Often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, there’s a saying that “if you want a thing done well, do it yourself.”

While this concept might not be ideal for a community where a specific need exists — but is not being met — it can act as an incentive for people to join their neighbors in pursuit of a common goal.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, Butler residents will get together at Father Marinaro Park for such a goal — to formulate plans for a massive cleanup at the park.

Another often-quoted line is “necessity is the mother of invention.”

Inspiration to fix up sections of the park first stemmed from one group of local athletes and, now this week, another has been motivated to do the same.

In the spring, the Butler Eagle spoke with residents who complained of how the park has fallen into disrepair.

A foreman who leads a small crew of maintenance employees at the park noted that a softball league that uses Father Marinaro has undertaken extensive efforts to maintain the site’s field.

For Thursday’s meeting, the group intending to clean the park was inspired by the conditions at Marinaro’s popular skate park, which residents said frequently is littered with trash and broken bottles and covered in profane graffiti.

The skate park’s concession stand has been reduced to a shed, and several of its wooden ramps are rotting.

Thankfully, the good Samaritans putting together plans to clean the park aren’t just focusing on the skate park — they aim to pick up trash throughout Father Marinaro and trim trees.

Others involved in the effort want to see repaving at the skate park, maintenance to the existing ramps and the addition of new ones and the installation of security cameras around Father Marinaro Park.

In an ideal world, obtaining the funds and resources for such a project could be completed with the help of local government. But Jeff Smith, the city council member who oversees the parks, said he believes that residents ultimately could be the ones to save the park.

“Fifty years ago, 100 years ago, the residents were the leaders when it came to doing things for our kids,” Smith said. “Through the years, somehow that responsibility shifted to our municipalities. Unfortunately, municipalities don’t always have the money or resources.”

Smith said there is $10,000 of the city’s $9 million budget allocated for parks. The money is used for the city’s summer playground program, and there was extra money this year for its swimming pool budget.

Smith hopes to convince council to devote more money to parks this year, but also praised local groups — such as the Rotary Club of Butler and Butler AM Rotary — for helping to rebuild local playgrounds and assisting with the city’s swimming program.

“There seems to be a growing number of people wanting to be involved,” he said.

That’s great news. It would be great to see a local group collaborate with the volunteers planning the cleanup at Father Marinaro to help move things along.

The fact that local residents are leading the efforts to fix up Father Marinaro Park and make it more attractive to the community should inspire confidence that civic responsibility is alive and well in Butler.