Since my days of doing this blog are starting to wind down, I thought that I’d trot out one of my readers’ tried and true favorites: actual reader feedback. Here’s a random mixture of it, with names and other identifying info redacted:
Subject: Mobile Phone Towers in Eden Prairie
My wife and I recently moved to Eden Prairie. We did not sign up for home
phone service as we both have cell phones and we live in an area of
relatively dense population. Easy way to save $30/month. Imagine my surprise
when I found that my cell phone barely gets reception in my house.
25% of homes in the US have a cellphone but no landlines and that number is
only increasing.
Subject: Urban Chickens
I read your blog post regarding chickens. You mentioned the “sight, sound,
and smell” of chickens. Before you make any decisions, I would go visit
someone who raises chickens on their property. I myself have had as many as
5 adult hens and haven’t had any complaints. Why? Because they don’t smell
and they don’t make noise other than a little cackling in the later morning.
Their are a lot of misconceptions about chickens. One is that they smell
terribly. But if you check it out yourself, a free range chicken will roam
an entire fenced yard and of course poop wherever it needs or wants. But
that scat is usually very watery and either washes away with a good rain or
a hose. And it makes excellent fertilizer. But it doesn’t stink. Of course
you could run into the occasional homeowner who keeps 20 chickens and never
cleans, etc. They probably also have an old washer and dryer on the front
porch as well. Anyway, please also consider this: is it OK to allow people
to have the “sight, sound, and smell” of dogs on their property but not
chickens? Consider how loud dogs are (there are 8 dogs living within the 5
properties adjacent to my home. They make far more noise than my hens. Also,
I have never heard of anyone needing stitches or rabies shots, or being
mauled by a chicken. I just had a grad party for my daughter in my backyard
and had near 200 people throughout the day see my hens and they all seemed
to love them. I’m sure some felt it was weird to house what is really a farm
animal, but it was probably really weird long ago when people started
inviting dogs into their homes. Thanks for listening!
Subject: Loves The Blog
I’ll confess to being a reluctant resident of Eden Prairie who’s pretty
much chomping at the bit to move back to Minneapolis. So I generally don’t
get too involved in the ongoings of the City of EP, except to be informed
enough to vote. I pride myself, however, on being a reasonably engaged and informed
citizen, and this blog of yours has proven to be fascinating. I periodically
post items you’ve blogged about on my own website and always present this
site as an excellent and probably representative sample of what exactly goes
on in the suburbs and also a superb example of a city and a city official
Doing it Right. So, keep up the good work. And thank you.
Subject: Concerned About Bugs
I have found an emerald ashborer (verified by my insect-savvy son) in my
yard today. I have the specimen kept in a ziploc bag. Is the city interested
to verify this specimen?
Subject: Interested in Walmart Streetscape
How much money has Wal-mart put into this future fund? Is your city a rare
case or something that Wal-mart is doing to improve its community image
around the country. Thank you for your time.
Subject: Permission to Plagiarize
I’m doing a records management clean out contest at my site and i came
across your “Play Keep or Toss” image. I thought it was pretty slick and we
would like to use it to make the contest catchy. Would we be able to use
it? I realize you are probably pretty busy, but the contest is coming up
soon and we need to get rolling on the marketing so this is time-sensitive.
Thanks so much and great job on the graphic! I can be reached by email or
my direct line is xxxxxxxxxxxx.
Enjoy your day, and thanks for all the feedback everyone!