LEWISTON — Mayor Larry Gilbert had a story for just about every block he led councilors down Wednesday afternoon.

On the corner of Birch and Bartlett streets, he saw a woman sweeping the curb in front of her apartment last week. He stopped, shook her hand and thanked her for taking pride in her neighborhood. 

Across the street, he asked a landlord to mow the front lawn.

“And it looks much nicer,” Gilbert said, pointing to tenants in lawn chairs sitting in the shade. “And now, people can use it.”

That was the point of the tour Wednesday, to reacquaint councilors and city staff with the conditions of downtown buildings and grounds. Untidy lawns, piles of trash, old furniture — that’s one side of downtown councilors went seeking. Newly painted buildings, clean front yards and new work and improvements — they found those as well.

“It’s not all bad downtown,” Councilor Steve Morgan said. “There are still a lot of people down here who care for their community.”

Building safety and quality has been on councilors’ minds a lot lately. 

After complaints from both tenants and landlords, councilors agreed this spring to hire a new code enforcement officer. The city’s current two code enforcement officers perform between 500 and 750 inspections per year, but they rely on voluntary compliance from landlords. The new person will work more aggressively to target problems, focusing on buildings referred by other city staff.

Gilbert has made it his goal to target litter and unkempt property in the downtown. He promoted efforts to get special trash cans — decorated by Lewiston youths — placed on several downtown streets.

His goal for Wednesday’s tour was to get councilors all on the same page by looking at some problem areas. He started with a list of six neighborhoods, but councilors were able to make it to only four Wednesday — Little Canada around Potvin Park; the buildings south of Kennedy Park; the Pierce, Birch and Bartlett area; and Howe Street between Ash and Pine streets.

One weed-choked lot was filled with trash bags and an old mattress. It was the kind of problem councilors wanted to see.

“I probably don’t need to see any more,” Councilor John Butler said.

But they did. A newly remodeled apartment building on Bartlett Street sat across a parking lot from a pile of abandoned furniture. Piles of old mattresses appeared in odd places and trash often spilled out of dumpsters.

“It’s a mixed bag,” City Administrator Ed Barrett said. “Some places people care for; others, they don’t.”

Councilor Morgan, a real estate agent, said he was familiar with the area, as were all of the councilors. Still, Tuesday’s exercise was worthwhile.

“Maybe, by seeing the same things and seeing what needs to be done, we can make something happen,” he said.

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