Official targets E. St. Louis' image
By Doug Moore
Of the Post-Dispatch
01/18/2005
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New East St. Louis City Manager Alvin Parks, left, talks with city employees.
(Gabriel B. Tait/P-D)
Streets so clean that you can eat off of them?
If Alvin Parks, the new East St. Louis acting city manager, has his way, the beleaguered river city will be neat as a pin, clean as a whistle and, yes, have streets so spic-and-span that they could double as a dining table.
Parks' remarks got a few laughs and eye rolls from city employees who attended a mandatory meeting Tuesday morning at City Hall. Parks called the meeting on his second official day in office to outline his expectations for an indefinite tenure. He says the first step to turning a city around is to get rid of the vermin - the wild dogs and the rats that are attracted to the discarded trash and high weeds. A clean city brings pride and a sense of safety, he said.
Of the city's 180 employees, 111 signed in at the meeting, which was part pep rally and part lecture. Parks said those who had the day off or worked a late shift were not expected to show up.
The backdrop of city government the last few months has been an ongoing federal investigation that included a City Hall raid on Nov. 23. Parks said every city employee should keep that investigation in mind as they come to work each day.
"Operate every department like the FBI is working right next to us, because they might well be," Parks said.
His predecessor, Robert Storman, was served with a search warrant allowing computer hard drives and boxes of records to be removed from his office during the raid. Storman, whose last day was Friday, said his retirement has nothing to do with the federal investigation.
Parks said that he expects employees to do their jobs, but wants to see any paperwork that goes out of City Hall - including information to the press.
"I don't want to be caught by surprise," Parks said. Be at work on time, return your phone calls and don't be caught doing your nails when you should be helping a customer, Parks said. For those who are not sure what they should be doing, "don't be afraid to ask," he said.
"I encourage you to look busy, even if you're not," Parks said.
In an interview afterward, Parks, 43, said his administration's priority would be dealing with the basics. First, an overdue budget for 2005 must be approved by a state oversight panel, which meets Saturday.
A 60-day plan to pick up as much trash as possible in the city will begin when the budget is in place, which includes $47,000 to cover landfill dumping fees. That more than doubles last year's $20,000 for the same service.
The city also plans to spend $40,000 in streetlight repairs; only $2,500 was set aside last year.
"We'll also be setting aside a little more for electricity to juice up those lights," Parks said. "Darkness is the biggest complaint. People want to feel safe."
His remarks got generally high marks from employees.
"I know that if they allow him to do his job, he'll take the city a long way," said police Detective Roy Mickens. The city manager answers to a politically divided City Council.
"It sounds good, like he wants to do right," said police Sgt. William Fox.
Source: Official targets E. St. Louis' image
By Doug Moore
Of the Post-Dispatch
01/18/2005
New East St. Louis City Manager Alvin Parks, left, talks with city employees.
(Gabriel B. Tait/P-D)
Streets so clean that you can eat off of them?
If Alvin Parks, the new East St. Louis acting city manager, has his way, the beleaguered river city will be neat as a pin, clean as a whistle and, yes, have streets so spic-and-span that they could double as a dining table.
Parks' remarks got a few laughs and eye rolls from city employees who attended a mandatory meeting Tuesday morning at City Hall. Parks called the meeting on his second official day in office to outline his expectations for an indefinite tenure. He says the first step to turning a city around is to get rid of the vermin - the wild dogs and the rats that are attracted to the discarded trash and high weeds. A clean city brings pride and a sense of safety, he said.
Of the city's 180 employees, 111 signed in at the meeting, which was part pep rally and part lecture. Parks said those who had the day off or worked a late shift were not expected to show up.
The backdrop of city government the last few months has been an ongoing federal investigation that included a City Hall raid on Nov. 23. Parks said every city employee should keep that investigation in mind as they come to work each day.
"Operate every department like the FBI is working right next to us, because they might well be," Parks said.
His predecessor, Robert Storman, was served with a search warrant allowing computer hard drives and boxes of records to be removed from his office during the raid. Storman, whose last day was Friday, said his retirement has nothing to do with the federal investigation.
Parks said that he expects employees to do their jobs, but wants to see any paperwork that goes out of City Hall - including information to the press.
"I don't want to be caught by surprise," Parks said. Be at work on time, return your phone calls and don't be caught doing your nails when you should be helping a customer, Parks said. For those who are not sure what they should be doing, "don't be afraid to ask," he said.
"I encourage you to look busy, even if you're not," Parks said.
In an interview afterward, Parks, 43, said his administration's priority would be dealing with the basics. First, an overdue budget for 2005 must be approved by a state oversight panel, which meets Saturday.
A 60-day plan to pick up as much trash as possible in the city will begin when the budget is in place, which includes $47,000 to cover landfill dumping fees. That more than doubles last year's $20,000 for the same service.
The city also plans to spend $40,000 in streetlight repairs; only $2,500 was set aside last year.
"We'll also be setting aside a little more for electricity to juice up those lights," Parks said. "Darkness is the biggest complaint. People want to feel safe."
His remarks got generally high marks from employees.
"I know that if they allow him to do his job, he'll take the city a long way," said police Detective Roy Mickens. The city manager answers to a politically divided City Council.
"It sounds good, like he wants to do right," said police Sgt. William Fox.
Source: Official targets E. St. Louis' image
I roll my eyes back at them. Let's hope he lives up to his words, because much of what he has planned is the "common sense" East St. Louis needs.
