INC NEWS - Durham Tackles Neighborhood Disrepair with New Technology

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

For Details, Contact:

Amy C. Blalock

Senior Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov <mailto:Amy.Blalock at durhamnc.gov> 

 

For Immediate Release:  April 9, 2008

 

Durham Debuts New Technology to Help Citizens Address Neighborhood
Disrepair

Durham is the First City in North Carolina to Use ComNet Technology

 

Durham, N.C. - Durham residents interested in serving as extra eyes for
City government now have their chance thanks to new technology designed
to help the community prioritize its immediate, street-level needs.

 

The City of Durham is debuting Computerized Neighborhood Environment
Tracking - or ComNet - that enables neighborhoods to use easily operated
handheld computers with digital cameras so that street level conditions,
such as pot holes, illegal dumping, weedy lots, litter and vacant
houses, can be quickly captured, recorded and prioritized for action.

 

Developed by the Center on Municipal Government Performance at the Fund
for the City of New York, ComNet enables groups to review neighborhood
conditions, learn which City departments are responsible for the wide
array of street-level conditions, determine the group's priorities and
communicate them to City staff. 

 

According to City Manager Patrick Baker, ComNet gives Durham residents a
hands-on opportunity to improve their neighborhoods and communities.
"One of my first actions as interim city manager three years ago was to
create the Code Enforcement Nuisance Abatement Teams (CENAT) to focus on
improving our neighborhoods.  ComNet is a natural next step where we
involve citizens in helping us prioritize what is most important to
them," Baker said.  "We feel this new technology addresses the important
missing link by adding the voices of the public to government
performance reporting and explores alternative approaches to remedying
conditions."

 

Spearheaded by the City's Office of Strategic Initiatives, a division of
the City Manager's Office, two community pilot surveys have already been
conducted in both the Northeast Central Durham Operation Bull's Eye area
and in the Old Farms neighborhood.  City departments are now addressing
all of the priority issues identified by residents during the surveys
with all non-priority issues being tracked by Durham One Call.  

 

According to David Harris, a resident of Old Farms neighborhood that
participated in a recent community survey, ComNet will ultimately
improve the quality of life in Durham. "I got involved in this new
program because I believe ComNet empowers us to identify street-level
problems that would normally go unnoticed, collaborate with City
agencies to prioritize the problems for repair, and follow up to ensure
the tasks are completed," Harris said.  "The end results for Durham are
not only cleaner neighborhoods but improved citizen ownership in our
community." 

 

According to Julie Brenman, director of the City's Office of Strategic
Initiatives, ComNet adds a new layer of citizen-government
communication, accountability and citizen oversight.  "Walking our
streets - looking for things that need to be fixed - gives you a very
different perspective than driving by in a car.  By using the ComNet
technology, we can record problems, listen to our neighbors and continue
to make Durham a great community."

 

According to Brenman, the City budgeted approximately $20,000 for this
program for the first year, which paid for all training and materials,
handheld computers, and the annual service agreement.  After first-year
start-up costs, the annual cost will be $5,000 for the service agreement
plus any additional handheld computers, which cost approximately $800
per unit.  

 

Neighborhood groups interested in completing a community survey will be
conducted on a first-come, first-served basis since ComNet is operating
with only two handheld computers at this time.  All participants must
attend a two-hour surveyor training class to learn how to use the
handheld computers prior to conducting a community survey.  

 

ComNet technology is currently being successfully used in New York City,
Philadelphia, Seattle, Des Moines, Iowa, and Worcester, Mass.  According
to Brenman, Durham is the only city in North Carolina currently using
this technology.

 

Durham residents interested in learning more about this new program can
tune into this month's "CityLife" or the next episode of "City Hall This
Week," both of which air during the City government's programming time
slots on Time Warner Cable channel 8.  For air dates and times, visit
the City's Web site at www.durhamnc.gov/departments/public/dtv.cfm. 

 

Neighborhood groups interested in scheduling a ComNet survey in their
community should contact Jay Reinstein, manager with the City's Office
of Strategic Initiatives, at (919) 560-4222, extension 226 or by e-mail
at Jay.Reinstein at durhamnc.gov.  

 

About the City's Office of Strategic Initiatives

The mission of the City Manager's Office of Strategic Initiatives is to
improve City services by maximizing the effectiveness of people and
processes.  For staff contact information, visit the City's Web site at 
www.durhamnc.gov/departments/manager/staff_strategic.cfm.

 

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