Clean Team?

[wes on wooster]

I'm in my first year of residence on Wooster St. and I'm loving it so
far. I have had few problems, the neighbors are pleasant, and FUEL is
the best coffee in town to my palette. My biggest gripe is about the
trash storage at the sidewalks and the litter on the higher-speed
Olive St around Comcast and the vacant warehouse at the intersection
of Wooster and Olive. Being the gateway to the historic Wooster
neighborhood, I find it less than grand- especially when on foot.

The following link is a recent article about how upper State St has
banded together and as part of the 'association' (and associated
members' dues) they have hired the Clean Team to work once a week to
help keep the area clean. Perhaps this would be a possibility for
Wooster Square. The park is fairly well kept, but the streets often
seem less so.

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/04/upper_state_str.php

Any thoughts? Since I'm fairly new to the area, perhaps this has been
discussed? Realizing that garbage service is a reality of life and the
configuration of pickup and storage is best suited to the neighborhood
(or is it?), we should do our best to keep these areas neat and tidy.

For the good,
wes on wooster.

[Ben Gardner]

Hi Wes,

I'm glad you found the DWSCMT Google group and posted this thoughtful
comment. We briefly discussed your post at our monthly meeting on
Tuesday night, especially in relation to the Upper State Street
Merchants' Association that has been newly formed/resurrected. Win
Davis from Town Green Special Services District gave a brief outline
regarding their contract with the Merchants' Association for services.
In particular, Win noted that economies of scale allow them to offer
such arrangements for relatively low cost. He pointed out that Town
Green would be very interested in working with community members in
Wooster Square to offer similar services.

On State Street, merchants have agreed to pay dues that provide funds
for Town Green's Clean Team services. As far as I know (which isn't
very far) past proposals for paying dues to receive special services
in Wooster Square were not welcomed warmly by merchants. Other options
include created a special tax district in which everyone living within
the defined district pays an extra bit of tax, which in turn funds
special services (that could even include additional law
enforcement).

However, it seems that the City has responded well, at least in the
case of Upper State Street merchants, by committing $3000 in funding
this year and, according to what I heard at Tuesday's meeting, $12,000
next year to compliment money being raised privately and action
generally being taken among community members. With a little bit of
organizing (we have plenty of examples to follow and resources at
hand), it seems like something positive could be done. It would be
nice to hear from some other like-minded residents, as well as our
Alderman, on this matter. Let's keep the conversation going, here and
at subsequent management team meetings. Thanks again, Wes.

Ben
Vice-Chair DWSCMT
benja...@gmail.com