Facebook Page Aims to Connect City With Residents

The joined Facebook last week. The move was motivated by the summer's severe weather and the desire for the city to get information out to residents quickly and address their concerns.

"During the worst of the early-July heat wave, and while we were beginning to ask residents to use restraint with lawn watering, I was on vacation, and logistically, it was very difficult to get information out to residents," Kirkwood Public Information Officer Beth von Behren said.

Von Behren was vacationing on the East Coast at the time when that area of the country was experiencing massive power outages. She could access Facebook on her phone but updating the city's website was difficult. Von Behren was, however, able to update the city's Twitter account and subsidiary Facebook accounts, like the Parks and Recreation and Greentree Festival Facebook pages.

"If we had had a Facebook page just for City information – where we could post information but residents could also post questions – communication might have been smoother," von Behren said. "Therefore, our goal with this page is to improve communication with residents – in both directions."

The city hopes to see hundreds if not thousands following and engaging with the new page. The page also will allow the city to promote its blog and share photos of the city and residents, von Behren added.

Visit City of Kirkwood Facebook and Kirkwood Patch Facebook to stay up-to-date on everything Kirkwood.