Abbeville wins State’s Cleanest City Contest

Abbeville is back on top of the “Clean City” mountain.
Abbeville won its district title in the Louisiana Garden Club Federation’s Cleanest City contest. Officials notified Abbeville Mayor Mark Piazza Monday afternoon. Judging took place this past Friday morning.
The city competed in District 3, Category G. The district included Pineville, which beat out Abbeville in 2013.
“I had a good feeling,” Piazza said going into the contest, “but I knew it would be very close. The judge told me that it was extremely close between us and Pineville. She said both towns were immaculate, but it came down to a couple of pieces of paper here and there and a few cigarette butts.
“We inched it out.”
This is the city’s first state title since 2012.
“It’s a good tool to promote your community,” Piazza said. “I think it speaks very highly of the citizens of Abbeville. They stepped up to the plate.”
While a great deal of work in the weeks and days leading up to Friday’s judging were important in obtaining the win, it was a last-minute effort that helped push Abbeville over the top. Volunteers picked up trash Friday morning, not long before judges arrived in the city.
“I think that made a difference,” Piazza said.
Some government buildings, including the Vermilion Parish Courthouse, the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Vermilion Parish Government Complex, and the Vermilion Library, as well as Vermilion Catholic and Mount Carmel, were along the route.
“All of those did a magnificent job of keeping up their facilities,” Piazza said. “All of those areas were very well maintained.”
Private citizens helped, too.
“They’re not supposed to judge on private properties,” Piazza said, “but they do look at them and it makes a difference. We took the extra time and contacted some homeowners to make sure grass was cut at a couple of places. The homeowners, and even a couple of businesses, stepped up.
“They corrected a couple of things that we pointed out to them and I think that made a difference.”
The long hours put in by volunteers with Keep Abbeville Beautiful and the Abbeville Garden certainly made an impact.
“We can’t do it without them,” Piazza said.
City workers also played a pivotal role.
“They worked extremely hard,” Piazza said. “They should be proud.”
Contributions from the Vermilion Parish Police Jury and Vermilion Parish Sheriff Mike Couvillon also factored into the victory.
“I would also like to thank the Abbeville City Council members for their support,” Piazza said.
There are no regional rounds for the Clean City contest, but the city is focused on a repeat.
“We would like to see more effort put into keeping our streets clean throughout the year,” Piazza said.