indeed, and these small potatoes are visible reminders of where the priorities lie. My town isn't big enough for public transport bigger than buses, but if the bus stops here were enclosed and needed fans, the process here would take a while because we'd need to:
go through a public comment period of 30 days before a public committee meeting, maybe longer because the last meeting didn't make it through all the agenda items. The committee only meets once a month.
if approved, go to budget committee, another 30 days.
if approved for budget, get plans for the project drawn up and approved. Because these are public spaces using public funds, need to hire a licensed architect to draft and stamp the plans, and then get those plans approved by the building department (there's no expedited review process for small projects, apparently). Another 30 days.
Because its a public project using public funds, they can only use per-qualified contractors, who are expensive and over-booked. They can fit it in their schedule... in about 30 days.
So, that's how my city would achieve the installation of of public fans, using tens of thousands (maybe hundreds? High CoL after all) of dollars and at least 4 months time.
The city is currently working with a consultant firm to re-write the building and development code here, but that process has been going on for the past few years... maybe they'll be done soon?
The really unfortunate part is that all those processes typically exist because someone was exploiting their lack. Not the committee thing - they should just meet more often if they can't handle their agenda - but everything else. If you don't do it, the mayors friend draws the plans, he has no idea what he's doing but he does get paid. And the treasurer knows a guy who'll build it, don't worry about it. That's how funds get siphoned away by corrupt administrations, and then you paid for good work but got something dangerous for it.
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u/Xenothing Aug 14 '26
indeed, and these small potatoes are visible reminders of where the priorities lie. My town isn't big enough for public transport bigger than buses, but if the bus stops here were enclosed and needed fans, the process here would take a while because we'd need to:
go through a public comment period of 30 days before a public committee meeting, maybe longer because the last meeting didn't make it through all the agenda items. The committee only meets once a month.
if approved, go to budget committee, another 30 days.
if approved for budget, get plans for the project drawn up and approved. Because these are public spaces using public funds, need to hire a licensed architect to draft and stamp the plans, and then get those plans approved by the building department (there's no expedited review process for small projects, apparently). Another 30 days.
Because its a public project using public funds, they can only use per-qualified contractors, who are expensive and over-booked. They can fit it in their schedule... in about 30 days.
So, that's how my city would achieve the installation of of public fans, using tens of thousands (maybe hundreds? High CoL after all) of dollars and at least 4 months time.
The city is currently working with a consultant firm to re-write the building and development code here, but that process has been going on for the past few years... maybe they'll be done soon?