To City of Lilburn, I pour out thanks

   You can't fight City Hall. That's what they say and I've always been cynical enough to believe it. So whenever the city did anything to my disliking, I went with the flow, even when the flow was washing out our yard.
   We live on a cul-de-sac at the bottom of a hill. A drain next to our driveway used to catch rainwater from the street. But a few years back, the city repaved the street, raising it to a level where the rainwater splashed over the curb and started eroding the dirt along our driveway. It was clearly the city's fault, but what could we do? After all, you can't fight City Hall.
   Several years later they repaved again, aggravating the problem to the point where we had to hire a landscaper to bury a drainage pipe under our front yard. It carried water once it got down the hill, but it still didn't treat the problem at the source, which was on city property.
   Two weeks ago, on a Thursday, my neighbor Marge asked if I'd noticed that all the rain had washed the soil away from the roots of the trees between our driveways. She said she'd been dumped on enough and would call Lilburn City Hall to see what they'd do about it. I admired her spunk, but doubted that she'd even get a reply.
   Friday morning at 7:15 a.m., Public Safety Director, Ron Houck showed up to inspect the yards affected by the rainwater. He admitted it was a big problem and the City of Lilburn was responsible. He said he'd get to it right away.
   Still a bit cynical, I wasn't sure what "right away" meant. I predicted to Marge what would happen: they would bring it up at the next staff meeting and appoint a task force to explore all the possible solutions. They'd ask for bids, then present a plan at the next City Council meeting, which by this point would be November. The issue would be questioned, debated, then tabled till they had more information. Yeah, I know how it goes when you try to fight City Hall. 
   Imagine my surprise the next Monday morning when I saw the curb lined with stakes. By Wednesday all the utility companies had made their markings. Friday morning, Scotty Farmer and his crew, Julio Franzra, Demis Franzra and Jerry Davis showed up at the crack of dawn. They dug up 14 tons of concrete, installed drains, grates, and berms, repaved the ends of three driveways, then at dusk smoothed out a stray dog's footprints in pouring rain.
   The next morning when it rained (surprise, surprise), the water gushed down the drain at 600 gallons per minute, just like it was supposed to. 
   You can't fight City Hall? That's what they say. But cynicism aside, maybe if you ask in a nice way like Marge did, that saying doesn't always wash. 

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