By Michael Butler

It is spring cleaning time, and Tallassee mayor Joey Wiginton is putting an emphasis on sprucing up the city.

“If nobody’s noticed, they haven’t looked,” Wiginton said.

For starters, Wiginton has begun changing the landscape at City Hall.

“All of the holly on the sidewalk has been taken up. I had plans to plant more, but it looks so good. We’re going to get the (Veterans) Memorial cleaned up. We’re going to plant a few shrubs around it and some flowers.”

The old sewing factory on Jordan Avenue is getting a paint job.

“That’s the first thing you see when you come into town. We’re going to plant some shrubbery. It’s going to look a lot better.”

Kudzu can be an eyesore and a nuisance too. It is prevalent along E.B. Payne Drive near Thurlow Dam. Wiginton has a plan to combat it with the aid of the Tallassee Fire Department.

“Burn it. Then spray it. Put some hay and grass seed and grow it,” he said. “They said at one time that whole hill was roses. Wouldn’t that be beautiful? Next winter, we’re going to burn a lot of it. It’s taken over the city.”

Wiginton met with Kenneth Boswell, director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs about opening up the former train trestle as a pedestrian bridge, in addition to creating nature trails along the riverfront.

“He called me last week and said we’ve got you a half million-dollar grant. I have a structural engineer coming,” Wiginton added. “We want to revitalize downtown. What better way than to get that bridge going?

“I had Quentin Riggins with Alabama Power out there. We were talking about the bridge. I said, ‘Could you imagine what that river would like if those trees were gone?’ He said, ‘We do need to cut those trees.’ That would be a beautiful view. Quentin told me they’d turned us down on the request to use the walkway on their property. I was really disappointed. They keep saying liability. I told him I’m not going to accept your no. There’s got to be a solution for us to use that.”

Wiginton hopes an arrangement can be made to open the area for a trail to extend from the Alabama Power property at Thurlow Dam to the boat ramp behind AES owned by the city.

“That’s the first thing that could really put Tallassee on the map. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen. It’s a treasure that we’ve hidden for a lot of years.”

There will be clean up days in Elmore County scheduled for April 10, 11 and 12. Wiginton encourages every citizen to get involved.

“We’re getting supplies. People throw out trash. We’ve got to do a better job. We need to clean this town up.”