NEWBURYPORT — Folks walking along Inn Street will notice a fresh coat of paint adorning the area’s railings by the end of the week as the City Improvement Society recently took the space on as its latest beautification project.
“There’s a whole bunch of railings that all the paint had chipped, and so the City Improvement Society hired a contractor, C&S Painting, to sand all those down, scrape them all down, and put a couple of nice new coats of black paint on there just to shine them up some,” CIS leader Josh Bradshaw said.
CIS is a nonprofit organization founded for the purpose of preserving and improving the public spaces of Newburyport.
“Basically, the focus is on cleaning up and beautifying the city, parts of the downtown, just any areas that really need a little TLC,” Bradshaw said. “And this year, we’ve identified several projects that we’re going to be working on.”
He said the work on Inn Street will last throughout the week and that the contract was for about $3,500. He said they get all their funding through donations.
“Projects like this one are made possible by donations from residents looking to make a difference or residents looking to honor someone that they loved,” Bradshaw said. “Additionally, the Institution for Savings and The Newburyport Bank, The Arakelian Foundation, The Weathertop Foundation and The Nicole Nadeau Charitable Gift Fund, John and Mary Ann Cryan, Jack Bradshaw and Denise Marien and the John and Michelle Morris family were kind enough to make impactful donations to these efforts.”
Asked why he and his group are so passionate about taking on these projects around the city, Bradshaw said they just feel they are doing their part.
“There are so many expenses and so many parks and so many special spots that it’s really hard to keep everything looking the way it can and should without some outside involvement from the community,” Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw spoke about some of the work his group currently does.
“We pay for the flowers to be put in and watered at the triangle down in Market Square,” Bradshaw said. “We also pay for the flowers and some of the planters over by the rail trail on the underside of the bridge over to Salisbury. Those were just planted this past week. We pay for the watering for those to be done throughout the year.”
He said this year they are also taking care of the George Washington Monument area.
“Weeding up there is going to start the end of this week,” Bradshaw said.
He said they will also be painting streetlamps as the city works to replace their tops.
“We do have a pretty comprehensive schedule,” Bradshaw said.
InJuly, CIS contracted C&S Painting for the repainting of the “three roads” intersection water trough near Atkinson Common, a service C&S Owner Eddy Zanette provided for free.
“Whether it’s repainting the classic light poles throughout downtown, sprucing up historical landmarks such as the George Washington statue on the mall, or painting beneath the Route 1 bridge, we hope each CIS initiative contributes to fostering a more vibrant, and beautiful community,” fellow CIS board member Ron Martino said.
City Parks Manager Mike Hennessey, who often works closely with the CIS, had nothing but praise for the group.
“It’s a huge benefit to the parks division of DPS because they seem to always be working either on the rail trail, which is a park, or Inn Street, downtown,” Hennessey said. “Market Square is a park also, so they’re always finding something that’s just not quite up to snuff and like, ‘Hey, let us take care of that for you’ and it works out really well.”
Mayor Sean Reardon said the group has been a valued partner since he took office.
“Although the organization was formed many years ago and was dormant for a period of time, I was thrilled to see it revitalized,” Reardon said. “Its members are dedicated, engaged, and deeply committed to our community. Through their efforts and partnership, we have been able to make numerous subtle but meaningful improvements throughout our beautiful downtown, enhancing the experience for residents and visitors alike.”
Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.