Box 3, Folder 14, Document 98

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Box 3, Folder 14, Document 98

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A SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS OF:

“ Mr. Bement (East Central)

Mr. Bruce (West Central)

Mr. Christenberry (Pittsburg)

Mr. Isaac (Central City)

Mr. Menez (Edgewood)

Mrs. Snider (City Hall)

Miss Sowell (Nash-Washington - Extension)

Miss Woodward (West End)

AUGUST 1, 1969
EVALUATIONS OF CITY SERVICES

In evaluating City Services not all interns mentioned all City Services. There was
divided opinion on many departments, However, the general consensus was that

the City Services were not responding well enough to complaints by area residents.

The Atlanta Housing Authority, according to Miss Sowell, does not respond at all.
However, the Housing Code Department was commended by Mr. Christenberry and
Miss Sowell. This was not the case with Mr. Menez, who feels the department is

"not only inadequate, but also poorly administered".

Mr. Isaac reported that the Police Department is doing well in Central City, but

Mr. Christenberry, Mr. Menez, and Miss Sowell reported very poor response. Mr.
Christenberry was told that the Police Department did not know to return route sheets;
however, that is not believed. In most areas they have shown poor response on

pick-up of junk cars.
Only Mr. Isaac mentioned Public Works. He noted only one third response.

The Recreation Department was commented on by Miss Woodward and Mr. Menez.
Mr. Menez stated that the Recreation Department was not only hampered by lack

of equipment, but its unsystematic system allows for inconsistency, Miss Woodward
was more explicit, stating that recreation.""appears to suffer not in quanity but in
quality''. Since this is Atlanta's third year of expanded summer recreation, she feels
that "one would ee to find activities with carryover values". Further, Atlanta

is loosing its best opportunity to communicate with youth in these areas. She

reports that youth does not participate in other programs, such as Model Cities,

E.O.A,, etc,
The Sanitation Department came in for quite a bit of comment. Miss Sowell, Miss
Woodward, Sed Mr. Isaac had reasonably good experiences with this department.
Mostly their request.had been answered promptly. Miss Sowell stated that the
quick response on the trash barrels gives tangible evidence of the City's concern.
Thus this service of the Sanitation Department is invaluable. Miss Woodward

‘ Pies that there is such’ high confidence in the department and in Mr. Hulsey in
West End that citizens there usually call Mr. Hulsey directly with their complaints.
Not all opinions of the Sanitation Department are good. Mr. Christenberry reports
poor pick-up of junk cars by this department, especially if the car has not been
tagged by the City Service Coordinator. Mr. Menez feels the departments ''output

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capacity is totally inadequate", Thus the Sanitar

well on complaints concerning litter barrels and/or trash removal and poorly on

removal of junk cars.

The "Sidewalks Department" was commended by Mr. Isaac who stated that he has

received one-hundred percent response.

Miss Sowell reports Street Maintenance as being prompt in replying. However, she

feels they should have informed this office that no additional paving could be done.

The Traffic Engineering Department did not please Miss Sowell, Mrs. Snider, or
Mr. Menez. Miss Sowell felt they should have notified the Community Development

Coordinator's Office that no traffic signals were available for this year. Mrs.


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Snider noted that many times the Traffic Engineering Department replied with "will
check this next week" or 'maybe next year". She felt this type of reply did more
harm than good. Mr. Menez criticized ''the bureaucratic procedure in which things
are done". Mr. Isaac reported answers to all five route sheets sent to Traffic
Engineering. Thus of the four comments on this department, only Mr. Isaac was

satisfied.

RECOMMENDATIONS
There were several types of recommendations which appeared often in the intern
evaluations. These were concerned mainly with the City Services Coordinator,
junk cars, and is, ods BE baal of a central telephone number or office. Although
many recommendations were quite similar each was presented from a slightly

different viewpoint.

The recommendations concerning the City Services Coordinators centered around

the number of coordinators and their duties. Miss Sowell, Mr. Isaac, and Mr.
Bement recommend that there be one City Service Coordinator per target area.
Others, such as Christenberry, Mrs. Snider, and Miss Woodward felt that “more
City Service Coordinators should be hired". Mr. Christenberry suggested that
since the City Service Coordinators do public relations work anyway, the ''expensive,
blue-ribbon bedecked Community Relations Commission" could be abolished and

the commission's money be used for more City Service Coordinators. Miss
Woodward, Mr. Bement, Miss Sowell, and Mr. Christenberry also discussed
possible changes in the coordinator's duties. Miss Woodward recommended

making them the administrators of "Little City Halls'' and increasing the scope of
their duties to include early slum detection, consumer services complaints,
public relations, and general information distribution. All of this involves
removing the coordinators from the E.O.A. Centers. Mr. Christenberry feels
the City Service Coordinators be viewed as "inovative chaps with an overview of
the whole system whose job is to better integrate existing services and develop
new services as they see. fit", They should have the power to "recommend
revisions in and additions to the city codes in their respective areas". Mr.
Bement saw the coordinator's job as that of a 'city-man in the ghetto; touching,
listening, stimulating, teaching, reporting''. Miss Sowell believes the City
Service Coordinators could perform a broader coordinating function between the

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Those were not the only recommendations pertaining to City Service Coordinators.
Mr. Christenberry wants all City Service Coordinators (both present coordinators
and all future ones) to spend time with experienced coordinators, learning methods
of "handling 'routine' community problems", He also feels that all City Service
Coordinators should have a personal knowledge of the operation of all city departments.
Mr. Isaac recommended that the coordinators be publicized in the community.
Mawes Sowell suggested that regular "hours of attendance" in their offices be kept
by the coordinators, and that route sheets from the City Service Coordinators
should received priority action (perhaps special funds could be allocated for this).

Thus these inten recommendations concerning the City Service Coordinators relate
‘to their role, their number, their training, etc. There is disatisfaction not with the

ideal of a City Service Coordinator, but with the reality.

A large number of recommendations concerned centralization. Mr. Bement suggested
the entire system be tied to one telephone number, suchas 5ll. He also suggested

a central City Services Intake and Routing Office containing one or two complaint
desks from each department. This would sep the Community Development Office's
coordinating function by enabling departments to work together on problems not
"“apropos'' to any one denertinent, Mrs. Gelder also felt a central infowmetion

service for field personnel was needed, Under her plan, the Community peyvelap-
ment Office could become a central coordinating agency for target area groups who
might need supplies or other help and those churches, businesses, etc., who migh
like to help such groups. A centralized publicized telephone number was also
recommended by Mr. Isaac. Miss Woodward suggested a central complaint depart-
ment similar to that of Mr. Bement,but not included as a part of the Community
Development Office. In the complaint department there would be a central real-time
information bank and "exceptions" crews to investigate all types of complaints.
Centralization as seen by the interns, would expand the function of the Community

Development Office and aid in its operation.

Junk cars were the object of many of Mr. Christenberry's and Mr. Menez's
recommendations. Both felt that only one department of the City should have
responsibility for removal of junk cars, rather than both Sanitary and Police.
Menez suggested that this single agency be the Sanitary Department. Both felt that

manpower in Sanitary should be increased; Christenberry suggesting that these

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be used to make "periodic sweeps through all infected areas to remove junk cars",
An additional suggestion made by Mr. Christenberry was to assign personnel from
the Community Development Office to work with Rex Honeycutt of Sanitary in the
development of a profitable system for handling junked cars. In other words, these
intern recommendations were concerned with increasing the efficiency of junk car

removal. pea : : : oy

Although the above are the major types of groupings of intern recommendations, there
were many more. -Mrs. Snider and Miss Woodward suggested "little City Halls".
Miss Woodward also suggested a social vexeavch and planning staff which would.
begin slum prevention studies, a new training orientation program for summer
recreation employees, plain english translations of city ordinances,new ordinances
concerning consumer service violations, investigation of bribery complaints,
regulation of absentee landlords, and use of volenteers for summer recreation
programs. Mrs. Snider and Miss Woodward had recommendations pertaining to
publicity. Miss Woodward feels the War on Poverty should be publicized to affluent
Atlanta; Mrs. Snider suggested that City Hall publicize itself through direct effective
action. Miss Sowell and Mrs. Snider felt thathighlevel pressure (i.e., Mayor Allen)
should be used against those departments which were unresponsive to the Community
Development Office. Several suggestions were made with regard to personnel,

Mr. Isaac believes the intern program should be continued part-time all year. Miss
Woodward suggested the pay of policemen and recreation employees be increased.

She also suggested strengthening the lines between the E,O.A. Manpower Program
. -7-
and the City Personnel Office. Miss Sowell <eestmanaes that the Atlanta
Beautification ie workers could be used to clean streets and vacant lots in
answer to complaints. Mr. Christenberry also suggested increasing the number
of housing inspectors. Other's suggestions included improving the Summer
Program Book by printing it in color code, having exch department use the same
area definition areviaiay space for up -dating the book, revising the route sheet
filing system by using Bille cards (Mrs. Snider); charging land owners for cleaning
their property, giving recognition to the Housing Code Department for its fine

performance, making a concentrated effort in one area in the hope that changes

in crime, property values, etc. (Mr. Christenberry).

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