Preparations for Citywide Garage Sale underway in SCS

ST. CLAIR SHORES — The Citywide Garage Sale is back this year, and the Cool City Committee is excited for residents and eventgoers to participate.

The sale times are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 17 and Aug. 18. John Cilluffo, vice chairperson of the Cool City Committee, said sales can open on Friday, but the Cool City Committee is not going to promote that day.

“We’re promoting only Saturday and Sunday,” Cilluffo said. “If there’s a rain out on Saturday, that’s why we’ll have Sunday for the makeup.”

Registration can be done through the Cool City Committee’s Facebook page or in person by visiting the St. Clair Shores Parks and Recreation Department in the Civic Ice Arena at 20000 Stephens Road. Those who sign up do not need a permit and do not need to pay the $5 fee to host a garage sale.

Registration started July 5 and closes Aug. 7.

Cilluffo said they had around 800 participants last year.

“The average resident made right around $400,” Cilluffo said. “So I think we brought in almost over close to $400,000 last year.”

Cilluffo said they will utilize a Google pinpoint map for the addresses as well as a physical copy. The pinpoint map allows eventgoers to see the addresses and plug them into their vehicle’s navigation system.

Cilluffo said this year, they want residents hosting garage sales to use the $5 fee to pay it forward at one of the local businesses.

“Just paying it forward, just being kind to the community,” Cilluffo said. “That’s one of the thoughts we really like to do.”

Cilluffo said they will also promote donating items to a nonprofit.

“We’re going to go around and we’re going to put a form out on Facebook for nonprofit organizations or organizations in the city that need donations,” Cilluffo said. “Maybe a dog shelter. They might need blankets, towels. Or an adult day care center, they may need coloring books, crayons, markers, craft supplies and stuff like that.”

Cilluffo explained the idea is that once the sale is done, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., the donation centers that register will have someone available to collect the goods not sold.

“But you need to have someone there at your donation center and you need to register in order for sellers to drop it off,” Cilluffo said. “We can’t just drop it off because it says nonprofit on the front of the building.”

The registration is scheduled to go out around the third week of July and sellers will get the information in a mass email in the first week of August.

The same rules for regular garage sales apply during this event. The biggest one is no signs on city property.

“That’s between the sidewalk and the curb. You can’t put signs out there,” Cilluffo said. “So you’re going to have to be neighborly. You’re going to have to ask your neighbor if you can politely put a sign on the corner of a street and stuff like that nature.”

City Councilwoman Linda Bertges, the council’s liaison for the Cool City Committee, said the transition into working with the committee has been smooth.

“I’m actually loving it,” Bertges said. “Cool City was one of the things that I did ask for from the mayor when he was assigning all the new commissions.”

She added that the Cool City Committee went dormant last year and that it has been revamped since then.

Bertges said she’s excited for the event and she’s been receiving phone calls from residents asking when the garage sale is.

“I think our whole city is very excited for this,” Bertges said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for the citizens to be able to have a garage sale without having to pay for it this year.”

Cilluffo said he can feel the garage sale building up.

“This is our sophomore year, our second year, and hopefully we continue this on each and every year as long as we can and as long as the city allows us to,” Cilluffo said.