Having clarified issues regarding cash incentives for volunteer groups, Ward 4 is moving ahead with a community cleanup on Saturday.
Keep El Dorado Beautiful, with assistance from Clean Harbors, has asked each ward of the city’s four wards to coordinate a large cleanup for each quarter of the year.
Ward 4 is organizing the second such event from 9 until 11 a.m. Saturday.
Volunteers are asked to meet at 8:30 a.m. at Old City Park to pick up supplies and for a briefing on checkpoints to be cleaned throughout out the ward.
Lunch will immediately follow at Old City. Cash awards will also be presented at that time.
Volunteer teams are asked to present a list of team members to help save time during the sign-in period.
Janis Van Hook, president of KEB, said all team members that appear on the list must be present during sign-in and they must be present during the check presentations following the cleanup.
The first quarterly cleanup of the year was held May 12 in Ward 3.
To help encourage more volunteers to organize and participate in efforts to help keep the community clean, Clean Harbors agreed to offer cash incentives of $300 each to groups, such as youth sports teams and church groups, with 10 or more members.
The offer led to several misunderstandings for the Ward 3 cleanup and KEB members have since clarified the rules for the cash incentives.
For the Ward 4 cleanup, 12 slots are available for teams to receive cash awards.
Van Hook said all of the slots have been filled, and groups from Ward 4 have first priority for the slots.
“That’s the way it works. Teams from the ward will have first choice,” she said.
“If there are any slots left or if a team backs out and a vacancy comes up, there are other groups waiting in line, but if there are no other groups waiting in line, then groups from other areas will be considered,” she explained, adding that people from all over the community are welcome to participate in the cleanup.
Additionally, Van Hook and Mary McAdams, Ward 4, Position 1, alderman and KEB member, said volunteer teams must have at least 10 members to be eligible for cash awards.
Van Hook noted that during the Ward 3 cleanup, different teams that were part of the same group each received cash awards and one of the teams had only five members.
“That wasn’t fair to other groups who could have received that money. There will be one check per team, period. If you’re part of the same group, you’ll just have to figure out how to divide it up,” she said.
Also, all teams must complete the cleanup on Saturday in order to receive cash awards.
During the Ward 3 cleanup, a few teams who were not available to complete the work on May 12 followed up days later, with one group volunteering as late as June 16.
“In order to get the money, you have to do it on June 23. We are not going to change the rules midstream,” Van Hook said.
For more information or to volunteer, call Van Hook at 870-314-3481, McAdams at 870-310-9798 or Ward 4 Alderman Dianne Hammond at 870-862-4503.
Cleanups for wards 1 and 2 will be held in the fall.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.