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Community Services & Public Facilities

Reporting a Public Park Maintenance Issue

A citizen calls or visits the city hall's parks and recreation department to report an issue in a local park, such as a broken swing, overgrown grass, or litter.

Dialogue

Listen and follow along with the conversation

1
Sarah (Female)
Hi, I'm calling to report a maintenance issue at Willow Creek Park.
2
James (Male)
Okay, thank you for calling. Could you please specify what the issue is?
3
Sarah (Female)
Yes, there's a broken swing in the children's playground area. It looks like the chain is completely detached from the top bar.
4
James (Male)
A broken swing, got it. And for clarification, is this the swing set near the west entrance or the one closer to the picnic area?
5
Sarah (Female)
It's the one closer to the west entrance, the set with three swings. The middle one is the problem.
6
James (Male)
Understood. The middle swing on the set nearest the west entrance. We'll send a team to assess and repair it as soon as possible. Is there anything else you noticed?
7
Sarah (Female)
Well, while I have you, there's also quite a bit of litter near the main walking path, especially around the benches.
8
James (Male)
Okay, litter near the main walking path and benches. We'll add that to the work order for a cleanup crew. Thank you very much for reporting these issues, Ms...?
9
Sarah (Female)
It's Sarah. Sarah Davis.
10
James (Male)
Thank you, Ms. Davis. We appreciate your vigilance in helping us keep our parks safe and clean. You can expect these issues to be addressed within the next 2-3 business days.
11
Sarah (Female)
That's great. Thanks for your help!
12
James (Male)
You're welcome. Have a good day.

Vocabulary

Essential words and phrases from the dialogue

maintenance

The act of keeping something in good condition, like fixing or cleaning public places. In this dialogue, it refers to park upkeep.

report

To tell authorities about a problem, often officially. Here, Sarah reports a park issue to city hall.

broken

Something damaged and not working properly. Used to describe the swing that needs fixing.

swing

A playground seat hanging from chains that children swing on. Common in parks for kids.

litter

Trash or garbage left in public areas. In the dialogue, it's the waste near the path that needs cleaning.

assess

To examine or evaluate a problem to understand it better. James says they'll assess the broken swing before repairing.

repair

To fix something that is broken. Used when talking about fixing the swing or cleaning up litter.

vigilance

Careful attention to watch for problems. James thanks Sarah for her vigilance in reporting issues.

Key Sentences

Important phrases to remember and practice

Hi, I'm calling to report a maintenance issue at Willow Creek Park.

This is a polite way to start a call about a problem. Use it when contacting services to report something wrong in a public place. 'I'm calling to' shows the purpose of the call.

Could you please specify what the issue is?

A helpful question to ask for more details. 'Could you please' makes it polite, and 'specify' means to give exact information. Useful for customer service or when clarifying problems.

For clarification, is this the swing set near the west entrance or the one closer to the picnic area?

This seeks confirmation to avoid mistakes. 'For clarification' introduces the question politely. Use 'or' to give choices. Helpful in conversations needing precise details.

We'll send a team to assess and repair it as soon as possible.

This promises action quickly. 'We'll' means 'we will,' future tense. 'As soon as possible' shows urgency. Use this to reassure someone when handling reports.

Is there anything else you noticed?

An open question to check for more issues. 'Anything else' invites additional information. Useful at the end of reporting to ensure nothing is missed.

Thank you very much for reporting these issues, Ms...?

Expresses gratitude while asking for a name politely. 'Ms.' is a formal title for women. Good for professional thanks in service interactions.

You can expect these issues to be addressed within the next 2-3 business days.

This gives a timeline for resolution. 'You can expect' means it's likely to happen. 'Within' means not later than. Useful for setting expectations in official responses.