MANSFIELD - Town Manager John D'Agostino says he is extremely pleased with preparations so far for the townwide spring cleaning set for the first weekend in May.

"It's been a real community effort," he said. "I think that's always nice to see."

Residents will spruce up the town's public spaces and then have a community barbecue at the Tweeter Center during the Great Mansfield Clean-Up, scheduled for May 3. Town residents John Holiver and Neil Rhein came up with the idea for the event.

The participation goal set by the cleanup's organizers has already been surpassed, D'Agostino said, with more than 900 residents registered to take part.

With more than $2,500 raised so far to pay for the cost of the cleanup, D'Agostino said the organizers only need to raise another $150 to meet their goal. "Donations are pouring in," he said. Specific items such as plastic bags and paper plates also have been donated. Many of the donations have come from businesses located in the industrial park.

Vehicles from the town's public works department are going to be used to collect the trash, and D'Agostino said he thinks Waste Management, Mansfield's private trash hauler, is going to pick up the trash free of charge.

Selectman George Dentino said he also has contacted Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who has offered to supply trucks and workers for the cleanup - although Selectman David McCarter said he doesn't want inmates from the county jail working alongside town volunteers on May 3.

D'Agostino said there is also some talk of having prisoners clean up trash alongside the highway ramps that lead in and out of town.

TED NESI covers Mansfield for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at tnesi@thesunchronicle.com. or 508-236-0333.