News Release 458

MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
CELEBRATES ONE YEAR WITH OMBUDSMEN
Ombudsman visits more than 170 citizens and leaders in central Missouri

Volume 34-458

Contact: Connie Patterson

(For immediate release)

573-751-1010

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, OCT. 18, 2006 -- In just the first year since the inception of the Ombudsman Program, Missouri Department of Natural Resources' ombudsmen have made nearly 1,700 contacts with citizens, community leaders and business owners.

Jim Froelker serves as a half-time ombudsman in the Rolla satellite office. As of Oct. 4, Froelker had made 172 site visits in his region. When Froelker was contacted by a family-owned meat-processing business in Gasconade county that had concerns regarding a permit, he set up a meeting with department officials that produced a solution that not only helped this particular company, but may also help other food processors in Missouri.

"The meeting was helpful in the sense of getting all parties together and using common sense flexibility to create a solution that would fit the concerns of all," said Mike Sloan owner of the Swiss Meat and Sausage Co.

Through the Ombudsman Program, an ombudsman is located at each regional office, Table Rock Lake State Park and in Rolla at the department's Division of Geology and Land Survey offices. The ombudsmen operate independently from the regional offices and the department's Division of Environmental Quality and inform the regional directors and the department director of issues, concerns and problems they learn of while meeting with clients of the department.

"When I established this program in August 2005, I envisioned it as an opportunity to help to strengthen Missouri's communities while also addressing head on many of the negative myths and rumors that existed about the department," said Doyle Childers, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. "In its first year, this program has far exceeded my expectations."

Through their contacts, department ombudsmen have provided support to communities looking to make improvements to ailing infrastructure systems, business owners seeking assistance in meeting environmental standards, citizens working to address problems in their communities and a range of other issues.

"Some people initially criticized the ombudsman program, thinking it was just a job for former politicians," said Childers. "Actually, I was looking for people who were good communicators who could provide good constituent service." Only two of the department's seven ombudsmen are former elected officials.

When the department wanted to evaluate one of its new programs, the ombudsmen stepped in to help. Through initial assistance visits, the department walks permittees through their unique permit requirements and provides compliance assistance rather than conducting formal inspections. When the department conducted surveys of permittees regarding its new process, ombudsmen followed up with those surveyed to ensure the department reached everyone. Nearly 99 percent of respondents reported that they felt well served by Department of Natural Resources' staff who visited their operations as part of the initial assistance visits.

The ombudsmen, along with Childers, also have conducted town meetings across Missouri to answer questions and gain input from citizens, business leaders and city officials. Ombudsmen have held nearly 45 town meetings and met with more than 600 citizens.

"Our work is about helping people address their needs and to meet the dreams they have for their businesses and communities," said Scott Totten, chief of the Ombudsman Program. "In the process, we hope to build lasting relationships with citizens."

Froelker, who worked for McDonnell Douglas/Boeing for 35 years, served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 1989 to 2003, and joined the Ombudsmen Program Oct. 1, 2005. Froelker can be reached at 573-619-1410.

More information on the ombudsman program is available at www.dnr.mo.gov/magazine/2006-fall.pdf.
For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: A photo of Froelker and a map of the region he serves is available at www.dnr.mo.gov/ombudsman.htm.