Ah, the snow’s long gone. And you know what that means? Community clean up across the borough!
Sutton went above and beyond a normal community clean up this year. Over 250 people pitched in. They filled dumpster after dumpster.
How did they do it? They partnered with the Borough Planning Department. Development Services Manager Wade Long leads the Borough CLEANS program. The program helps clean up areas struggling with borough code compliance.
The project area in Sutton encompassed 343 properties. It’s a large area, about 1,600 acres. There weren’t many code cases in the area, but the ones that existed were intense. The parcels were large. Some of the trash required heavy equipment to move.
Long reached out to the community. Librarian Juli Busby was the main point of contact. School principal Emily Jordan helped Long get to know the community. The word spread from there.
Long and his staff went door to door with information and the signups. People were already expecting them.
The cleanup days were May 27 through May 30. Most of the volunteers were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Community members and borough staff also pitched in. They identified properties, staged dumpsters, and set up the flow of the work.
Coordinating dumpsters is a challenge when working outside the core area. It takes about an hour to drive to the landfill. And then they might have to wait in line. And then they have to drive back.
Not everyone wanted the clean-up crews on their property. Long says, “We respect property rights.” A lot of people put the trash by the road. And it was no problem to pick up.
The clean-up crews served about 100 of the 343 properties. The large clean-up in Sutton was like the one in the Williwaw neighborhood of Wasilla last September.
Long explained the program is designed for smaller parcels as well. He visits community councils to talk about the CLEANS program. Long says, “In the day-to-day, when we’re not doing these massive cleanups, the CLEANS program is a solution for people that have these code violation cases. They may not have the means to resolve this situation themselves. They may have financial hardship or a disability. They probably can’t clean it up. So, they may qualify for this program. And so, we want them to sign up.”
Code Compliance officers are passionate about serving people. Long encourages residents to welcome them. Long and his staff want to help people get to a solution.
The CLEANS program is real. It helps people. Long says, “We will clean the properties for free and restore this situation and get the borough off their back.” It’s important to Long that the borough serves more than the core area.
CLEANS stands for Community, Land, Enforcement, Abatement, and Neighborhood Support. It supports cleanup of private properties with code violations, Borough-owned lands, vacant lots, and community areas that have become hazardous or unsightly. To learn more about the CLEANS program, visit matsu.gov/cleans.
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This Page Two article was reported by Kendra Zamzow and produced by yours truly, Lee Henrikson. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Tuesday June 16, 2026.
(photo: Williwaw neighborhood cleanup. credit: matsu.gov)