Council to Debate $180,000 Project to Clean up Downtown Moncton
MONCTON — Moncton City Council will soon debate a motion that calls for an extensive, ongoing cleanup of the downtown area.
Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc. (DMCI) and its staff would lead a pilot project this summer.
Councillor Shawn Crossman, a DMCI board member, introduced the motion during last week’s public session of council.
The motion noted how residents and business owners in the downtown have expressed concerns about garbage, used drug materials, graffiti, stolen or abandoned shopping carts, and unkept areas.
DMCI would lead the cleanup effort from May 1 to October 31, with seven days a week coverage from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Four to five staff would be involved and supervisors would be on-site every day.
Under the proposal, the city will be asked to contribute $180,000 toward the cleanup. That money will be taken from a contingency fund approved during 2023 budget deliberations.
DMCI would track the progress of the program and report back to council on the “benefits and drawbacks” of the program in time for council 2024 budget deliberations.
The proposal still hasn’t passed yet, however. Council will discuss the motion at its next regular meeting, on April 17.
Allan Dearing is a reporter with 91.9 The Bend in Moncton, a Huddle content partner.
April 11, 2023 @ 8:04 am
Why not get rid of the real problem? The politicians who refuse to do anything about the housing crisis and want to put more importance on making things we don’t need like the avenir center instead of putting more cops out there and housing so these people who got screwed over actually have a place to go instead of in front of doorways and bridges?