Jon Jaehnig/For the Mining Gazette Hecla St. in Laurium. The village council discussed several improvement projects geared toward keeping the city clean. Discussion included Beautification committee funding and updates to park equipment.

LAURIUM – The Laurium village council continued looking toward spring and summer at the May regular meeting, which took place on Tuesday evening. One recurring theme the council addressed was keeping Laurium clean, including public parks and private properties.

“Little league starts next week, so we went down and did the field clean-up,” said councilor Jeff Erickson, who is on the village’s Parks and Recreation Committee. Erickson further commented on repairs to the ball filed that will be carried out over the course of the season.

“There’s a big hazard with the right-field fence, so we’re going to be taking that down,” said Erickson. “Men’s Softball is looking to pay for the materials to replace that and we’ll be installing it for them.”

In his report, Village Manager Ian Lewis confirmed that the village has also been awarded a grant that fully funds new playground equipment and installation. The check is expected to arrive in the coming week, at which time the equipment will be purchased for later installation.

Erickson is also on the Beautification committee and commented on the progress towards the flowerpots that usually decorate Laurium’s main street. The initiative is organized by the Beautification Committee but carried out by community volunteers and funded by donations. There is still time for donations to be brought into the village hall.

“We were tasked with raising $1,000 by Memorial Day weekend, and right now we’re about $700 short, so we’re going to be shaking some trees,” said Erickson. Erickson reported that the Beautification Committee is going about a number of other seasonal tasks in the meantime. “Murals are going back up, the memorial banners are going back up, flowerpots are going up – we’re really churching up the town.”

The council also reminded the village that public streets and parks aren’t the only areas in the community that might need some attention.

“We’re obviously into the Spring months. The pretty stuff is showing up – so is the ugly stuff, and we’re not going to be lightning up on our blight ordinances,” said village president John Sullivan. “These ordinances aren’t new, even if their enforcement might be.”

Sullivan ensured the village and police chief Kurt Erkkila that the intent isn’t that blight management be a law enforcement operation but rather a community effort.

“What we’d like to do is get the community involved in this through self-policing,” said Sullivan.

The council also expressed an understanding that blight isn’t always the result of negligence and that tackling it can be an opportunity for community members to come together.

“Some of it is elderly people that might not be able to take care of these things themselves,” commented councilor Krista Carlson. “Then a neighbor could offer to help out.”