Council President Marcie Palmer spent time down at the city shops today to staff the phone and respond to callers. She sent a followup email about how things were going, and I’ve attached it below.
I also did some checking on my own today, in response to a Seattle Times article about the controversy surrounding the City of Seattle decision to not use any salt to thaw the streets. I found out that here in Renton we DO use de-icer in some areas, but it is not salt. It will not corrode your cars the way salt will. But it is a sticky substance which you may have to scrub off your fenders after the snow is gone, even though it will not cause any damage.
(I thought Seattle’s concern that the salt would get into Puget Sound sounded strange. I would think that the amount we are talking about would not affect the salinity of a such a vast body of salt water. But I haven’t really studied it)
Here is Marcie’s latest update:
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Gregg & Peter-
You must be so proud of your very hard-working Staff. I sure am!
As you know, I spent about 3 hours at the Shops, after having about a half hour tour of streets which had been phoned in as needing City attention. First, not only were all the major streets and arterials looking good, many neighborhood streets/”secondary” streets had been sanded this morning as well.
At the Shops, the calls had calmed down considerably by the time I got there to be a backup and take angry callers, so I helped wrap gifts for the adopted families and listened (& learned!) to what was going on. Gosh the Staff looked weary but they were in good spirits and ready for whatever the next 24-48 hours bring.
While the rest of us are worrying about last minute shopping, wrapping gifts, cooking, cleaning, how to get to/from Renton during the next couple of Christmas days, Staff was checking in for their next assignment, verifying who was going to be where & then either heading back out on the streets or heading home before reporting back in 12 hours. Yet the majority of calls this morning were from residents complaining the City had plowed their street and now there was snow blocking their driveway. There were also some folks with medical needs (i.e., in need of kidney dialysis, medication, etc.) and the Shop Staff was coordinating with Emergency Services & Human Services to get help to them.
The City of Renton has a higher standard in dealing with snow & ice, and our residents may not fully appreciate that high level of service compared to other municipalieties. When folks complain the City isn’t doing enough, they are unrealistic and/or unaware of what a good job we are doing. While it may not be perfect for some people, overall it seems residents were appreciative of the hard work and there were a number of those kind of calls as well.
To all Staff in ALL departments, your dedication and hard work is very much appreciated. I couldn’t be prouder to work alongside you. Thanks for letting me get a close-up glimpse of what goes on at the City Maintence Shops & on the streets during this kind of event. It would be my pleasure to help again, in any way, & I’d love to “ride along” to help write down the needed info. Hopefully in the next 3 years of my term I’ll have additional opportunities to experience what every department is really like. With the budget tight, having some first-hand knowledge at the “street or counter level” will help Council make increasingly tough decisions that truly are the best for the Citizens and Businesses of Renton.
Here’s wishing you a Happy Holiday Season, whether you get to spend it with family & friends or have to work. Thanks again!
Marcie
(PS- FYI, I started doing this on City email, but got timed out before I could hit send and lost it all. Since I really wanted to get this out, I resorted to my home email.)
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