operation Clean Sweep at 4:30 p.m. with volunteers gathering in Central Park. The story continues below the photos.)
Kime said about 140 planters around the downtown were being filled with fresh flowers on Tuesday morning. Planting was also being done in Central Park.
“Probably between 2,500 and 3,000 plants being planted today,” Kime said.
Up the hill in Central Park, City of Mansfield Public Works Director Louis Andres was watching city workers make improvements to a park area that has musical-type features residents can use.
Workers had cleared the ground underneath and were putting down mesh to prevent weeds from emerging. Pea gravel would be poured overtop.
“That way we don’t have to spray (weed killing chemicals) or anything like that,” said Andres. “We have crews planting and watering.
“I checked in this morning. They say we are way ahead. We have got more stuff out quicker than we’ve ever had before. So that’s good. The city is completely on board,” he said.
“It’s just kind of getting out and getting everything spruced up for the weekend,” Andres said.
The work came natural to Andres, a man who began his 40-year career parks and recreation career in 1978 with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as a park naturalist.
“I am an outdoor person,” said Andres, appointed to his new position five months ago by new Mayor Jodie Perry. “I have been doing this stuff for over 40 years. I enjoy it. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it.
“What I enjoy most is getting that direct gratification and getting that positive feedback from our citizens saying, ‘We really like what you’re doing.’ I hope it shows and that’s what we’re trying to do is show that we can make a difference as city employees,” Andres said.
He also pointed out this week is National Public Works Week.
“We want to showcase our public works facilities and the people doing the things behind the scenes. No one complains about the water until you have to shut it off,” Anders said. “No one has a problem with the sewer until it’s broken down or we’re having to cut a hole down to it.
“Our folks are out there sometimes 24/7. They are really dedicated employees and we just want to say ‘thank you’ to them and hopefully our citizens appreciated what they do.”
Kime said she appreciates being able to work with Andres on the annual beautification project.
“It definitely comes in handy when you’re trying to leverage someone to get excited about beautification when you’ve got someone who understands the importance of creating a great community and what it means to people,” Kime said.
