Sometimes just a fresh coat of paint can make a huge difference.
That's the message Monessen Chamber of Commerce President Gary Boatman has been promoting in an effort to clean up the city's downtown.
Although the improvements may be subtle, Boatman says it's a start in the right direction.
Boatman could be seen over the summer visiting businesses and asking them to freshen up their facades.
"It's been going so-so," Boatman said. "There have been some people more than willing to fix up their signs and put on a fresh coat of paint, but others are very busy in the summer. But we still have commitments from them."
It's an effort that has the support of city officials.
Mayor Anthony Petaccia said he supports the work of the chamber and has also been tackling the downtown district.
The mayor said the street department painted street light poles this summer, which enhanced the new traffic lights that were installed.
The city workers also have been trying to keep up with weeds and high grass.
"We want to do everything we can to try and entice businesses and people to our downtown," Petaccia said.
Boatman said the Orchard Christian Church has pledged to fix up the "Churches of Monessen" sign that greets motorists on Route 906 in the Westgate section.
A group of volunteers from The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy faithfully comes every year to plant flowers and landscape the "Welcome to Monessen" sign in the city's Eastgate section.
Boatman said chamber officials have been pushing the city to make repairs at the aging city public parking garage.
The mayor said the city had money earmarked to paint the garage, but officials were told by the city's engineer that the building has several structural problems that need to be addressed.
"We didn't want to spend money to paint it when problems need addressed" Petaccia said.
Those problems may have to wait, though, as funding is an issue. The cash-strapped city can't use state Community Development Block Grant funds for a parking garage, the mayor said.
"We are going to try and get a grant," he said.
But while leaders are trying to beautify the city, there are many other areas and structures that could best be described as eyesores.
Petaccia said it's an uphill battle for a city whose tax base keeps shrinking.
"We know where the blighted and nuisance areas are and we are trying, believe me, to do something, but it's not that simple," Petaccia said.
He said the city is able to demolish about a dozen dilapidated properties per year using CDBG funds. But the mayor said it also takes about a year to research and get the proper rights to take over a property and have it demolished.
"We just can't go onto someone's property and tear it down," he said. "It's a long, drawn-out process."
Councilwoman Mary Jo Smith, head of public safety and code enforcement, echoed those sentiments.
"What people need to understand is that we have a procedure to follow, that is long and tedious," she said.
Smith said code officers Larry Vitale and Mark SantaColombo are out doing their jobs, citing people for overgrown weeds and violations of other city ordinances.
But, more often than not, there is no one at the houses to cite.
"We have slum landlords who just want to make money off of these properties and don't want to put any money into them," she said. "Plus, you can't find them."
She said there were 56 properties on the demolition list for 2007, but the city only has enough money to tear down about a dozen. Smith said the city could have "easily" added more to the list.
"We only have so much CDBG money and that has to be used for street repairs, catch basins and other improvements," she said. "We can only stretch it so far."
Petaccia said council recently passed an ordinance making anyone buying a house from repository or free and clear from the Westmoreland County tax rolls must pay a $1,000 bond fee to the city and provide a plan for fixing up the structure.
"The bond program is working a little bit, but we have absent landlords and people buying houses and lots over the Internet who just leave them sit and get worse," the mayor said.
