By Haylee Pence
PIQUA – Piqua residents who are interested in beautifying their landscapes, their neighbors’, or their local park can submit an application for the Piqua Cares Community Trailer. The trailer is available to any Piqua resident or community volunteer group at no cost.
Amy Welker, Health and Sanitation director, stated, “The idea came from the observation that a lot of properties needed some work or maintenance, but often times people did not have the tools to do the work. This is a way for the city to help citizens or groups who want to make a difference in the community. Groups can use the trailer to complete projects that make a huge impact on neighborhoods.”
The mission of the Piqua Cares Community Trailer, according to the city of Piqua’s Public Relations coordinator Brittany Van Horn, is “to provide an asset to [the] community that they might not have in their own personal aspects.” Van Horn hopes that the trailer can “bring the community together.”
The trailer currently holds a variety of tools including a lawn mower, shovels, leaf blowers, rakes, wheelbarrows, and hedge trimmers. Piqua residents can borrow the trailer for up to five days after an application is submitted through the city of Piqua’s website and then approved. The trailer is on a “first come, first serve” basis. The Health and Sanitation Department is responsible for delivery and pickup of the trailer.
Since the creation of the trailer, it has been used a “handful” of times, and Van Horn encourages Piqua residents and volunteer groups to utilize the trailer.
The community trailer was funded by the Ohio EPA Community Recycling and Prevention Grant, and the items inside were donated by AM Leonard.
