Have you ever called the "city" and complained about something?

[Kitty 34]

They cut a bunch of trees down around the school's football field (which is very near our house). Well last night they set fire to all those trees. Not only has the smell been absolutely horrid......ashes are all over my car, the kids' bikes and trampoline and Number #1....we're smelling all of this!!!!


We called the City and they said basically too bad for us because the school got a permit to burn for three days!! My DH says the piles will probably smolder for a lot longer than that!!!

Have you ever had to make a complaint??? Was it taken care of???

 

[Doctor P]

Yes, we have complained a few times, but we try to keep it to a minimum because I am a city management professor and am also an expert witness in a lot of legal cases against cities, and I don't want them to have any impression that I am throwing around my weight to get action. We do not want to be thorns in anyone's side. Every complaint we have ever made has been very polite, and has been well investigated and resolved quickly.

 

[LemonDietCoke]

We often call and let them know when a traffic light is out or there is a road problem.

We really haven't had much else to complain about since we moved here.

 

[pumba]

about having a four way stop.....they told me I had to get it approved by the city....so I got the necessary papers and went around the neighborhood and got a petition signed and got two more stop signs...less accidents almost immediately.....you can make a difference if enough people jump on your bandwagon too.......alot of smoke would to me mean more pollution....right???????/

 

[December99]

I did have to email a complaint this past winter. Our subdivision is one of the last that they seem to plow and we had been hit with a pretty good storm. Our university was not closed so we had to get out to go to work even though the schools were closed. We have a slight incline at the entrance/exit of the subdivision. There was alot of snow piled up at the entrance/exit and in order for me to get out of the subdivision I had to pray no one was coming and take a running exit with the car from about 30 feet away. Fortunately there was not a car coming from either direction. If I would have stopped at the stop sign, I would have gotten stuck and not gotten out. That was not my concern, my concern was it was a potentially dangerous situation and if an ambulance would have had to come into the subdivision, there could have been a potential problem with them getting out.

Needless to say I got a very nice response and the subdivision, after that, has had at least one very good swipe done before people begin leaving for work.

 

[smiley]

When we moved into our house we noticed that there was a large puddle of water directly in front of our house every day. It was caused by neighbors irrigating their property and the water flowing downhill. Only instead of flowing in the gutter to the storm drain, a lot of it pooled in front of our house. I notified the city street department who notified the engineering department. They told me it would be repaired, but that they needed to re-engineer the gutter and that they would re-pave our street at the same time. It did take a while for them to start the job, but they would drop by about every 6 months or so and give me an update. It is great not having the "lake" in front of our house and my son's newest claim to fame is that he was the first kid to rollerblade on the newly paved street.

I don't know if I'd call that a complaint, perhaps just a notification of something that needed to be repaired.

 

[jfulcer]

Wouldn't you be complaining to the school? Based on your message it was the school that cut down and torched the trees, not the city.

Do you have kids that go to that school? Would you rather them have spent the money on chipping up the trees, hauling them to a dump and paying to dispose of them, or burning them and using the money for school programs and such??

Just seems like a minor, couple day inconvience for nearby residents in the face of nationwide increased school spending cuts.

 

[beachbunny]

I agree that the smell alone would drive me nuts. Even three days is NOT minor. Smoke inhalation is bad for your lungs. Also, what if a member of your family suffered from asthma?

Check to make sure your property hasn't been damaged by the ashes. If it has, then make a police report and then contact the city, your councilperson, and the mayor's office.

 

[Kermit]

I agree that no one should have to smell smoke like that. Only people who live in the country should be allowed to set fires, especially ones that last 3 days. I think the problem is that the city gave them the permit to begin with. I'd be seriously ill if there was a fire close to me for that long. Honestly, I'd probably have to take our popup to a nearby campground, since I'm very allergic to smoke.

 

[Kitty 34]

Originally posted by jfulcer
Wouldn't you be complaining to the school? Based on your message it was the school that cut down and torched the trees, not the city.

Do you have kids that go to that school? Would you rather them have spent the money on chipping up the trees, hauling them to a dump and paying to dispose of them, or burning them and using the money for school programs and such??

Just seems like a minor, couple day inconvience for nearby residents in the face of nationwide increased school spending cuts.

You're right Jeff. I guess I should be complaining to the school but as a school employee, I'm shying away!!! I called the City to see who was burning, 'cause at the time I didn't realize it was the school!!

It IS a minor complaint compared, I'm sure, to other complaints....that's why I asked my question!

 

[twinz]

My complaint is a little different then most of yours. Outside the school I work at, they have been doing road work for the past 2 months. The staff at my centre have been very cooperative with moving cars from parking lot to parking lot. One day I had to run some errands, and I told the workers this (as they had already made us move our cars). I took about 30 minutes to run these errands. When I return I parked in the same parking lot at my co-workers. At 1pm when it was my lunch I drove out of the lot, and my car would not move (I drive a 2001 Rav4). I seen a stake flying out of the sidewalk area. I backed up and noticed that there was a rope across the parking lot entrance. It cut up my bumper pretty bad. SO I called the city. I talked to one guy, who told me to call this other guy (who works for the actual construction company), and then we pretty much had it out (I ended up hanging up on the guy), and so I called the city back, and then got another number, and talked to a women at City Hall, and I am finally getting a little somewhere. The forman for the site told me not to give up, and I told him not to worry I won't. The kicker is my Supervisor took out her muffler driveing over the unpaved area, and they are getting her a cheque this week...UGGG

 

[eeyore0062]

yes... a couple of years ago, the house across the street was put up for sale, and the owners moved to Texas before it sold. It was a very rainy summer, and the mosquitos were horrid. I called the city because the grass over at that house had become almost thigh high. They called the realtor, who was supposed to be maintaining the grass, and told him if he didn't do something about it, they would and it would cost the realty company. The realtor was out there himself within 3 days cutting that hideous grass!