Remember: our rules allow pointed disagreement, but require respectful discussion.
--
Susan Young at Public Works responded privately to my email here regarding
posting Recycling Schedules on the web. I forward her answer (with her
permission) to the list. The take home message is comments on the City
Website -- and making it better do get taken into consideration. I'm not
sure on the timing of the database redisign -- but it sounds like part of
the trouble with getting recycling scedules on the web is an outdated
database -- that doesn't talk with web applications.
I'd like to thank Susan Young, Deb Parker and Vai Pan at the City for
responding to the citizen comments posted here. There are alot of
complaints about poor city service. I've made my share of those. However
I'd like to applaud folks who work at the city in public service (which I
do think is a high calling -- not worthy of the derision it often gets)
when they are proactive in responding to citizen comments.
Eva
Eva Young
Central
I wrote:
>>The other thing I'd like to see is Recycling schedules on the city Solid
>>Waste website. I went to the site to look for recycling schedules -- and
>>was informed that I'd have to call to order one sent to me by snail mail.
>>This seems to be an obvious place where the web could be very useful.
Susan Young's response:
>>Hi Eva............
>>
>>I've looked at putting the recycling schedules on the web--but right now I
>>don't have the links to the GIS system so that we could have maps with
>>enough fine detail to get the day-strips right. Quick Trash 101: We
have
>>5 garbage days, Monday through Friday--with the 6 Major Holiday exceptions
>>when trash is collected one day late. The days are divided into strips,
>>north and south through the city, with 3 Monday "start" strips followed by
>>the other days (a color map really helps this explanation out!).
>>Essentially, the strips go from Monday through Friday from West to East.
>>Strips are easier for us to manage if we have to "go back" for a customer
>>for any reason, they're also more efficient for the trucks to drive.
>>Overlaying the 5-day strips are the recycling days--10 different days,
>>because recycling is collected every other week. We therefore have 10
sets
>>of calendars for recycling--which are VERY address dependent. For
>instance,
>>to say that someone lives on Portland, and so their garbage day is Tuesday
>>is only half right-----the even side of Portland is a Monday g-day.
>>Recycling weeks also split streets---you gotta have a division SOMEWHERE,
>>and we try not to spit an alley if we can help it! If the maps are not in
>>sufficient detail--folks can't read them accurately, and are upset if they
>>set stuff out on the wrong day. They also forget about the 6 major
>>holidays--that's why the calendars that we send out have the Specific Days
>>for recycling for each address. I've tried to put a modification of our
>>data base on the web, so that folks could look up their particular
address,
>>but it's currently written in DataFlex---and won't handle the Web
>>application well.
>>
>>We're in a project to redo our data base--bring it into the 21st century,
>>add some web-friendly applications, add some GIS flexibility and be more
>>customer oriented. I also send every new Utility Bill Payer a packet of
>>information--including their recycling calendar, so that new residents
that
>>are the UB payer have all the info they need (including Voucher info).
I'm
>>trying to help the landlords keep current information on hand, so that
when
>>they have new tenants that are NOT the UB payer, they will be able to give
>>the correct information to the new resident. I also have very strict
>>standards for our customer service phone operation---and you have my
>>commitment that you will NOT have to wait in Phone Hades for more than 30
>>seconds to have a live question answered.
>>
>>We've got a lot of info on the web--we were the first City Division to do
>>that, and we try to keep it updated and reflective of the needs of our
>>customers. However, we're not perfect yet, and we need to keep making
>>progress. If there is other information that you would like, please let
me
>>know. If I can't get it into the Web right now, as is the case for the
>>recycling schedules, I'll make sure that it's part of our redesign.
>>
>>Thanks for the question-------sorry about the length of the response.
It's
>>tough for me to limit myself on my favorite (trashy) subjects!
>>
_______________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more:
http://e-democracy.org/mpls
