Fort Scott Assistant Manager Brad Matkin would like to try something new in dealing with infrastructure issues.
“If you see a problem… a street issue, pothole, sign damage, water leak, general question, or whatever else please send me an email at [email protected] or call me at City Hall 620-223-0550, ext 210. Email is the best way to communicate,” he said. “Please include a picture of the issue if you can with your email.”
“We are currently working with the Information Technology Department for a solution, so people can report,” Matkin said. “We want to document, to see if there are patterns, such as water, street, or code issues.”
In the meantime, though, Matkin is encouraging citizens to email him, rather than put it on the internet.
“If I don’t respond within 48 hours then feel free to post it on Facebook but please give us a chance first to take a look at the problem,” he said.
“Either myself or one of the staff will email you with either a solution, a plan, or just an update of what we can do,” he said. “We don’t see what people post on Facebook, so we won’t know about the issue and won’t have the chance to fix the issue or at least communicate back to you.”
Like all public entities, they do not have enough staff to drive around looking for problems and need help from citizens to let them know issues seen.
“It is better to work together with good communication, he said. “We really feel this is a proactive and positive way to handle business.”
Matkin said there is no need to call about the Cooper Street project, “We are working on it currently. The first segment will be done in approximately a month.”
Great start to consolidating requests and then being able to prioritize them. I think Google forms could be a great next step too—I’ve contacted Brad about this and willing to help