City of Pittsburg’s monthly “Spruce Up Pittsburg” meeting solicits ideas from community

April 17, 2023July 21, 2023 Cecily Stephens 0 Comments

Area residents submit suggestions for improving the Pittsburg community.

February 24, 2023

By Cecily Stephens

**Volunteers from the Pittsburg Area Young Professionals clean up the Pittsburg area.**
*Courtesy photo*

Key Takeaways

The City of Pittsburg held its monthly “Spruce Up Pittsburg” meeting
PIttsburg residents shared suggestions for improving their neighborhoods
Local civic organizations contributed ideas for enhancements to the city

The City of Pittsburg’s monthly “Spruce Up Pittsburg” meeting held a brainstorming session to solicit ideas for the improvement of Pittsburg and its area neighborhoods.

A lively crowd of Pittsburg residents participated in the meeting. Attendees were asked to identify problems that existed in their neighborhoods, share their suggestions for addressing the issues and contribute ideas for enhancements to the city.

“We invited residents, businesses, and civic organizations to discuss plans to beautify the city,” said Pittsburg Mayor Ron Seglie. “Community members were asked to bring their input, ideas and enthusiasm, and any who want to volunteer are welcome.”

Residents were seated at tables that were divided into quadrants that represented the four neighborhoods of Pittsburg: northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest. City of Pittsburg public information manager Sarah Runyon asked the members of each quadrant to place their ideas on color-coded sticky notes that would be collected by designated table leaders. On blue sticky notes, the members defined what “Spruce Up Pittsburg” meant to them. On yellow sticky notes, they wrote specific suggestions for the improvement of their neighborhoods.

**The crowd listens to local entrepreneur Stephanie Watts discuss ideas from community members with City of Pittsburg public information manager Sarah Runyon.** *Photo credit Cecily Stephens*

Suggestions ranged from picking up debris and replacing dilapidated signage to mending broken sidewalks and improving traffic flow. Other ideas included improvement of inadequate lighting in some areas, the removal or repair of derelict buildings and the creation of a tool-lending program to provide access to implements needed to maintain neighborhood homes.

Several local civic organizations were represented. In attendance were members of Pittsburg Beautiful, the Colonial Fox Theater Foundation and the Pittsburg Area Young Professionals.

Giving back to the community is an integral part of the vision of the Pittsburg Area Young Professionals, a group that seeks to expand the personal and professional growth of the younger business community, according to group spokesperson Amy Sawyer. Volunteers from PAYP helped collect the suggestions and coordinate the discussions.

“We’re here to encourage people to take part,” said Sawyer. “We want to see them get more involved. It’s a great way to bring the community together.”

**Table leader Amy Sawyer listens to ideas for neighborhood improvement submitted by area residents**. *Photo credit Cecily Stephens*

Members of the Colonial Fox Theatre Foundation, which is dedicated to the rehabilitation of the Colonial Fox Theater in downtown Pittsburg, were also present. The Foundation sees the theater as a vital asset to downtown Pittsburg and to the Pittsburg community in general.

Stephanie Watts, a local entrepreneur who is on the board of the Colonial Fox Theater Foundation, acknowledged the Foundation’s latest endeavor, the installation of an electrical vehicle fast-charging station in the parking lot north of the theater. The EV charging station is the first of its kind in southeast Kansas and is currently the only one in Pittsburg.

The City of Pittsburg has one of its most active partnerships with Pittsburg Beautiful, a group of volunteers whose goal is to beautify the city. Working closely with the Pittsburg Parks and Recreation Department, the group works to reclaim blighted areas by turning them into green spaces and to enhance the visual appeal of public areas by providing plants, flowers and decorative art.

Pittsburg Beautiful announced plans for their annual spring project, where participants plant flowers in decorative stone urns in the downtown area and maintain the green spaces that provide benches, tables and shady pergolas for downtown patrons.

“We aim to make the city more inviting for residents and visitors alike,” one member said, “and we welcome anyone who wants to help.”

Pittsburg Beautiful and the Pittsburg Area Young Professionals are also actively involved in cleanup efforts in and around the city. The groups helped coordinate efforts to recruit volunteers for trash pickup from Pittsburg roads and nearby highways.

Watts, who acts as the point person for several local civic organizations as well as serving on the board of the Colonial Fox Theatre Foundation, said that all the attendees were there to improve their city.

“All of us share the common goal of improving the community,” Watts said. “And we want to show prospective new residents that Pittsburg is a beautiful city, a great place to live.”