Spring is nearly here and the Plains Beautification Committee is wasting no time in making plans to help residents in need.

Members of the committee had their first meeting at the Century 21 Big Sky Real Estate office in Plains last Wednesday evening to start planning for the spring Beautification Day Cleanup, scheduled for Saturday, May 18.

"This is a great program. It helps neighbors and community members with projects that they can't otherwise accomplish on their own," said Lana Dicken, one of the main coordinators of the event. "It helps build community pride and a desire to invest in others and our community. It also highlights vulnerable populations who might need wrap-around services identified and offered that are outside of the scope of the beautification agenda," she added.

This is the second consecutive year for the all volunteer Plains Beautification Committee. Town volunteers had held cleanup days in the past, but just once a year, usually in the spring, but last year was the first year that it was done twice, once in the spring and once in the fall and the committee felt it was well received. "I believe our program has been successful and each event becomes even more efficient leading to even greater success," said Dicken, a newly appointed town council member and one of seven volunteers at last week's meeting, which included former councilman Garrett Boon, Scott Johnson, Tim Kinsinger, Anita Marsh, Deb Warren, and Plains Mayor Joel Banham.

Warren is the group's newest committee member. Though she lives outside the town limits, she lives in the community of Plains and wanted to help. "I call it Plains America. I love this community and I feel that anything that goes on in the city limits also reflects on us that live out of the city limits," said Warren, who also owns a commercial building in town.

"I love this program for the town because it solves a problem we have in a positive way. It helps people in our community with their yard issues. It comes from a point of service. Most people just need a little bit of help and encouragement," said Warren.

The group is looking to hold its spring cleanup day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 18. They will be having electronic forms and information about the event on the town's website - plainsmt.org/beautificationday - and will have forms at City Hall for those who want to be on the help list and for those who would like to be volunteers. People can also call City Hall at 406-826-3411 if they'd like to be a volunteer for the event. Johnson said that volunteers are crucial to the success of Plains Cleanup Day.

"This program wouldn't happen if it wasn't for the volunteers. A lot of volunteers is important because it allows us to get more work completed in a shorter amount of time and the more volunteers there are, the less everyone has to do," added Johnson. The group had 22 volunteers last fall and around 40 volunteers last spring.

The group will be again having a staging area on town property in the clearing across from the fire department. For the spring cleanup, this is a chance for people to get rid of old appliances, tires, general trash items, as well as lawn debris. Johnson said the forms are important because it gives the group an idea of what specifically needs to be done and it tells them how much time they'll need at a place and what tools will be required for the job. The forms include the person's name, phone number, what needs to be done, and whether or not they'll be there when the volunteers arrive.

Johnson said that some people who asked for help last time lent the volunteers a hand. He and Boon will again reconnoiter those wanting help to determine the needs of the project and Dicken and Marsh will be going door to door to hand out fliers and recruit volunteers. The group will also be putting up a large banner along Railroad Street and spreading fliers at businesses around town.

"I'm glad to be involved and as a mayor I think it's important to be there as a liaison and communication link," said Banham. "It's a great program because it encourages volunteerism and compassion for our neighbors. This town has a lot of older folks that are finding it hard to keep up with the tasks of home ownership. We'll all be there eventually, so setting an example of kindness and compassion will eventually come back around on us," he said.

At the meeting, the committee discussed the possibility of helping to beautify the main street in front of the businesses in Plains with flowers. Marsh said they could get free seeds from the Eastern Sanders Conservation District. Warren said they tried a similar project when she was on the defunct Plains Chamber of Commerce, but had trouble getting volunteers to care for the plants and it was sometimes difficult getting water to the hanging baskets of flowers. She said that for a while they paid Little Bitterroot Services to water the plants, but it was costly. Marsh was thinking more on the lines of barrels on the sidewalk, but funding for the barrels and volunteers to water the plants might still be a problem.

They also talked about getting help from local emergency services people to get numbers on the more than 100 houses without them. Banham is looking into purchasing a bulk amount of numbers that could be mounted on the house during cleanup day.

Dicken said the program has been well received and one resident has already asked about this year's cleanup day. Johnson believes the program is very beneficial to the town and appreciated by recipients based on the feedback they have received.

The committee plans to meet again on Wednesday, April 3, at 7 p.m. at the Century 21 Big Sky Real Estate office in Plains.