By Gannon Parker
On Aug 31 the city of Marion completed the third of four quadrants the city has outlined for their Clean City 2.0 initiative.
Mayor of Marion Ronald Morrell Jr.’s initial goal with the Clean City 2.0 initiative was to make Marion look nice again and make it one of the nicest cities in Indiana.
“This was a passion of mine when I was running for mayor when I saw the condition of parts of the city of Marion, and I just felt that it was unacceptable compared to what the people of Marion deserve,” said Morrell Jr. “Ever since this administration took over, we’ve been working as a team to lock in and get this done.”
The first city-wide cleanup was held on June 29 and the second took place on July 27.
Supervisor of Marketing & Community Development Layla Price-Bodkin said one of the most important parts of this initiative is realizing the scale and making the proper adjustments to maximize performance.
“When we drew everything up, our goal was to make sure every part of Marion can utilize this,” said Price-Bodkin. “Each time we do this, we have the city divided into four quadrants, which cover every street in the city when everything is said and done, to ensure everyone is a part of this clean-up initiative.”
Residents were able to take their trash to the Citywide Maintenance and Street Department as long as they were residents of the city of Marion.
Neighborhood Association Coordinator Deana Vice said this event is a great opportunity for the community of Marion to come together and pitch in and play a part in cleaning the city of Marion.
“This whole event is a way for people to clean up some of the trash and junk we see in the City of Marion,” said Vice. “It also gives people a great way to volunteer and be a part of the community.”
Mayor Morrell Jr. said, “Seeing people coming out and being willing to help means everything to me. It shows that we are really moving in the right direction as a city.”
The final city-wide cleanup will be on September 28.
Emily Bontrager 
Alexis Podgers