PAWTUCKET - As part of his commitment to taking a neighborhood approach to cleaning up substandard properties in the city, Mayor Don Grebien has announced the formation of a volunteer Mayor’s Environmental Task Force.
The volunteers would monitor conditions in their own neighborhoods and report any apparent zoning and building code violations, or similar cleanup issues, to the city Zoning and Code Enforcement Department.
“It is the intention of my administration to clean up our neighborhoods by working with volunteers and community groups and following up on what they report to us," said Grebien in a release. "Nobody knows their own neighborhoods better than the people who live in them."
The mayor noted that task force members will have no power to issue citations for violations.
“Their only power will be the power of observation, but by being our eyes and ears in the community, they can stretch our limited resources and allow us to use the resources we do have much more effectively,” he said.
The group’s reports will be referred for further review, where appropriate, by other city agencies to the public safety departments. The Department of Planning and Redevelopment, in conjunction with zoning, may also be notified regarding any violations, as well as district city council members and neighborhood organizations.
Grebien said the task force will not interfere with standard procedures for zoning and code violations. He added that residents will have a full opportunity to address the violation and restore compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Grebien said the importance of the neighborhood approach to having a cleaner city became clear to him when he was campaigning last year.
“I heard from many residents about properties in their neighborhoods that were not kept up," he said. "I have made a pledge that my administration will work to make every neighborhood in Pawtucket a place that we all can be proud of, and this task force is a positive step in that direction.”
Officials are seeking at least 10 volunteers from across the city to make up the task force. Anyone wishing to apply should send a letter, with accompanying resume, to the mayor's office at Pawtucket City Hall, 137 Roosevelt Ave., Pawtucket, R.I. 02860.
