MARYSVILLE — The annual Pride of Marysville Neighborhood Improvement Award program is accepting nominations for 2014. These awards recognize neighbors and business owners who take pride in their property in ways that enhance the appearance of their community.

Nominees are judged on their visual enhancement, preservation of the character of their area, and improvements — such as buildings, landscaping and signage — or enhancements of the natural environment.

Properties can be nominated for one of the following four award categories, based on their qualifying characteristics (selecting more than one invalidates the nomination):

1. Best Home/Pride of the Neighborhood, for homes that are consistently well-kept, with well-manicured lawns and colorful landscapes, or enhanced with new paint, landscaping or other significant aesthetic improvements.

2. Best Block/Neighborhood, based on their general, neighborhood entrance and gateway appeals, as well as any improvements made.

3. Best Business, for business sites with the most curb appeal, that have attractive landscaping, well-kept appearances and attractive facades, and are assets to their neighborhoods.

4. Mayor’s Choice and the James Comeford Award to the Downtown/Waterfront District’s Most Improved, which can go to either a home or a business.

Award winners are drawn from a pool of nominees selected by the community through a nomination process, and are then chosen by a committee consisting of the Mayor, a City Council member, a Planning Commissioner, city staff and citizens selected at large. The Mayor names his winning selection from the same pool of candidates.

Nomination brochures are available on the city’s website at http://marysvillewa.gov/prideawards, and can be completed and submitted online. Shutterbugs with a camera or smart phone, snap a shot of your nominee, even if it’s your own home or business, and email it to dbuell@marysvillewa.gov.

Brochures are also available at these locations:

• Marysville City Hall Lobby, 1049 State Ave.
• Marysville Public Works Department Lobby, 80 Columbia Ave.
• Marysville Parks and Recreation Office, 6915 Armar Rd.
• Marysville Library, 6120 Grove St.

If you prefer, the city also provides two more easy ways to submit your nomination.

Email your nominee — including the address, the owner’s name, if you know it, and why they should be selected — and any available photos to city of Marysville Public Information Officer Doug Buell at dbuell@marysvillewa.gov.

Visit the city’s website at http://marysvillewa.gov, click on “Smartphone Apps,” then download the Marysville Request Tracker App to your iPhone. You’ll be able to enter the location address and description of why you chose the nominee, and snap an instant picture of the home or business.

Nominations are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, June 6.