Document text
`Neighborhood Walk' Photo by Steve Johnson Greg Jones, right, and Anne Gordon of the city of Medford survey Hazel Brown in her home about city services. City reaches out to citizens By JIM DAVIS Hazel Brown sat in her living room Tuesday and answered questions about the city of Medford as a smoke alarm chirped in the background. Brown, 89, who couldn't hear the alarm, told a pair of city staffers that she thought crime was low in her neighborhood, that she doesn't know much about traffic because she doesn't drive and that she likes the appearance of Medford. "When you compare it to other towns," Brown said, "I think it's average or better than some." Medford Parks Director Greg Jones, at Brown's home as part of the city's new "Neighborhood Walk" program, asked her a few more questions -- and then got up and replaced the smoke alarm's battery. Jones and Anne Gordon were among 44 city workers who went door-to-door in a southeast Medford neighborhood Tuesday asking residents to share their thoughts and opinions about Medford. It was the second round of the monthly walk, which was started by new City Manager Michael Dyal. The program is designed to get city workers, city council members and even Dyal himself out to meet the city's "customers" and find out how they feel about city issues and like or dislike city services. The results of the questions are made into graphics and posted at Medford City Hall for all staffers to see. The city sends out letters announcing that the workers are coming to a neighborhood and then, on the first Tuesday of every month, workers armed with the questionnaires begin knocking on doors. The questions range from how well storm drains work to how safe neighborhoods seem. Deputy Chief City Manager Cathie Davis, who is in charge of the program, said that the city workers are enjoying it. One of the snags so far has to do with timing of the walks. Some teams are having problems finding people at home during the walk, which runs from 1 to 3 p.m. "We realize there are a lot of people who work," Davis said. "And we're going to miss some people." She said the city is still tinkering with the time and hopes to come up with a solution. After the first walk last month, Jones said he received requests for more playground equipment, got a question about lights at a park and spoke with a woman who had tried unsuccessfully to get her children into a soccer program, failing because the phone number she had was old. "I got her a couple of real people to talk to," Jones said. "Hopefully she'll get both of her kids in." In other teams, city workers found traffic was a major concern. Residents asked how they could stop motorists from running red lights and how they could get them to slow down in their neighborhoods. Tuesday afternoon, Jones and Gordon didn't have too much luck on their portion of the walk. The pair knocked on eight doors before finding Brown, the first person who was home and able to talk. They still see the value of the program, however. "This is kind of a neat way to meet people in the city," Jones said. As it turned out, the visit worked out well for Brown, too. After Jones replaced the battery in Brown's smoke alarm, the alarm continued to chirp. That afternoon, back at city hall, Jones called up the city's fire department. A firefighter will visit Brown's house this week and check out the alarm. Survey questions Medford city staff has conducted the city's new "Neighborhood Walk" program in northeast and southeast Medford. The staff will go to an area in north central Medford next month and will move to the west part of town after that. These are some of the 25 questions city workers are asking as part of the program: Why did you choose to live in Medford? How would you rate your neighborhood as a place to raise children? In your opinion, are there sufficient softball, baseball, soccer and other athletic fields in the city? Have you called 911 in the last year? What three sources do you primarily use to receive information about local issues? Would you support having neighborhood shopping your area? What do you like best about living in Medford? Do you have anything else you would like to add? Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA