waiting by the phone

November 17, 2004

i can’t wait to receive my first call:

Starting today, [St. Paul] residents can sign up to receive a taped phone message anytime the city declares a snow emergency. The city declares snow emergencies by 4 p.m. of the day they go into effect. City officials say calls will go out within two or three hours of a snow emergency declaration, giving residents plenty of time to get vehicles off the street before the snow plows start running at 9 p.m.

About 85 percent of homes will automatically receive the call, said Carl Kuhl, communications director for Mayor Randy Kelly. But residents with unlisted numbers and those who rely mainly on cell phones will need to sign up at the city’s Web site at www.ci.stpaul.mn.us. (Go to Public Works on the left and click on the link for snow emergency information, then click on the link to sign up for the phone call list.)

The city is especially interested in reaching college students and those living in rental property, Kuhl said.

as much as i’m just excited at the prospect of being told when to expect a good dumping of snow (and looking forward to the first time and slogging home, busting out the snowshoes and the sled and then slip-sliding to the nearest wooded, hilly area), it also makes me really happy to see the city doing something like this for the good of the public — and especially for the low-income folks that live in rental housing.

last winter it made me really angry to hear about all the people who were being forced to fork over $125 to get their car back because the communications of snow emergency and the rules were so damn confusing, and that’s to a native english speaker. this is the kind of thing government should do, especially since it’s to help us deal with their rules and procedures.

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