What’s Inside?

PALS Christmas DinnerPage 2

Composting coming to City Hall

Page3

Thorne Avenue Lift StationPage 4

Changes to EngagePage 4

Published 6 times a year by City of Saint JohnCommunications

EditorLeah FitzgeraldCommunications Officer

506-648-3714engage@saintjohn.ca

Next issue April 2012Deadline for submissions: March 16, 2012

EngageA publication for employees and retirees

of the City of Saint John

Vol. 3 No 1 February 20

12

Lancaster Lagoon program a big win

In 2010, the City of Saint John proceeded with the implementation of the energy manage-ment plan at Lancaster Lagoon Wastewater

treatment facility.The project implemented the following Energy Conservation Measures:

• the supply and installation of four high efficiency 200 Horse Power (HP) motors to replace existing motors,

• the supply and installation of a dissolved oxygen digital control system to monitor and automatically control the air system based on a set of parameters,

• the supply and installation of four Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) to help reduce and control the amount of power produced by each motor, and

• energy management training for operations staff.

A Measurement and Verification Plan (M&VP) was developed and implemented as part of the project to monitor the energy performance of the facility and calculate the energy savings. The en-ergy savings were calculated by comparing the actual 2010-2011 energy consumption to the baseline energy data (2008-2009). Other factors, such as weather and effluent flow effects were also considered in the calculation.

The M&VP determined that the actual annual energy savings was $55,000 or 694,000 KWH, which resulted in a reduction of over 560 Tons of CO2. The actual annual energy savings have ex-ceeded the City of Saint John initial energy sav-ings goal. It is anticipated that additional energy

savings can be achieved with further optimiza-tion of the systems and minor operational adjust-ments within the facility.

The total capital cost of implementation of these measures was $197,000. The City received in-centives for the implementation of the project, $39,000 from Efficiency New Brunswick and an additional $39,000 from the Federal government under the EcoEnergy Retrofit Incentive program. With the energy savings of $55,000 per year be-ing achieved, the payback period for this project is just over two years – an exceptional return on investment.

The Lancaster Lagoon wastewater treatment facility has seen a huge improvement in energy efficiency thanks to new variable speed motors in the aeration system.

IT TIPS

SharePoint: Making Your Work Easier

A workflow is a step or series of steps that is triggered by a specific change in a docu-ment, calendar, list, or other tool in Share-Point. Here are some examples:

• Approve vacation from employees through Outlook before it appears on the departmental calendar

• Send a document for approval to three users in a specific order or simultaneously to several users

• Remind someone who is assigned a task of the deadline

• Send an email to a user when another person completes a task

• Collect feedback on a document using Outlook

• Require approval before an item appears in a task list or calendar

• Change the status of an item in a task list

Contact the Service Desk to learn more about what workflows can do for you.

Get Alerted to Changes

SharePoint can send you an email when changes are made in a file or list. Simply set up an Alert.

Set Alert on Document Library or List

SharePoint can send you an email when changes are made in a file or list. Simply set up an Alert.

1. Open the document library or listTip: Organizational News, Employee News, or Classifieds are really lists in a different format. Click on the headings to go to the list view, and continue to step 2

2. Click the down arrow next to ActionsA drop-down menu appears

3. Select Alert MeNew window called New Alert opens

4. Complete each field:The default Alert Title is the list or library name. Change it if necessary. You may have more than one Alert on a library or list.Best practice is to only set up Alerts for yourself in Send Alerts ToUse Change Type and Send Alerts for These Changes to specify when you want an AlertChoose how often you want an email in When to Send Alerts. If many chang-es are made each day, choose daily or weekly

5. Click OKYou will receive an email saying you cre-ated this Alert.

GOOD W RKSPavilion Cup PrepI was just at the Pavilion and the ice surface is plowed! I saw the truck with the plow on the ice earlier this afternoon. There are many on the ice skating which is great to see!

Thank you to you and your team for doing this. It is very much appreciated. Please pass our thanks along to them.

Lori HebertPavillion Cup Committee

School hockey program a successTomorrow is the last day the hockey course for Samuel-de-Champlain is going to use Gorman Arena in the morning from 9:00 to 10:00. On behalf of myself, my Principal Lise Drisdelle-Cormier and the District #1, we would like to thank the City of Saint John and the Gorman Arena staff for having our kids using the facility for their hockey course. The Gorman Arena was always clean and the ice surface always ready for us to use it. The rink staff was always generous with their time.

Looking forward to the possibility of using the Gorman facility next year for the same hockey course.

Pierre LeBlancÉcole Samuel-de-Champlain

Fire Fighters make Christmas donationsLocal 771’s annual Ways and Means Campaign provided Christmas presents and groceries to 33 families, including two men staying with the Salvation Army, and 45 children from Prince Charles School. Children’s winter coasts were distributed to the Boys and Girls Club, Hazen White School and Romero House. The fire fighters make the contributions each Christmas with the support of TD Insurance, Saint John Energy, Unilever and T4G. The fire fighters also place teddy bears on each fire apparatus.

The City’s PALS volunteers served Christmas lunch to the students at Lorne Middle School in Decem-ber. The volunteers served a delightful turkey din-ner to the students and staff. Pictured (top, from left): Paul Groody, unidentified, Leah Fitzgerald, Sally Cummings and Tammy DeSaulniers wait in line for plates. (Bottom): Jim Bowland and Mike Meahan prepare plates for the waiters.

The Employee Sustainability Team hosted its first Lunch and Learn for corporate ‘green

teams’ from around Saint John on February 3rd.

The Lunch and Learn is hoped to be the first of a regular chance to share and work together on projects that will benefit the whole city, as well as sharing best practices and successful projects.

The first Lunch and Learn was hosted at UNB Saint John’s new Klohn Com-mons, the City’s newest LEED stan-dard building.

National Sweater DayDid you know February 9th is National Sweater Day? The World Wildlife Fund holds this annual event to encourage people to turn their heat down two degrees and put on a sweater.

Approximately half of commercial en-ergy use is devoted to space heating in Canada. Turning down the heat (and putting on a sweater) can result in both cost savings and a reduction in your carbon footprint.

You can learn more about the annu-al campaign (and watch some grand-mas asking their grandchildren to put on a sweater) here: www.wwf.ca/takeaction/sweater_day.

Earth HourEarth Hour is coming on March 22nd. The Employee Sustainability Team is working on big plans for this year’s campaign, with details to come. Don’t forget to turn off your comput-er and lights every night. You can go dark more than one hour every year!

Registration is open on the Earth Hour site – www.wwf.ca/earthhour. Watch for a contest for City employees com-ing in March.

Composting at City HallThanks to the cooperation between Facilities Management (particularly Trevor Gamblin) and Municipal Op-erations, composting will be coming soon to City Hall. Fundy Solid Waste will be providing small compost bins for lunch rooms and offices, and the cleaning company has had compost collection added to their contract. Urban Services will be able to add a compost pick up for City Hall to one of the collection routes. The Employee Sustainability Team is working to find a locaiton to store the bins between pick ups, but bins should be coming to lunchrooms and bathrooms soon.

HIRES AND RETIRESWelcome to the City!Michael BakerMunicipal Engineer

Adam PilmerLabourer, Water and Sewerage

Liam TheriaultLabourer, Water and Sewerage

Thank you for your years of serviceGerald MorrisFire Department – 42 years

David SomervilleTechnical Services – 33 years

Gary MelansonSaint John Water – 33 years

Richard MarksFire Department – 32 years

Harold SharkeySaint John Water – 32 years

Steven LeBlancSaint John Water – 32 years

George PayneSaint John Water – 32 years

Leo LafleurMunicipal Operations – 32 years

Mary FlowerMunicipal Operations - 32 years

Paul GroodyMunicipal Operations – 31 years

Calvin MackinnonSaint John Water – 31 years

Frederick McGrathSaint John Water – 27 years

John O’BlenisMaterials and Fleet Management – 27 years

David LoganMaterials and Fleet Management – 27 years

Annie ChanMunicipal Operations – 26 years

Ellen SargentMaterials and Fleet Management – 26 years

Thomas FrenchLeisure Services – 25 years

Robert WatersMunicipal Operations – 23 years

Transfers and PromotionsAlana NaussPromoted to Administrative Assistant 4 in Municipal Operations

Margaret SennaTransfered to Municipal Operations

Charles ChristiansenTransfered to Materials Management as a Stockkeeper

Send your milestones to engage@saintjohn.ca

Sharing our green success

EMPLOYEESUSTAINABILITYTEAM

Maritimer of the Week

On December 23, 2011, Fire Fighter Doug Trentowsky (second from right) was presented with the CTV Maritimer of the Week award for his outstanding contri-bution to our community. Fire Fighter Trentowsky was nominated by the Salva-tion Army for his leadership in their annual kettle campaign With the assistance of 78 Fire Fighters, volunteering a total of 212 hours at various locations, members of Local 771 raised $12,607 for the 2011 campaign. Since 2001, members of the Fire Department helped raise about $12,000 annually for the Kettle Campaign, with 2006 being the best year at $17,160.

5*22 SafetyPROGRAM

Vol. 1 No 6 December

2010

A number of significant safety initiatives are underway at the City. Many of these arose di-

rectly from hazards identified by em-ployees in the course of carrying out structured 5*22 activities, including tailgate talks, safety meetings and fa-cility inspections.

As an example, Saint John Water is partnering with the Saint John Fire Department to develop a high angle rescue program for Saint John Wa-ter employees. Nicole Taylor, Man-ager of Water Quality and Resources and Gerry Green, District Chief, Fire Prevention, are leading this initiative. Saint John Water Instrumentation and operational personnel are required to climb to the tops of many standpipes and SCADA towers to carry out pre-ventative and corrective maintenance activities. Some of our SCADA towers are 150 feet high.

The high angle rescue program, when fully implemented, will great-ly reduce response time, optimize the safety and effectiveness of the rescue, and minimize trauma to employees trapped aloft. This initiative also ex-emplifies the cross-functional collabo-ration being fostered by the 5*22 in our organization.

Thorne Avenue lift station faces delay

The biggest of the stations being con-structed as part of Harbour Clean Up, the Thorne Avenue lift station

has hit a snag in the form of a large rock in the excavation area.

The project is about a month and a half behind at this point while consultants come up with a way to remove the rock without damaging the rest of the excava-tion. The rock, obscured by a layer of soil, takes up about half the space intended for the wells inside the lift station.

“It’s with a geotechnical engineer to see how they can remove the rock without damaging the completed work,” explains John Campbell, project engineer.

The outside of the lift station is created by pounding corrugated metal into the ground on the perimeter of the excavation site. The earth and rock is then removed from inside that area. This gives the hole shape as well as making the process safer for the workers inside the excavation.

The lift station is the largest in the new

system, and will direct the flows from the rest of the new lift stations and to the new waste water treatment plant on Red Head Road. It will feature two wet wells, approx-imately 50 feet deep, to handle the flows from the other lift stations built (or under construction) as part of Harbour Clean Up.

A forcemain connecting the future lift sta-tion to the new waste water treatment fa-cility is already in place. The construction area, which runs alongside Dutchman’s Creek, will be landscaped in the spring. The Marsh Creek waste water treatment plant will be demolished once the lift sta-tion is open.

At present, the new Eastern Waste Wa-ter Treatment Facility is running at only a small portion of its maximum capacity. The force mains and lift stations that will push the waste that currently flows into the harbour, Marsh Creek and other wa-terways to the new treatment plant will be complete by the end of 2012. The City will then be treating 100 percent of its waste water.

Changes coming to Engage

This will be the last printed issue of Engage, which means it will be the last time copies are distributed via internal mail and the pension statement to retirees. This issue will be available in an electronic format at www.saintjohn.ca/engage. All

future issues of the newsletter will be posted there at the beginning of February, April, June, August, October and December.

This is, of course, a cost cutting measure, but it’s also an opportunity to provide more content to our readers. Without the limitations of a print format, we’ll be able to run more photos and multimedia content, including video and audio.

As we move to a new format, we want feedback from our readers. A link to our first reader survey is available on SharePoint or by visiting http://svy.mk/engagereaders.

If you would like to respond to the survey and don’t have internet acccess, please call Leah Fitzgerald at 506-648-3714 to have a survey sent to you via mail.

Retirees’ Association Website

The City of Saint John Retirees’ Association has a new website. Retirees Joe Marino and John

Clarke have been working to put to-gether the new site at sjretirees.word-press.com.

The new site features links to the City’s website, Service New Brunswick and Service Canada. As well, you can find the form to join the association, infor-mation about the bursary program and the meeting schedule.

To find out more, contact the associa-tion at sjretirees@hotmail.ca.

The Thorne Avenue lift station work is paused as engineers determine the best way to remove the large rock (slope is visible in the lower left of the photo) from the excavation site.