City app gives residents weapon for city nuisances

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - Fort Madison officials want you! - in their army to help solve city nuisances.

An app that is currently available to be downloaded for free onto phones and tablets allows residents a direct line of communication to the city with nuisance issues.

City Councilman Matt Mohrfeld took Pen City Current on a drive through parts of Fort Madison Monday afternoon showcasing the value of the new app.

To get the app on your phone simply go to the Apple Store or Google Play Store and type in 'Fort Madison'. The city logo, the red square with the overlapping white lines will pop up as the logo for the app. Just install the app onto your phone.

When you launch the app, there is a menu at the top left corner that opens up a menu with "Service Requests" "Online Payments" - for utility billing "Social Media" - which is the city's Facebook page; and a "Settings" tab that just features the company that built the app.

Also, on first launching the app, a "Service Request" link is embedded at the bottom of the initial page. When you click the link you create a login for the account which requires an email address and password. After that initial registration, the app then will go straight to the "Create a Request" page after you click on the "Service Request" link at the bottom.

The first drop down window is a Select a Report Type which includes such nuisances as 'Abandoned vehicle', 'Illegal burning', 'Garbage missed', 'Overgrown property', 'Unfenced Pool', 'Pothole', "Rundown Structure'. It also includes some Fort Madison Library book and program pages.

The next window allows you to locate the problem specifically or you're phone's GPS will provide a localized description when you hit "Submit".

You can provide more details on the situation and then you can also choose to keep the service request confidential, as well as including photos of the nuisance.

City Building Director Doug Krogmeier said the app has only been downloaded about 330 times and the city has received just under 532 reports, but he said about 90% of those were uploaded by city staff. He also said some of the reports are for the same issue, and same property or nuisance.

"In the last 30 days I've had 12 downloads of the app and all-time I've got over 500. We've got 10,000 people in this town. I should have 3,000 or 4,000 downloads. I want everyone to use it," Krogmeier said.

"As people send things in we see how many people are using it and it's not that many."

He said if people submit an issue then the incident gets issued a service order instantly, but if Krogmeier has to check everything himself, he usually waits until he gets at least 10 complaints so it's worth the time to leave and check them all at one time.

"It's not that I don't want to, but if they submit it and we can tell what property it is, we just issue it. It's done - just like that. It's instant. That's the goal. If they call me and say 'Hey, it's a mess out here,', then I have to go out and take a picture of it, make sure it is actually a mess, and then issue it (for service)," he said.

On private property nuisances, the city has to publish their intent to remedy the situation. He said the city will usually give 30 days on abandoned autos, but for trash, junk, and overgrown the city gives about 10 days notice to the property owner and then publish it's intent to remedy.

Mohrfeld said the city may end up getting more complaints if the app is used, but he said that could prompt the city to hire more staff to deal with the problems.

"I can do video, photos, and I can keep it confidential. I can tell it more details and then I just hit submit and it's off to the right place. Not only can residents download this, but what we're trying to do is encourage everybody to use it. As you know, when we get on Facebook, the No. 1 thing we see is everybody complaining about pot holes. I get it. I get it," Mohrfeld said after submitting two pothole complaints in the 1900 block of Avenue L.

"But now download the app, walk out and take a picture. We're gonna come back in a week to these exact spots and we'll see whether this app worked or not."

A video of Mohrfeld using the app can be found by clicking here: https://youtu.be/00uFnvwupkE

He said issues like junk in yards, abandoned vehicles in the right of way, overgrown properties, missing street signs and burnt out street lights can all be reported via the app. When residents use the app and hit submit, the submissions goes into automatic work orders.

"They feed into the system and go where they are supposed to. There's a possibility that we're not the only ones doing this and this could already be on the list, but when it pops up the city can say, 'Let's go fix it'.

Mohrfeld said the whole other side is looking at distressed properties and unmowed yards and it creates awareness for the condition of the city.

"What a great tool, if it gets used more Doug can justify getting another contractor to help get things done."


app, Doug Krogmeier, fort madison, nuisance, Pen City Current, potholes, property, residents

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