Monessen official seeking help to beautify City Park

Monessen Councilwoman Karen Cosner is hoping city residents, business and organizations will join the effort.

Monessen Councilwoman Karen Cosner has taken on the task of beautifying Monessen City Park, but she can’t do it alone and is asking for help from local residents and organizations.

Cosner has recently started developing a list of benches at City Park that need upkeep. Besides benches, Cosner is also working on fixing some of the other structures at the park, like a small tool storage facility and the playgrounds.

Cosner said that she’s working on reaching out to families who might be connected to some of the memorial benches. Other benches throughout the city may need to be replaced, and Cosner said the city would be happy if local residents or organizations could help replace some of them.

Cosner stated that if the city can’t find the owners or relatives of some of the memorial benches at City Park, then the benches will be removed.

Although she is placing some focus on Monessen City Park, she’s also hoping to get some help beautifying the rest of the city. Cosner added that even small actions, such as volunteering to clean up some of the city’s public areas, could go a long way for Monessen.

“Take pride in your community, lend a helping hand,” Cosner said. “Our parks guys do a great job in keeping things clear, but they cannot do everything.

“We have an aging population. We don’t have a whole lot of new members, and they probably don’t have any money for things, but still, if everybody would just do their part to try to clean it up, I’d be really happy, and I think everybody would be.”

Organizations like the Mon-Yough River Valley Rotary Club have recently helped replace the roof on one of the gazebos and a bridge at City Park. Cosner said that was a great help and she is hoping other local organizations will also step up.

If anyone has any information about some of the memorial benches at City Park or would be interested in replacing some of the other benches throughout the city, Cosner can be reached at kcosner@cityofmonessen. com or at 724-396-9592.

Cosner can also be reached for volunteer opportunities or to help renovate other structures at Monessen City Park.

“If somebody would want to have a neighborhood cleanup day, I’d be willing to give them bags and vests and things like that,” Cosner said. “I think change has to come from within the community. Nobody’s going to come in here and do it for us.”

Cosner has also started other initiatives, like placing notices around city baseball/ softball fields to deter residents from walking their dogs on them. Cosner said that dog waste has been an issue on some of the softball fields throughout city parks, so she asks that local residents refrain from walking their pets on city baseball/ softball fields.

Cosner said that in recent days she has also received some cigarette butt receptacles from Westmoreland Cleanways, which allow for the cigarette butts to be recycled. Cosner encourages Monessen businesses to reach out to her if they’re interested in placing the receptacles near their locations.

Cosner noted that there are some important dates for residents to know about:

• The Mon-Yough River Valley Rotary Club will be hosting an electronic recycling event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 11 at the Herman J Mihalich Memorial River Launch Park.

• The city will be hosting its summer concert series on June 27, July 11, Aug. 22, and Sept. 12 at Monessen City Park Amphitheater. Cosner emphasized that they also need volunteers for the concert series, and asked those interested to contact her.