Aldo Ranzani, Lagnes Varshney
Public Works & Engineering
Because of poorly placed construction barrels at the West Belt Park and
Ride, METRO buses had a hard time turning left after the stop, wrote Al
Russell, president of the West Super Neighborhood Civic Association.
One call to Aldo Ranzani solved the problem.
“He checked it out and had a solution completed without a lot of red tape or a three-month wait,” Russell wrote.
The next day, Lagnes Varshney called Russell to verify that the new arrangement solved the problem.
Mary Bolden, Tonia Brown, Lutricia Hughes, Linda
Moody, Veronica Trimmer, Roy Woodard
Finance & Administration
Monica Garcia
Public Works & Engineering
From May 2002 through January 2004, Donna Hebert contacted 311 more than
20 times for sewer maintenance, pothole repairs, traffic signal maintenance
and street repairs.
“311 works,” Hebert wrote. “It’s rewarding not to be switched from department to department to get a problem solved.”
Roy Woodard, Linda Moody, Tonia Brown, Veronica Trimmer, Lutricia Hughes, Mary Bolden and Monica Garcia handled Hebert’s concerns.
Dwayne Ready, Debra Watkins
Police
Picture loud music, profanity and women soliciting sex in a neighborhood
with human waste and garbage in the ditches attracting rats and mosquitoes.
Five partially burned, vacant houses slouch on one block, sheltering vagrants.
That was life in Aline Hayes’ neighborhood until Debra Watkins and Dwayne Ready stepped in.
Soon, the vacant houses came down. Then a raid was conducted on a home that was a known nuisance.
“Since then, this neighborhood has been so quiet,” Hayes wrote. “Whenever my 85-year-old mother visits, we can sit on the porch in peace. I can’t thank you enough for understanding that we need to feel safe and have peace on our streets.”
Braulio Arroyo, Anthony East, Roderick Edwards
Public Works & Engineering
The water main in front of Yale Smith’s house broke early one Sunday
morning. Anthony East, Roderick Edwards
and Braulio Arroyo were on the scene quickly
to repair the rupture, which required them to work late into the evening.
“They handled the job professionally, were courteous and even apologized for the inconvenience,” Smith wrote. “We are fortunate to have this kind of dedication from city staff.”
Elizabeth Rodriguez
Human Resources
S. Stevens wrote to thank Elizabeth Rodriguez
for helping to correct her insurance. “It was such a relief to have
it complete and going smoothly,” Stevens wrote.
Barbara Varner was also impressed with the service she received from Rodriguez. “She answered all my insurance questions courteously and professionally,” Varner wrote.
Reginald Epperson, Anthony Freddie, Audrey Henry,
Willie Pratt, Jodi Silva
Police
Isolation followed Susan Stein after she moved into her Alief home in
January 2003. Residents were apathetic about the poor condition of the
neighborhood, Stein wrote. Even the homeowner’s association offered
no help.
Then, Stein discovered she wasn’t alone in trying to improve her neighborhood. She had help from the city.
Reginald Epperson and Willie Pratt started helping change things dramatically, Stein wrote. “Neighborhood protection, in a collaborative spirit with other entities, brought back a sense of pride to this modest little community.”
More work still has to be done, Stein added. But, “as usual, the next contingent of neighborhood protection staff is just as sharp.”
Jodi Silva helped put together a photo presentation. Anthony Freddie started the presentation program, and Audrey Henry kept the lines of communication open to maximize everyone’s time and effort, Stein wrote.
Ernest Davis, Rosalinda Salazar
Finance & Administration
Two days before closing on a downtown office building, it became critical
that John Moody’s clients get written permission from the Finance
and Administration Department to transfer a tunnel permit.
When Moody called the department, he reached Ernest Davis. Davis and Rosalinda Salazar “worked very hard to turn around my request in a very short time,” Moody wrote. “Because of their prompt attention, the transaction closed on schedule. You have wonderful people in your department.”