LYNN — The City Council voted Tuesday night to approve the purchase of a small-to-midsize motorized street vacuum cleaner to assist with cleaning up city streets.
The purchase is part of a campaign to address the litter problem throughout the city, spearheaded by Councilor-at-Large Brian Field and Ward 5 Councilor Dianna Chakoutis, as part of the council’s Trash and Litter subcommittee.
Chief Financial Officer Michael Bertino informed the subcommittee the city has identified some non-taxpayer money to put toward the purchase of the motorized cleaning equipment, which would help to supplement ongoing street sweeping efforts.
“It’s our hope that we can establish a pilot program very soon that would go to alternative days and remove litter from designated areas that wouldn’t be as disruptive as a full-size street sweeper,” Bertino said.
Bertino said the new piece of equipment would be able to clean up areas where wind has blown trash, such as under benches or in the corners of fenced-in areas.
As a supplemental approach to support street sweeping, Bertino said the new equipment would help to reduce litter throughout the city by creating awareness about the importance of not only the subcommittee, but everyone working together to tackle the problem.
Field highlighted the importance of picking up litter, saying that the city has received numerous complaints about the condition of its streets.
“We do need to be more aggressive and more responsible,” Field said.
Two years ago on Earth Day, Field said members of the council went into second-grade classrooms in the city to educate students on the detrimental effects of littering on the environment and the importance of cleaning up trash.
The elementary students created posters to encourage people to pick up their trash, which Field said were going to be put around the city until the COVID-19 pandemic hit, putting the initiative on pause. However, the posters are now ready to be put on display, in various Lynn businesses and storefronts.
“We’re going to be asking the business community to display these posters that were created by our second graders — now fourth graders — in their windows, reminding and encouraging people to keep Lynn clean,” Field said.
The trash cleanup campaign began about two weeks ago, coinciding with an increase in the city’s littering fines from $50 to $100, with Lynn offering a new option for community service if those fines caused a financial hardship, Field said.
“Now is the time to really kick off a full campaign against the problems that we have within the city about littering,” he said.
Field credited Department of Public Works Associate Commissioner Lisa Nerich, who is also a subcommittee member, for creating about 2,000 signs in Spanish and English that urge people to “Keep Lynn Clean.” Those signs will be displayed at parks throughout the city, and will also include information about the local ordinance that prohibits littering and fines that could be incurred for each violation.
“It’s not one person. It’s not one department and it’s not just the government,” Field said. “It’s going to take businesses and everyone within the city to be vigilant to keep our city clean. It’s just a quality-of-life issue for everyone.”
Field said he also spoke with Acting Police Chief Lenny Desmarais, who is supportive of efforts to clean up the city and is working with him to impose fines for littering violations.
It’s time for people to really follow the law, said Field, who encouraged people to reach out to the City Council office or to their respective ward councilors to request a sign or poster if they desire to put one on display.
A number of councilors have planned a series of cleanups around the city.
Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan encourages people to join him and Council President Darren Cyr Saturday at the former St. Michael’s Hall on Elmwood Avenue, where they will work on cleaning up the neighborhood.
Hogan is also teaming up with the nonprofit, YouthBuild, to do more cleanups throughout his ward. Dates and times for those events will be determined in the upcoming weeks, he said.
Ward 2 Councilor Rick Starbard plans to coordinate a park cleanup on Thursday, May 5 at Keaney Park, and at Cook Street Park on Saturday, May 8. Starbard said the Cook Street cleanup will require a lot of volunteers to rebuild some of its gardens with rakes and shovels provided by the public works department.
School Committee member Jared Nicholson, who sits on the Trash and Litter subcommittee, expressed his support for the city’s efforts to reduce littering on Tuesday.
“Prevention is a big part of the overall strategy of trying to help people understand the importance of solving this problem,” said Nicholson.