Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.

That’s Sara Jespersen’s message to people who regularly climb the Main Street stairs in Stillwater. Jespersen and a crew of about 15 volunteers spent Thursday morning removing buckthorn, stumps and trash from the area as the first step in a major makeover.

“It’s kind of ugly right now,” Jespersen said as the crew was wrapping up work Thursday afternoon. “Hopefully, everyone is patient with the process.”

Jespersen and three other women recently received a $10,000 grant from Stillwater Area Foundation’s Great Idea Competition to clean up and redo the stairs.

The group, which includes Maria Beaudin, Terri McEnany and Colleen Moran, plans to fix crumbling concrete patches, tuckpoint walls, pick up trash, remove invasive plants, paint over graffiti, build a patio area at the top of the stairs, add benches and decorative potted plants, and install lights and a camera for increased safety.

Jespersen, president of Trumi Training, a fitness and nutrition company in downtown Stillwater, had her 9:30 a.m. class work on the stairs instead of doing their regular strength-training and high-intensity-interval workout.

The volunteer crew had to carry brush and trash up the stairs — rather than down. “The city said it would have been too busy to take it down to Main Street,” she said. “It was a great workout. It was insane. One guy logged three miles, going up and down the stairs.”

Volunteers will next gather from 9 a.m. to noon July 19 to plant 200 hostas, day lilies, bushes and trees; rain date is July 20.

“We’re looking for skilled volunteers, since planting takes a wee bit more green-thumbing,” Jespersen said.

She said the group will be working hard this summer and hopes to have the makeover completed by Sept. 1. “This whole city is going to be annoyed with me, but we want to get this job done,” she said.

Any money left from the makeover will be used to make improvements on the Pioneer Park stairs, she said.