Borough Program Helps Residents Clean Properties

The Mat-Su Borough CLEANS program helps residents who may be experiencing hardships to clean up their properties. Borough Development Services Manager Wade Long says residents can apply to the program for assistance with removing junk cars and trash.

About 20 landowners so far have applied for assistance. Long says the initial $100,000 funding for CLEANS comes from a major code violation case in which the property was sold after years of violations. 

The two main sources of labor for the program are the recovery group called Adult and Teen Challenge and a low-level criminal offense diversion program. In addition, community volunteers chip in for larger-scale cleanups.

Long says the Borough applied the CLEANS program to the entire Williwaw neighborhood in the Wasilla area, where there were a significant number of code violations. The Borough and many volunteers cleaned 180 properties over three days last year. About 70 properties were cleaned in the Sutton community this spring.

Long says residents can reach out if they are experiencing blight, but don’t have the financial means to clean their properties. Visit matsu.gov/cleans for more details.