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Code office is a ‘fine’ way to report city to itself

On the heels of the column reminding residents and business owners to remove snow from their sidewalks, who fines the city when the city neglects to do the same with city properties? – Sandy

It’s certainly tempting to suggest the city fine itself. It’s righteous indignation for not digging in righteously, right?

But it’s the municipal equivalent of robbing Peter to pay Paul. At the snowbank, your account has a zero balance.

Of course, we could always “appropriate” money from Parks and Rec to pay for snow removal.

And why not?

Parks and Rec has tons of money. In fact, a vast cash hoard sits in a secure vault underneath the Rec Center lap pool. (It’s a liquid asset.)

Along with unmarked $100 bills, there are huge bags of gold found during the excavation of the new sewer plant, blueprints showing locations of all the secret tunnels under Main Avenue and Ron LeBlanc’s Boy Scout stamp collection.

And if you believe that, next week’s Snowdown Sneer will provide additional truthiness.

In any case, if you see city property in need of city attention, report the incident to Code Enforcement.

Code Enforcement will make sure the appropriate city department is aware of the problem and responds accordingly.

Report online at durango.gov. Click the “How Do I ...?” button and choose “Report” from the drop-down menu.

The Ask Durango program will appear. Select the area of trouble, pin the location to a map, write a description of the problem and even upload a photo.

Of course, you can always call Code Enforcement at 375-4930.

“Either way works great, and we’ll check out the problem,” said our good friend and friendly code officer Shane Roukema.

•••

As the snow piles up, so do the comments in the Mea Culpa Mailbag. Last week’s column on snow-topped cars really raised the roof.

“I’m constantly surprised how many people, even locals, don’t bother to clean off their car roofs,” writes a loyal reader requesting anonymity.

“At work, I deal with a lot of traffic cases, and it concerns me that people drive around with obstructed views and risk tickets or crashes.”

Scraping roof snow “can be tough, and I thank you for noting that so many of our neighbors don’t have the luxury of a garage. However, my 5-foot-1 wife climbs up on snow banks to clear the top of her vehicle every time it snows and I’m not around.”

“Thanks for raising awareness and keeping our community safe while also giving us a chance to poke a little fun at such a silly thing.”

On the other hand, loyal reader Steven Geier thought last week’s snow commentary was fluff.

The column “fell way short on an extremely serious issue,” Steven said, pointing out that the photo illustration showed an “illegal” snowy car “that should not even be on the road.”

He added: “It also failed to let the public know that roof-top snow has caused damage, accidents and even fatalities.”

The problem, Steven says, is newcomers as well as Action Line: “You as a writer should not make light in any way when it comes to this issue with all the Newbies that have moved in. You would think these adult idiots would have some common sense.”

Steve said, “I found no humor in your article, but then again, it is the Herald.”

Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 80301. You can request anonymity if you remember when Durango School District 9-R schools never, ever closed for a snow day.