Connect to "Costa Mesa Connect"(Amended)

A NEW TOOL...
The City of Costa Mesa just announced the availability of a new app for smartphones that is, in their words, "a civic engagement tool that allows residents to conveniently access city services".  Read all about it HERE.

CHECK IT OUT!
I've downloaded it and have played around with it just a little.  It looks like a good tool.  Check it out!  I may play around with it some more while sitting in City Council Chambers this afternoon during the Mid-Year Budget Review.  Starts at 4:30... see you there.

OK, I'm back at 7:00 p.m. - the Study Session was a record - 45 minutes flat!  More on that later.

MORE INFORMATION ON THE APP
Back to this new app.  Among the features are:

• City News
• City Council Agenda
• City Hall
• Officials
• Online Services
• Calendar 
• Nearby Requests
• New Request

A LIST OF CHOICES
That last one is the ability for anyone using it to easily report "issues" around town, including being able to send photos of, for example, graffiti.  There are pre-programmed "request types" from which we can choose.  Here's the list of 26 choices as the app was launched:

1. Abandoned Shopping Carts
2. Building-Code Violations
3. Bus Stop Maintenance
4. Excessive Car/Foot Traffic
5. Excessive Cigarette Smoke
6. General Feedback
7. Graffiti Abatement
8. Illegal Garage Conversion
9. Illegal Mobile or Street Vending
10. Illegal Occupancy
11. Inoperative Vehicles (on private property)
12. Large congregations/gatherings of people
13. Overgrown Vegetation on City Property
14. Park Maintenance
15. Pothole Reporting
16. Property Maintenance
17. Sign or Banner Violation
18. Storm Drain Issues
19. Street Repairs
20. Street Signs and Markings
21. Street Sweeping
22. Sub-standard Housing
23. Traffic Signal Issues
24. Trash/Debris in Public Right-of-Way
25. Tree Issues
26. Vehicle on Lawn

WHO'S GOING TO RESPOND?
As I scrolled down through that list I found myself feeling just a little like a vigilante...  And, I wonder just who's going to gather all this information and act on it?  It seems like this has the potential to dramatically increase the workload on Code Enforcement, Public Services, Police and Fire.  So, our scheme is to reduce staff, then slam those who are left with an unmanageable amount of new work.  Strange...

BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE!
Then I realized that there are a few more "issues" that folks may wish to report that are not yet included on the original list of choices:

1. Rude Behavior By Elected Officials Toward Residents
2. Rude Behavior By Elected Officials Toward Other Officials
3. Texting and Emailing By Elected Officials During Public Meetings
4. Potential (probable) Brown Act Violations at a Certain Pub in Town
5. Violating City Policies By Improperly Directing Staff Members
6. Stalking City Employees
7. Using Political Influence In Favor Of Friends/Business Associates
8. Ignoring The Will Of The Residents And Trying To Impose Personal Political Philosophy On Them
9. Placing Potholes Ahead Of Public Safety
10. Interrupting a DUI Checkpoint
11. Creating Unnecessary Bogus Committees and Stacking Them With Sycophants
12. Denigrating the Good Name of the City by Referring to it as "Costa Mayberry"
13. Gaining Employment While Claiming Complete Emotional Impairment And Inability To Work in a Bogus Lawsuit
14. Exhibiting Megalomanical Behavior
15. Claiming Someone Trespassed on Your Property to Place a Tracking Device on your Truck, Then Later Admitting That You Can't Park the Truck on Your Property Because the Driveway is Too Short.

PLEASE ADD MORE...
That's just for starters... I expect some of you will think of others.

I LIKE IT... LET'S SEE HOW IT GOES...
All in all, I like this new app.  I think it will be easy to quickly locate important information.  It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out.