Dardenne Prairie City Hall

The second week of my Senior Project will be spent working at Dardenne Prairie City Hall. As of Friday they had been practicing social distancing but had not graduated to gloves and masks. In light of the Governor’s stay-at-home order, they have upped their cleaning protocol and are restricting public access to just the lobby with barriers to prevent roaming. When I shadow I will be wearing a mask and gloves per my parents request and my own efforts to not obtain and spread the virus.

On Monday, tomorrow, I am shadowing the Mayor and City Administrator to get an overview of the operation of city government and the interaction of the voters and their elected representatives (i.e. mayor and board of aldermen). On Tuesday I am shadowing the Court Administrator and Prosecuting Attorney’s Assistant to get a close look at the role and function of the municipal court. For Wednesday I am shadowing the building inspection/permit/code enforcement department and the economic development department to learn how and why the city manages the build code and regulates construction and renovations in residential properties and how the city promotes the businesses in the city and attracts new businesses. On Thursday I am set to attend the weekly Staff Meeting at 9:00 and shadow Buildings and Grounds Department and the City Clerk/Treasurer to learn how the city takes care of parks and buildings and how the city keeps records, responds to record requests, and handles money. Lastly, on Friday I am shadowing Parks and Recreation to see how the City develops and manages recreation programs. I was scheduled to see the preparations for the annual children’s Easter Egg Hunt scheduled for 4/11 but that was cancelled.

It is a pretty packed week however there might have been some changes to my schedule due to COVID-19. I am excited to get out of the house and have some human interaction outside of my immediate family. Like I said, each week I am looking one week ahead. I just got news that my shadowing opportunity at Elasticity Marketing in St. Louis has been cancelled since they are not an essential business. I am in the process of coming up with productive and meaningful things to do next week, some of my ideas are: upcycling some clothes, teaching myself how to embroider, learning how to design and code a website, and possibly fulfilling my childhood dream of becoming a fashion designer by learning how to sew. If you have any suggestions please reach out!