ABOVE: Raymond and Kayla Cerry work to pick up and collect garbage along the waterfront at Gomsrud Park on Sunday.

FAIRMONT – Once a month, the Backyard Kreationz Car Club has taken on the task of cleaning up Gomsrud Park.

The group, headed by Pops and Tiffany Winters, started after splintering off from another local car group. Pops Winters said they do car shows, barbecues and parades. They are also interested in community service, which is how this opportunity came about.

“With the previous car club we were involved with, they did Adopt-A-Highway. Since we have a lot of individuals with kids, we felt it was better just to go ahead and do adopt a park. We went down to City Hall and we talked to Betsy, and she gave us all the intel that we needed for this park. Since we have so many people, we were able to adopt this park because it’s the biggest park.”

Parks and Street Superintendent Nick Lardy said it had been several years since a group had volunteered for Gomsrud Park. The current Adopt-A-Park system wasn’t implemented until 2015.

“If it’s an individual or group or something, they’ve got to apply for it,” he said. “They can get all the forms at City Hall. Parks are available first come, first served. If you already have a park adopted, you can put in that you want to do it next year, get first dibs. There’s also some other requirements for reporting and what kind of work they did.”

This was their second month doing it. Group Sergeant Robin Raymond said it went pretty well, as they incorporated a lot from what they had learned doing Adopt-A-Highway. Assistant Secretary Crystal Martin-Boomgaarden said that process is pretty straightforward.

“We put on our gear, whether we have a vest or our neon shirt,” she said. “We always walk with two if we have a kid with us, so we always have eyes on a child. We take our bag and we pick up our garbage, and we meet back in a meeting spot and we put our garbage together.”

Even when not there for the designated pickup, Tiffany Winters said people will come through when out and about and pick up garbage.

With activities like this and the group as a whole, Pops Winters said it is a good way to keep people away from trouble and find belonging.

“For those who had mental issues, maybe even substance abuse,” he said. “We got some in here that have handicaps, some real deep issues in here. Since being a part of this group, which is family-oriented, it has changed a lot of those people. They don’t look to those drugs anymore. Now they’re a part of something.”

Lardy said there is only so much that park employees can accomplish each day, so having volunteer groups helps pick up the slack and spot issues.

“Biggest thing is maintenance issues,” he said. “They’ll walk through and notice something in the bathroom or whatever that needs attention. Reporting vandalism has always been good. It’s a lot of times we don’t go and look at every picnic table every day, so that helps out.”

Currently, only five parks are in the program thus far, while Lardy said there are usually eight or nine. He said having this program allows civic-minded individuals and groups to assist in keeping Fairmont parks clean and orderly.

“They’re out there when we can’t be there,” he said. “They’re helping maintain and beautify the park system, which the city of Fairmont greatly appreciates.”

For more information or to sign up to adopt a park, call City Hall at 507-238-9461. For more information on the Backyard Kreationz Car Club, search “Backyard Kreationz Supporters Page” on Facebook.