I received a call from Liza Valdez (or Vega, the email uses both) of the City Secretary’s office today asking me to clarify my e-mail address so she could send me the material she had received from Public Works. I was astounded to hear it was a single memo, a Word document, which I have conveniently duplicated here for your perusal.

To:

From: Santana Torres, Public Works Director

Date: 3/17/08

Re: Pablo Kisel street repairs

Pubic Works has reviewed its records and show work orders going back to October 16, 2006 to present. Repairs were made from the North Main Drainage ditch to the frontage of HWY 77 all being on the south bound lane. These repairs consist of spot repairs to ranging from area of 8′ x 8′ to 8′ x 30′ in measurements.

Materials:

Limestone; base material 1,070 tons x $15.70= $16,800.00

Asphalt; 850 tons x $48.00= $40,800.00

4 loads (Slurry) soil stabilizer (70 tons) = $8,330.00

Total in materials= $65,930.00

Estimated cost: $79,790.00

I think Barack needs to come down here. Our Public Works Department has a thing or two to teach him about audacity. In the covering memo, Santana Torres has the gall to invite personal inquiries as to the veracity of his report. On the basis of his response, I begin to doubt his literacy. He could not have accurately read the request I sent and understood it and then turn around and issue this report.

I had asked for the number of repairs ordered since the road’s acceptance and their costs. I’ve written back to Ms. Valdez, the Administrative Supervisor who seems to be in charge of information requests in the city secretary’s office explaining the inadequacy of the response and requesting access to the records themselves. Round two. Or is this round seven? Dang. I’ve been punched around here so much, I believe I’m dizzy.

-stan

UPDATE: (12;15 PM) I just talked to Santana Torres, since he so kindly provided his cell number. He says no repairs were requested on Pablo Kisel until October of 2006 and that he will look again at his records. I pointed out that there was a patch close to a quarter mile long that’d been worked on late last summer/early fall which far exceeded the thirty feet patches he had mentioned and that he had put me in the place where I must believe him or my own lying eyes. Well, he did say he will look again.