MITCHELL — Have an issue with a street pothole or a neighbor’s unsightly lawn. The city of Mitchell has an app for that.
The Mitchell City Council, during its regular meeting on Monday, June 2, heard a presentation from City Administrator Stephanie Ellwein on the city’s new cleanup phone app.
Locals can use the Mitchell Report and Connect app to log complaints, such as broken street signs, drainage or flooding items, or a sidewalk needing repair. The app is part of the SeeClickFix utilities mobile platform for cities and counties. The platform works with hundreds of local governments, according to the company.
During the test period of the app over the previous month, the city received 147 requests, with 91 of these being city employees testing the app out and logging maintenance or clean up items. Of the total requests, the highest volume came from utility billing items, city employee IT requests, and high grass. The app is to aid non-emergency service requests.
The app takes less than a minute to use, according to Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson. Requests can also be submitted on the
The app shows how long it takes from the time an item is submitted to the time it is responded to and completed, which is within two days, according to Hanson.
Reported items are sent to a city department head, who then assigns the request to a city employee for completion. If the item is cleaned up or fixed, a photo is uploaded to show that the area has been updated.
According to Ellwein, after Mayor Hanson was elected, he had a list of improvements to city facilities and parks submitted by people. Ellwein noted the solution to this was an online tool for residents and visitors to submit and track requests. The app means people no longer have to know city department head contact information to report concerns, according to Ellwein.
“Now everybody can do it right through the app,” Ellwein said.
The app also features quick links for city alerts, meetings and agendas, city job openings, and paying utility bills online.
In the previous month, complaints included fences or hedges obstructing views, debris or trash on private property, noise and parking enforcement. Other reports the city has received is broken playground equipment, and trees and hanging branches on boulevards, and city parking lot, facility or grounds issues.
Dots on a city map within the app show where items have been requested to be changed, and these are publicly viewable.
Some categories that pose a privacy concern, according to Ellwein, are not publicly viewable. These include property nuisance complaints, police tips, fire hazards or testing, water main breaks, missed garbage pickups, and building and zoning items.
“If you submit a high grass concern, you will be able to see it, but everybody else in the community won’t be able to see it submitted,” Ellwein said.
Public Works Director Joe Schroeder told the Mitchell Republic public works items are straightforward. People like curbs and don’t like potholes, according to Schroeder.
“We can’t always be everywhere and see everything. It’s nice to have a second set of eyes on the city to help us out,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder noted the city may not know about a broken curb or street if a contractor replaces a water service without notifying the city.
“It’s just something to help us find things we might not know about,” Schroeder said.
Ellwein believes it will be useful to the city over time to see the types of issues being reported.
Photos can be uploaded immediately, later, or not at all.
“It’s just a really nice way to connect with the city without having to have phone calls,” Hanson said.
The app can be found on the city’s website at
www.cityofmitchellsd.gov/connect
.
Marshall Mitchell is a reporter with the Mitchell Republic covering local news and politics. He has over 15 years of experience working with leaders, authors, non-profits, and small businesses in publishing, marketing, and content creation. He moved to Mitchell in December 2024, and can’t wait to hear from you. Reach out to him at mmitchell@mitchellrepublic.com.