Rapid Response handles 14,211 calls in first year

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Tuesday, March 4, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald joined the Rapid Response Team on its first anniversary and helped out with its work -- cleaning up the town.

Following a brief ceremony at Lorenzi Park Monday, McDonald, a Metro Police officer, helped remove graffiti, chop weeds and clean up garbage from an alley on the south side of Charleston Boulevard between Burnham and Eastern avenues.

The Neighborhood Services Department's Rapid Response Team was designed to more quickly respond to residents' complaints about basic neighborhood code enforcement issues like graffiti, trash-strewn alleys, overgrown vegetation and illegal signs.

During its first year in operation, the Rapid Response Team went out on 14,211 calls, abating 10,845 graffiti-stained sites, clearing weeds from 536 sites and cleaning up 372 illegal vagrant camps.

The creation of the Rapid Response Team by the City Council came on the heels of the SUN's highly acclaimed "Neighborhood Nightmares" series, which focused on inadequate government responses to extreme code violations.