The Calexico City Council approved creating a position that will be in charge of cleaning downtown on a regular basis at their Oct. 7 meeting.
By taking this action, the council is addressing one of the most important demands residents have been asking for years. People on social media have posted pictures in recent months complaining about how the business district was abandoned by having trash accumulated, dirty sidewalks, and the lack of attention to the overall image of downtown. City Manager Miguel Figueroa acknowledged the comments of the people and said that this action will help fix that issue.
“Our community has brought to our attention and that’s why it is important for us to have this position,” Figueroa said.
The city signed a contract for solid waste services with Republic Services of Imperial County in October 2, 2019, that included a support fee to fund a part-time position. It was the Administration and Council’s intention at that time, to utilize these funds for the purpose of cleaning the City’s downtown alleys, surrounding public areas, and community facilities. The City does not currently have a job description suited for this specific purpose; therefore, a new job description was developed as the first step in the recruitment process.
Job descriptions are created to outline the essential functions and job requirements expected of the positions. The Environmental Services Worker will be responsible for cleaning up the downtown alleys, sanitizing and maintaining the surrounding areas. The position will have the responsibility of making designated areas cleaner, safer, and more attractive for visitors and businesses. The Environmental Services Worker is also expected to act as a liaison providing information to downtown merchants and property owners to resolve issues that arise, working with City Code Enforcement or Law Enforcement personnel when necessary.
“Ultimately, the success of the Environmental Services Worker position is going to depend in large part upon a collaborative relationship between the property owners, downtown businesses, and City teams,” Figueroa said in his report.
Figueroa said that the goal is to have businesses feel that the city is behind them and little by little they can take the extra step and make sure the frontage of their business is clean.
“Through this staff member, we want to bring on board, make sure that there is that cleanup component, that there that code enforcement component specifically for that area in Calexico. Our city should not look dirty. We need to be creative in ways to keep it clean and that’s been a lingering program that has to be addressed and we are thankful for the opportunity we are embarking on,” Figueroa said.
Funding for this position is provided in the agreement between Republic Services and salary and benefits should not exceed $70,000 per year.