City unites for cleanup

COSTA MESA — Jane Price got a hand from a group of Realtors Saturday morning, and it had nothing to do with selling or refinancing her home.

The Westside retiree, who has lived in her house near Fairview Park since the 1970s, was one of the beneficiaries of the 30th biannual “Neighbors for Neighbors” community cleanup, an event the city puts on every spring and fall.

A few weeks ago, Price got a letter from the city stating that her house was eligible for a new paint job, and Saturday, more than a dozen members and affiliates of the Newport Beach Assn. of Realtors surrounded her home with tarp, cans and brushes.

“I really like what they’re doing,” Price said, looking through her front window at the crew outside. “I really like it. They’re working so hard, and they’re so fast.”

Every spring, Costa Mesa organizes a massive cleanup day, with volunteers and city officials gathering at a public park and others venturing out to repaint single-family homes that have fallen into disrepair.

The event Saturday covered five homes in and around the Westside, while the bulk of the volunteers planted trees, chopped weeds and did other improvements at Fairview Park.

A number of Costa Mesa groups, including Save Our Youth and the Recovery Center, sent volunteers, while Ralphs, Vista Paint and other companies sponsored the event. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher also stopped by to visit with the cleaning crews.

“The support for this program is phenomenal,” said Jacqueline Reeves, the coordinator of “Neighbors for Neighbors” since 2001. “And they come back year after year.”

There was visible proof of that at Fairview Park, where the volunteers had congregated last year to plant flowers and trees. As the crews added new saplings Saturday, some stopped to remark on how big the ones had grown from a year ago.

The students who came from around Orange County to work at the park got community service hours, but others had personal reasons for wanting to lend a hand.

Doug Lofstrom, vice president of events and facilities for the OC Fair and Event Center, said he joined a group of fair officials in weeding trails partly to thank the city for its donation last year.

“We got permission from the city to use the paths for the cattle drive, so this is our way of giving back,” he said.

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.