Comments by wtrdog
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Posted on March 16 at 11:41 a.m.
The afraid to patrol comment was in response to netloafers experiences in Boston. I was basically sharing my similar experiences
I can't speak on the behalf of code services or how they respond to complaints. However I have an experience that relates to the matter.
I was on call for the city a couple of months ago. I received a call in the 900 blk of Market. The original call was to turn the water off because of a leak inside. So I did so, And went to talk with the residence. I found two early twenties women in the basement apartment trudging through sewage. The entire apartment was flooded & the odor was overwhelming. I went immediately to check the city mains, They were clear. I went back to advise the women that they should contact their landlord. They said that they had been trying all day & hadn't gotten a response from him. They told me that they felt it was because of a dispute they were having from several months before when the ceiling had fallen in & the landlord had refused to help with costs to clean the furniture or fix the ceiling.
Last I knew she was moving & I believe she was the only residence in the apartment house.
Words do not even come close to describe the conditions these girls were living in. I know there has to be low cost housing available , But this place was in my opinion uninhabitable even without the raw sewage flooding it.
Posted on March 16 at 10:08 a.m.
Every city & town I have ever been in has had slums. I know we had our fair share where I am from. We had those places where the Police were afraid to patrol. Where unless you knew someone on a street or they recognized your car, You were in danger going there. But, In my experiences those places were a very small percentage of the overall size of the city. I think every city has forgotten or neglected neighborhoods. In this case however it is selective neglect. Emporia is not big enough to simply forget about a part of town.
As I understand it the "slum lords" threw a fit about the rental ordinance. I'm not saying that this is the reason that it stalled, But it is a possibility. I personally thought it was a good idea in theory. Someone has to be held accountable for the condition of properties, Why not the owners, Makes sense to me. The problem I see is who is going to enforce it? Do we have the resources to evaluate each property or would it be on the basis of response on complaints?
Posted on March 15 at 11:31 a.m.
I feel Emporia has sufficient entertainment if you are local, Or even from a neighboring smaller town, But what is here to divert people from their original destination along the highway? I find myself headed to Topeka to shop, Lawrence to enjoy the plethora of very good restaurants & the cozy feel of Mass street. I know I am not alone in this, Most people I know travel the highway to find better shopping and/or a more diverse selection of foods. Sure Emporia has some things, But tourist attraction it is not. I did not grow in a small town, I grew up in a metro area in a southwestern city. What I think is really important is to look at this with an outsiders point of view. After all, It is the outsiders you are trying to attract & spend their money in our town.
Something else to consider is the fact that rising fuel costs are going to keep more people closer to home. I used to take pleasure drives, Skip from town to town & take in the scenery of the countryside. I would think that now most people are of the thought that if they have to drive somewhere they will not deviate from the most direct route unless it is unavoidable.
netloafer,
Something I have learned the decade I have been in Emporia. The "good ol boys club" is alive & well here. It sounds like your ideas were opposed from the start, possibly because you were an outsider in some peoples eyes. I remember hearing remarks made when Mr. Zimmerman was hired. They were usually along the lines of where he was from & how that would affect our town. Basically, It was prejudgment on the basis that he wasn't an Emporian. That somehow his ideas or methods would be alien to Emporia & therefore would not be in our towns benefit. After a year or so on the job it seems that those remarks & fears have been forgotten for the most part. I do not envy his job, I wouldn't want to try to clean up twenty years of mismanagement & now be faced with the Tyson tragedy.
I too believe that Emporia can pull itself from the ashes. I would like to have a reason to stay here, For my children to have a reason to stay instead of move off for better opportunities when they graduate.
Posted on March 15 at 12:23 a.m.
I know for one I am happy not to be one of the "decision makers". There are tasked with with a burden of choice between the lesser of evils.
I do not consider myself an "educated man", But I consider myself a logical one. Logic tells me that if we are faced with an unknown loss of revenues at this time, Then it is not the right time to talk of beautification projects. Its time we step away from the ignorant thought process that has plagued this City for two decades. Expansion & beautification is something to be thought of when revenues are good, Not when you're scraping pennies.
Emporia is not a tourist attraction, What magnetism do we have to bring people into town? What do we have to offer someone once they exit the highway?
Hypothetically speaking, What if we did something to the entrances to town? Would that somehow distract people from the lack of entertainment venues, The bumpy streets, Or the number of other problems this city has? If you had no ties (family,business, etc) to Emporia & visited, What would bring you back to town again? There are no easy solutions or quick answers, But I believe these are the things that the City Gov & Commission should keep in mind when the topic of beautification comes up.
Posted on March 14 at 10:16 p.m.
dhcc66, You seem to have a very firm grasp of the matters at hand.
My viewpoint may be from a different direction as I am one of the "front line" workers for the City. I have seen a lot of changes in the last 5-6 years I have been employed at Public Works. We continue to endure work force cuts, However more is expected of us as a whole. We are typically spread pretty thin. I can vouch that my dept. stays very busy & we have very little down time.
I can honestly tell you that we do have a crisis although it can't be seen. The main infrastructure of the city is past its life expectancy. I am speaking of sewer (sanitary & storm), & water mains. They all suffer from low maintenance standards & of course age. For far to long the idea was expansion, Not to maintain the core of the city. This is true of the streets, Buildings, Sidewalks etc. However, Its those out of sight out of mind problems that will do the most damage, Financially & structurally if left ignored. I have personally seen water line still in use that the year is stamped 1882. This is true for the majority of the utility core of the City, Sewer & water lines ranging in age from 100-130 years old that have been mostly unmaintained with the exception of patchwork repairs. The City streets are lined with patches from repairs made to water & sewer lines. I hear complaints all the time rough streets, A lot can be contributed to residual damage from previous water or sewer line problems.
Fact is we do not have the workforce to maintain & repair the Cities core utilities. All the departments at Public Works have dwindled down to a skeleton crew. Standard policy as of late has been not to fill a position when someone leaves. Roughly half of the workforce remains that was in place 5-6 years ago when I started.
I am aware that there are many problems the City faces. I am merely pointing out my experiences with what what most people never see or think about until they themselves have a problem.
I have not seen the restructuring part of the mentioned survey. There were salary adjustments for every hourly job title employed by the City. The "cutbacks" or elimination of jobs was not explained to us that I know of at this point. From a wage standpoint, Just about everyone (with only a few exceptions) were underpaid according to the survey. Now its up to the commission, City Manager, & others to take some sort of action on it or push it aside.
Posted on November 16 at 6:03 p.m.
I should also point out that I worked at IBP in the late 90s. And although I make less in my current position, I am one of those that open eyes refers to. I would much rather work outside, Even in the winter, Than stand on a factory line.
Posted on November 16 at 5:59 p.m.
stickerbush, Create is right, We have beat this horse to death of the answers you seek. I am not defensive in nature, However I felt attacked. My apologies.
minorityinemporia, I really enjoyed reading your comments. They were very uplifting.
methusla, You are correct in your post. However it doesn't just stop there. That is why I such a critic of the commission & their actions. I am also a critic of the former city manager. There are many parts of this town that are neglected, And those that people see are eye soars enough, However, If you could see what the underground infrastructure was like in comparison you'd cringe. Most perspective businesses are going to pass on Emporia simply because there is a meat processing plant located here. Every town that has one has a similar history. The only reason a business would consider locating here is to take advantage of the already low wages & out of work immigrants.
infinicat,
I really admire that you have your facts straight. While I cannot disclose my employer, I can tell you I am in construction of sorts & operate many different types of machinery. My pay for doing my job is very low compared to the same job in other areas, Even just 50 miles away. However I stay here because of my family & elderly parents who are in bad health. If it were not for that, I would have taken my experience elsewhere by now.
Posted on November 15 at 9:45 p.m.
Kstrebuchet, Thanks for the insight my friend. Way to make my head hurt!! lol I was unaware of the numbers, But I was somewhat aware of what the reasoning was behind it. However, I was speaking of why some people are (in theory) opposed to the immigration/refugee situation.
Posted on November 15 at 9:18 p.m.
jmanmurawski,
I truly respect that you posted your opinion. Everyone, Young & old are entitled to that. However, You must understand that as you grow older, situations effect your life differently. You received the brush off from some, But I think in essence you have a good & valid point. But please let me ask you this.
In America, We have homeless Americans, Many have fought for this country & the freedoms we ALL share. We have starving children. We have poverty stricken families of all races who are American taxpayers. These are just a few examples, But my point is, We have many of the worlds issues in our own backyard. What is being morally done to aid our own situation? Why must we travel around the world to solve another Countries problems when we have the same problems within our Nations borders with our own people.
It is not immoral to want to rid ourselves of our problems before we handle the problems of the world. It is a question of priority.
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Posted on March 20 at 9:33 p.m.
Plummer said "the resolution was only saying the city believed “that these were the appropriate wage ranges for these categories of occupations. ... Literally, in any position, there’s no commitment that they’re going to stay the same, that they’re going to increase, that they’re going to decrease.”
I think this pretty much sums it up, "no commitment".
Truth is that most people don't realize how understaffed public works is. The trend of cutting positions when someone is lost has left us with skeleton crews at best. Every time they cut a position, those of us who are left work harder to accomplish the same job with absolutely no incentives.
There are five people in the entire street dept, Including the foreman.
These are the guys that get trash talked when the snow removal isn't fast enough, Or there are to many potholes on the streets.
There are 5 people on the water crew including the foreman. These are the guys that are charged with keeping a 130 year old (core) water system delivering water to all the citizens, Businesses etc.
We have an astounding two people in the sewer dept. Yes, That is two. They are to maintain the entire sewer system for the city; sanitary mains, Storm, Lift Stations etc for the entire city.
At some point Sewer & Water departments were combined to form the "underground utility" dept. While this looks great on paper, It is illogical. Such a combination would work if the utility systems in the city were up to par, Meaning there were fewer breakages, Lead service lines, Out of date fire hydrants, Collapsed and/or problematic sanitary sewers, Badly deteriorating & problematic storm sewer system etc etc. What this all means is both departments are typically to busy & stretched to thin to help one another.
Pats on the back are as nonexistent, or inconsistent at best. Raises have been froze for far to long with no light at the end of tunnel. There have been talks about the moral issue, But it has remained to this point, Talks. Most of the workers are very skilled in their areas, Quite a few with trade skill backgrounds. I know there are more than a few that are waiting the outcome of the wage survey. Some are optimistic, But the majority feel that this will be another disappointment.
My personal opinion is that it is aggravating to continue to read articles & hear requests to beautify something or complaints of services. I feel that not only are we underpaid, But also under appreciated by most.
On City adopts new wage scale