2026 "Spring CLEAN" Focuses On Area Near John Davis Rec Center
Tuesday, March 31st, 2026
Spring has sprung in Dalton, and with the return of blooming flowers and warmer weather also comes spring cleaning. Following successful efforts in 2024 and 2025, the City of Dalton is once again organizing a "Spring CLEAN" effort of its Code Enforcement Unit and Public Works Department to spruce up one of our founding neighborhoods. This year, the "Creating Lively Environments and Neighborhoods Initiative" - or "CLEAN" for short - will focus on the neighborhood surrounding the John Davis Recreation Center which will re-open later this year after an extensive renovation. The effort will begin April 2nd.
Dalton's "CLEAN" Initiative was modeled after successful projects in other communities such as the "5 X 5" program in Macon, Georgia. In that project, City leaders identified areas of focus that measured five city blocks by five city blocks - thus the "5 X 5" name - and devoted public and private attention and resources on bringing the area back up to code. In 2024, a pilot project in Dalton focused on the neighborhoods surrounding the Mack Gaston Community Center and the results were encouraging. Last year, the Code Enforcement Unit worked in the area around Lakeshore Park as well as the Hamilton Street corridor south of downtown.
Caption: An illustration using a Google map shows the "Spring CLEAN" project area near the John Davis Recreation Center on Civic Drive
"The first Spring GLEAN exceeded my expectations," said Dan Lewallen, the supervisor of the Code Enforcement Unit. "We got a lot more cooperation from property owners and residents than I thought we would. And last year, the results were also good so I'm looking forward to working on it this year."
The focus area for this year's project will be bordered by Civic Drive to the west, Mitchell Street to the south, Veterans Drive to the east, and Morningside Drive to the north.
The project will begin with inspectors from the City's Code Enforcement Unit surveying properties in the "Spring CLEAN" focus area to identify property-related issues such as maintenance and upkeep and most importantly, safety issues for residents in the neighborhood. When inspectors locate issues that fall within property maintenance codes and local ordinances, they will contact property owners to inform them of the violations and also help them put together a plan to address the issues. The City of Dalton will also make resources available to help address violations, including holding special "trash amnesty days" for residents where the Public Works Department will pick up accumulated rubbish and debris items that would normally be prohibited from curbside collection. Residents of each street in the focus area will be notified of when these amnesty days will be scheduled.
Some of the code issues that the "Spring CLEAN" will focus on include rubbish and garbage on the properties, inoperable or unregistered vehicles on the property, overgrown vegetation, homes and structures with peeling, chipping, or missing paint, and damaged exteriors.
The previous "Spring CLEAN" efforts led to a number of remarkable property transformations that improved the appearance and charm of the neighborhoods. Lewallen and the Code Enforcement Unit are hoping for similar results this year.
"I've used the term 'halo effect' before to describe it," Lewallen said. "One house in a neighborhood being fixed up really can lead to other houses down the street also getting better. That goes both ways, there can be a negative effect where one bad house in a neighborhood can bring the rest of the neighborhood down, too. We've had good results, and we're hoping for more this year."
