20 November 2008

KGAN CBS 2 Top Story: "Ripped Up, Ripped Off" aired tonight

As mentioned earlier today... we were advised to tune in to the 10 pm News on KGAN CBS 2 tonight. The station aired the story "Ripped Up, Ripped Off" discussing the destruction of water stop valves as flood debris has been removed from flood impact properties along the streets in Cedar Rapids.

The Flood of 2008 has created a lot of hardship for residents and businesses directly impacted by this natural disaster. We have all been impacted in one way or another.

During the story, various reports from the City were from 40 to 100 stop valves. However, according the KGAN story, a contractor for the City of Cedar Rapids was estimating it could be as high as 300 stop valves, roughly 20% of the total in the City.

The press release from the City of Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 reported the following:

"During these operations, crews used debris collection trucks with large
claws to scoop and skid loaders to scrape the debris from the City's
right-of-way areas. In some cases, this equipment caught the water pipe head at
ground level and broke the stop valves. City crews and contractors are repairing
those broken valves as they are reported. The average cost of repairing each
stop valve is $1000. So far, 60 stop valves have been found damaged. The City
will submit these repairs costs to FEMA for reimbursement.
" - City of
Cedar Rapids
The impact of the flood is still occurring as we work to recovery in various areas of the Cedar and Iowa River Valleys. The Gazette and the following from KGAN:

BREAKING NEWS:
"There has been a major malfunction of the sewage treatment system. The city
is urging all customers in Palo to limit toilet flushing, laundry, and
dishwashing immediately. The city says this may last for 2 to 3 days
." -
KGAN web site
As a community, we need to be assured that our public institutions demonstrate stewardship in the business of providing public services. The City's mission statement is linked here. The word "City Government Mission, Vision, and Values" is listed, but I don't clearly see a define set of values listed.

What is the culture within City Government today? Today's stop valve story should raise some questions into our culture within our local government?

peace

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