Want a clean, beautiful city? Get the community involved. That is the advice of Paula Brown, director of public works in Ashland, Ore., a city renowned for its well kept parks and litter-free streets.

Like Natchez, Ashland has suffered from dips in the economy. Residents particularly recall the late 1970s and early ’80s, when shops closed and boards covered doors and windows of once picturesque downtown buildings.

Today, both the culture and the appearance of the town attract growing numbers of tourists and retirees. The city is vibrant, clean and beautiful.

&uot;There is a lot of community interest in the city. People like having a small but beautiful community, and they want to keep it that way,&uot; said Brown, a civil engineer and environmental engineer.

With a $20 million annual budget, the department oversees not only street and sidewalk maintenance but also 15 public buildings, &uot;some of them very large ones,&uot; she said. Her department also oversees the municipal airport and water and sewer utilities for the town of approximately 19,000.

Brown said finding funds to meet the challenges of maintaining a small city is a challenge in itself.

State money has been a help. Still, getting the citizens involved was a priority.

&uot;Our two main streets were part of a state highway, and we took jurisdiction of them a few years ago,&uot; Brown said. &uot;That enabled us to receive some maintenance funds and a modernization grant.&uot;

For nearly two years, town meetings allowed residents to get involved in the street remodeling.

The resulting beautification of that part of the historic downtown thus became a project in which the people felt ownership.

&uot;Even the high school kids get involved,&uot; Brown said. &uot;They are active on all of our committees. They ask for projects to do.&uot;

Students help to keep the city litter free. They clean up along the banks of a creek that runs through the town. &uot;They make a difference,&uot; Brown said.

She has a three-man crew working on potholes in streets, with at least one day each week devoted to those repairs. &uot;We concentrate quite a bit on that,&uot; she said. &uot;We get calls and try to respond to those as quickly as we can.&uot;

Getting state money to help with sidewalks has been a help, also. &uot;And often you can include the curbs when you repair the sidewalks,&uot; she said.

City leaders put a priority on infrastructure and environment, a spokeswoman for Ashland said.

&uot;Ashland is spotless,&uot; said Ann Seltzer, director of communications for the city, in an earlier interview drawing comparisons between Natchez and Ashland.

&uot;I think it’s a sense of pride,&uot; Seltzer said. &uot;If the mayor is walking down the street and sees litter, he will stop and pick it up.&uot;

One campaign run by the city’s conservation committee admonished citizens, &uot;Tread lightly on the earth,&uot; Seltzer said. &uot;There is great public awareness of taking care of the environment.&uot;

Ashland, in addition to the usual commissions, including historic preservation, has a tree commission, a bicycle and pedestrian commission and a public arts commission. The city also owns all of its utilities.

Mary Pat Parker of the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, also responding to questions in an earlier interview, said streets and sidewalks are a priority in Ashland. &uot;We can expect 25,000 people at our Fourth of July parade,&uot; she said. &uot;The next day you don’t know there was a parade.&uot;

Emphasis on cleanliness and green spaces includes setting aside a portion of the 5 percent food-and-beverage tax to buy open space, Seltzer. &uot;The goal is that anywhere in Ashland you will be within half a mile of a park,&uot; Parker said. &uot;Sometimes it may be just open green space, sometimes developed.&uot;

Natchez can do the same

The Ashland experience of recent years is exactly what Ren Adams hopes will inspire Natchez residents.

She envisions involvement by people from all parts of town and engagement by young and old in activities that will give the historic downtown area a good-looking, inviting appearance.

&uot;I’d like to challenge civic groups and church groups to become involved,&uot; said Adams, marketing director at Dunleith Plantation and the chairman of a Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce tourism committee.

&uot;If we can get people to understand the tourism industry, they will say, ‘why haven’t we been doing that?’&uot;

Adams said she is confident that there are many people who want to be involved and who would volunteer to help. &uot;We just need to lean on them and give them ownership in the project.&uot;

In a story published in the Sunday edition of The Democrat, Adams raised the question of garbage collection for downtown businesses, pointing out that some business owners must put trash out on Friday afternoon for early Monday pickup.

&uot;Why can’t business owners use the alleys that run behind their buildings? Why can’t there be dumpsters put in the alleys for them?&uot; she said.

Adams suggested jail inmates might be used more effectively; she wondered whether high school students might be inspired to work regular days of community service to beautify the downtown area.

The Chamber tourism committee is comprised of energetic people who care about the problems of general untidiness and dilapidated buildings, she said.

&uot;We have a plan of action. We are asking the aldermen to bring back the tourism ordinance, bring back the tourism advisory board and give it 25 to 30 members who are people really involved in tourism who can break out into small committees that can get some work done,&uot; Adams said.

&uot;We want the tourism advisory board to be completely open to the public so anyone can come and be a part of it and make suggestions. We’re working together. We have a lot of energy. We are ready to address the issues.&uot;