TRUMAN — A group of Truman citizens is working on ways to spruce up the city. An informal meeting was held this week for anyone willing to provide ideas.

At the City Council meeting on July 15, Pat Jones spoke up during the public comment portion, saying she had heard from concerned citizens about a lack of pride in the community. However, Jones said it was Kathy Sorenson who planned the meeting this week.

“Her concerns are the appearance of a number of buildings downtown, as well as a couple of homes and some things owned by the city,” Jones said.

“We were looking at some short-range projects and some longer-range projects of what we can do to freshen up the city and make downtown more attractive,” she explained.

Jones said about 20 people attended, including some long-time residents as well as new community members who have lived in Truman less than a year.

“We were pleased with the number of people who showed up,” she said.

Jones, along with several other active community members, has been busy in the Truman Community Club, which has worked on projects around the city in the past. However, death of Barb Mager affected the group. And some other long-time members who are getting older do not want to take on extra responsibilities. Jones said the result has been that the club is struggling.

“Unless we get an influx of new members, it will probably be defunct,” she said.

The group is not alone, as many other nearby cities have been losing active members of long-time community groups and have been searching for volunteers to help with projects.

During this week’s meeting, those present made a list of several building that need work. Jones said they would like to get going on a couple of projects that just require painting, but they need permission because some buildings are privately owned and some are city-owned, such as the former grocery store.

The push to clean up the city comes in anticipation of the all-school reunion, which will be held next year during Truman Days. Jones guessed that the last all-school reunion was about 20 to 25 years ago and was well-attended.

While the group has not scheduled another meeting date, some of those involved plan to attend the City Council meeting on Monday to speak to city leaders.