The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutPRR23274 RESPONSE From:Cruce, Greg Sent:Wednesday, October 4, 2023 3:52 PM To:Bulbul Rajagopal Cc:CityClerk; City_Attorney; Christian, Kevin Subject:RE: Records Request Response: PRR23274 Rajagopal - All complaints of uneven sidewalks 9/20/2021-9/20/2023 Bulbul, Once the City is aware of a potential sidewalk displacement, a work order is created. The extent of the work is based on what staff finds and each location obviously varies. The Public Works Department is the only department who inspects and maintains sidewalks within the City. This works is completed reactively through complaints and staff observations (outside of pavement zone work) and proactively during pavement zone work. Work completed during pavement zone work is tracked through a work order with a different workflow. During pavement zone work, the City ramp, patches, and grinds (GPR) sidewalks to eliminate deviations, and will replace sections of side walk that are severely damaged by a City Street tree and GPR is not successful. The actual finish date is when staff completed the GPR work. Please let me know if you have any questions. Greg Cruce Deputy Director - Maintenance Operations Public Works Department 805.781.7264 gcruce@slocity.org From: Christian, Kevin <kchristi@slocity.org> Sent: Wednesday, October 4, 2023 11:05 AM To: Bulbul Rajagopal <brajagopal@newtimesslo.com> Cc: CityClerk <CityClerk@slocity.org>; City_Attorney <City_Attorney@slocity.org>; Cruce, Greg <gcruce@slocity.org> Subject: RE: Records Request Response: PRR23274 Rajagopal - All complaints of uneven sidewalks 9/20/2021-9/20/2023 Bulbul, I’m afraid I wasn’t as clear as I could have been when I wrote, “It is possible that we have received ‘complaints’ of a more general nature that did not result in a workorder.” What I was referring to would be if sidewalks are mentioned without a specific location being supplied. Anytime a location is supplied, action can then be taken. There are no criteria for eligibility considered to take the first step which is a physical inspection of the noted location. Should you have questions concerning action steps taken following the inspection, please reach out to Greg Cruce. My intent on supplying the general information on our pavement management program was to inform you that the City does not just take action in a reactive manner (from complaints) but has a regular maintenance program to proactively address our infrastructure needs. By copy on this note I’m requesting that Greg Cruce answer your specific questions:  “…independent repairs haven't been done based on individual complaints?” 1  “No repair work is pending based on the complaints I've just received?”  “In the Excel spreadsheet called Sidewalk Maintenance, column D titled "Actual Finish" means the time the city finished repairs?” You have noted that, “\[you\] would like records of the complaints of a general nature that didn't result in a work order.” An initial search of all City email records for the given timeframe, using the search term sidewalk AND (uneven OR lift OR trip OR fall OR broken OR damage OR hurt OR fell) has resulted in approximately 60k hits (emails and attachments) for potentially responsive documents. Given staff resources and current work load we estimate a review of these documents for responsiveness will take several months. Should you feel that a narrowing of the search terms used would be sufficient for your needs, please advise. Otherwise, let me know if you wish us to begin this work effort as described. Kevin Christian Deputy City Clerk City Administration City Clerk's Office 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3218 E kchristi@slocity.org T 805.781.7104 slocity.org Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications From: Bulbul Rajagopal <brajagopal@newtimesslo.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 3, 2023 3:07 PM To: Christian, Kevin <kchristi@slocity.org> Cc: CityClerk <CityClerk@slocity.org>; City_Attorney <City_Attorney@slocity.org>; Cruce, Greg <gcruce@slocity.org> Subject: Re: Records Request Response: PRR23274 Rajagopal - All complaints of uneven sidewalks 9/20/2021-9/20/2023 This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond. Hi Kevin, Thank you for all this information. I will go through the data properly, and be in touch with you and Greg if I have any follow up questions. I would like records of the complaints of a general nature that didn't result in a work order. Additionally, what makes a complaint eligible for work order? Is there a specific criteria list? I just wanted to make sure I'm understanding correctly: Different programs in the city evaluate different sections of the city for upkeep/maintenance. Through those regular evaluations, the complaints mentioned in the records you've 2 currently provided have automatically been fixed. As in, independent repairs haven't been done based on individual complaints? No repair work is pending based on the complaints I've just received? In the Excel spreadsheet called Sidewalk Maintenance, column D titled "Actual Finish" means the time the city finished repairs? Best, Bulbul ––––– Bulbul Rajagopal (she/her) Staff Writer New Times Media Group PRINT · DIGITAL · MOBILE · TICKETING NEW TIMES San Luis Obispo County's News & Entertainment Weekly San Luis Obispo | (805) 592-0412 | www.NewTimesSLO.com SUN Northern Santa Barbara County's News & Entertainment Weekly Santa Maria | (805) 347-1968 | www.SantaMariaSun.com MY805TIX Your Local Ticketing Solution On Tue, Oct 3, 2023 at 2:38 PM Christian, Kevin <kchristi@slocity.org> wrote: Bulbul Rajagopal, The City of San Luis Obispo (“City”) received your request pursuant to the California Public Records Act delivered via email on September 26, 2023. In accordance with the requirements of the Act, I am providing the following linked records, which are responsive to your request, and described as follows: 09-26-2023 PRR23274 Rajagopal - All complaints of uneven sidewalks 9/20/2021-9/20/2023 (slocity.org) 3  20221215_Claim_Thai-23-042  20230717_Claim_Rushing 24-002  20230912_Amended Claim_Lloyd 24-013  Stair 22-036  Trenary 22-042  Sidewalk Maintenance requests 9-20-21 - 9-21-23 Note that the listed records above are for Claims filed against the City for issues related to sidewalks, as well as Sidewalk Maintenance requests. The majority of the maintenance requests come to us via “AskSLO” (Desktop and phone app) which are available to the public for direct input. Also, the City has a regular pavement management program that includes sidewalks. The downtown is evaluated annually for improvement opportunities. The rest of the City is partitioned into eight zones which are evaluated on a rotational basis annually. The records being supplied do not list or otherwise show any work done as a result of these evaluations. Should you have questions concerning this program, please reach out to our Public Works Deputy Director of Maintenance Operations, Greg Cruce, copied on this email. In your request you ask for, “all complaints of uneven sidewalks…” The files we have provided are for formal complaints (Claims) and workorders for repair. It is possible that we have received “complaints” of a more general nature that did not result in a workorder. We did not do a complete search of our email history for your specified topic and time as it was interpreted that you were most interested in repair work. Please let me know if this was a misinterpretation of your needs and then we can go forward with further research. Please be advised that every effort has been made to search for all records which may fall within the scope of your records request, and, as such, we believe our search is quite thorough. However, if you have knowledge of a specific document which has not been provided in response to your request, please notify us, and we will be happy to provide the document(s) to you unless, of course, it is exempt from disclosure pursuant to California Government Code §7921.000 et seq. Kevin Christian, CMC Deputy City Clerk City Administration City Clerk's Office 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3218 E kchristian@slocity.org T 805.781.7104 slocity.org 4