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President’s Report
STEvEALLENDER
Well, autumn is here and in our great state that means falling leaves and sometimes snow. I was meeting with someone at City Hall when I noticed it was snowing outside. During this meeting I joked that we would soon have our first complaint about snow removal, or the lack thereof.
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The meeting ended about 30 minutes later and the call came in as predicted. Someone called and left a voicemail alerting us to the fact that it was snowing and we should probably start putting chemicals down and removing the snow from the streets.
Around this time of year I often conduct unofficial surveys of the vehicles traveling on the road. When I sit at an intersection waiting for traffic to clear, I noticed how many of the cars are fourwheel drive. The results? About seven out of ten.
It seems odd that with the increasing number of four-wheel drive vehicles on our roads, there are also more complaints about snow removal. But then again, that’s the business we are in. I realize there are areas of South Dakota where we experience “real” winter, but let’s face it: we are not Minnesota.
The same citizens that lust for freedom and oppose interference from government also want us to remove a half inch of snow from the road so that their four-wheel drive doesn’t have to be inconvenienced by it. Government service is hard.
I think it’s important we keep all of this in perspective. Our community members are our customers. They are not, however, extremely informed when it comes to government services. They take essential services for granted, and complain about some fairly insignificant issues.
Not many folks understand what it takes to produce clean tap water and treat wastewater, but their ignorance is not their fault. Government does a relatively poor job of informing citizens of what we do for them. It’s only natural that people take things for granted.
It’s up to us to help them understand what they don’t currently know about government services - reaching them through social media, traditional media, public meetings, or other possible information outlets.
Or, we could just wait until it snows.
Steve Allender Mayor of Rapid City 2021-2022 SDML President
