KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Frank Sereno, who lives in Waldo, is a motorcycle aficionado.
"Normally when I ride, I'm completely on the defensive. I look at every car as a potential threat," Sereno said.
But when he hits the pavement in Kansas City, there's something else he's dodging: potholes.
"Besides the property damage, I'm really worried about being thrown from the motorcycle and being seriously injured or killed," he said.
That's why Sereno picks up the phone and dials 311 anytime he sees a crater.
"I report them as best as I can, trying to be a good citizen," Sereno said.
On Monday, he received notifications saying three of his 311 cases had been closed. The only problem? The gaping holes remained.
"If they say it's fixed and repaired with asphalt, do I have to go out and check the checker?" a frustrated Sereno asked.
41 Action News contacted the KCMO Public Works Department about the closed cases.
"What's happening is we're getting hundreds of cases at a time, and there are mistakes that do happen," Public Works spokeswoman Maggie Green said. "So that particular instance, that case was closed in error."
Public Works has also been batch processing hundreds of cases, meaning some are closed before crews actually show up.
"Oftentimes that means the case has been sent and is already on a list for our maintenance crews to address," Green said.
The city urges residents to continue contacting 311 to report potholes.
Sereno's reported craters are now supposed to be patched on Wednesday.
Still, he said it's not the first time this has happened to him, and he worries about how many other cases are slipping through the cracks.
"The city can't even deliver the most basic service as fixing and repairing our streets. It's embarrassing," he said.
Sereno is calling on city leaders to find more funding for street resurfacing to prevent potholes from forming in the first place. The city's proposed budget includes an increase from $10.9 million to $17 million for street preservation, but a study found it could take as much as $45 million to adequately fund the work.
"We elected our city leaders to solve problems, not provide excuses. So I want to hold them accountable," Sereno said. "Find the money."
