street talk | january 2012 issue

JANUARY 2012

inside:Feature: Check out how PWD is ‘shaking it up’ in many ways to be innovative, creative, sustainable, and exempli-fy best-practice solutions.

STREET TALKREPORTING ON WHAT MATTERS TO PUBLIC WORKSVOLUME 2 ISSUE 1

All Around Austin: Public Workers spent time in Novem-ber and Decemeber doing all kinds of things around town to highlight the work we do in PWD.

Guest Column:How Public Works and other City de-partments are trying to make Austin the most livable city!

Diversity Council: The Diversity Council has been keep-ing busy and shaking things up with new programs, events and ideas. Now they want to hear from YOU!

All Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around AustinAll Around Austin:Public Workers spent time in NovemPublic Workers spent time in NovemPublic Workers spent time in NovemPublic Workers spent time in NovemPublic Workers spent time in NovemPublic Workers spent time in NovemPublic Workers spent time in NovemPublic Workers spent time in NovemPublic Workers spent time in NovemPublic Workers spent time in NovemPublic Workers spent time in NovemPublic Workers spent time in Novem-ber and Decemeber doing all kinds ber and Decemeber doing all kinds ber and Decemeber doing all kinds ber and Decemeber doing all kinds ber and Decemeber doing all kinds ber and Decemeber doing all kinds ber and Decemeber doing all kinds ber and Decemeber doing all kinds ber and Decemeber doing all kinds ber and Decemeber doing all kinds ber and Decemeber doing all kinds ber and Decemeber doing all kinds of things around town to highlight of things around town to highlight of things around town to highlight of things around town to highlight of things around town to highlight of things around town to highlight of things around town to highlight of things around town to highlight of things around town to highlight of things around town to highlight the work we do in PWD.the work we do in PWD.the work we do in PWD.the work we do in PWD.the work we do in PWD.

Guest Column:Guest Column:Guest Column:Guest Column:Guest Column:Guest Column:Guest Column:Guest Column:Guest Column:Guest Column:Guest Column:Guest Column:How Public Works and other City deHow Public Works and other City deHow Public Works and other City deHow Public Works and other City deHow Public Works and other City deHow Public Works and other City deHow Public Works and other City deHow Public Works and other City deHow Public Works and other City de-partments are trying to make Austin partments are trying to make Austin partments are trying to make Austin partments are trying to make Austin partments are trying to make Austin partments are trying to make Austin partments are trying to make Austin the most livable city!the most livable city!the most livable city!the most livable city!the most livable city!the most livable city!the most livable city!the most livable city!the most livable city!the most livable city!

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ideas. new programs, events and ideas. Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!Now they want to hear from YOU!

SHAKIN’IT UP!

PWD’S

RESPONSIBILITY & ACCOUNTABILITY:We take responsibility for achieving results and hold ourselves account-able for our actions.

INNOVATION & SUSTAINABILITY:We actively seek out good ideas that have a lasting positive impact on our work, our community, and the envi-ronment.

PUBLIC SERVICE & ENGAGEMENT:We will partner with one another and our community to provide the best service possible.

director’s messageBY HOWARD LAZARUS DIRECTOR

02 STREET TALK JANUARY 2012

L

EDITORIALEditor in Chief:

Chief Reporter:

Contributing Writers:

DESIGNChief Graphic Designer:

Director of Photography:

Sara [email protected]

Sharon [email protected]

Vera [email protected]

Alexa [email protected]

Shannon [email protected]

Sara [email protected]

Luciano [email protected]

STREET TALK

Gerald [email protected]

Howard [email protected]

ast month in a message to the City workforce, City Manager Marc Ott presented the results of the most recent Citizen Satisfaction Survey. Austin continues to

set the bar for customer service, with 88% of the City’s residents stating they are sat-isfied with the level and value of services they receive from their municipal govern-ment. This high mark was not only significantly higher than all of our peer cities, but also is remarkable in an era when there is a substantial amount of discord and distrust nationally toward governmental entities. It is an achievement in which we can all take pride.

During the City Manager’s talk, there was a projection in the background to launch the new PRIDE campaign. PRIDE is both a spirit for us and an acronym for the organizational values we all cherish:

Michelle [email protected] We

Should Take PRIDE in Public Works

Clemmie [email protected]

Tyleah [email protected]

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: We recognize and respect a variety of perspectives, experiences, and ap-proaches that will help us achieve our organizational goals.

ETHICS & INTEGRITY:Our actions will maintain the trust and confidence of the public and the organization.

The elements of PRIDE are present in our daily lives in Public Works. We support the community though our maintenance of the transportation infrastructure and the delivery of major capital improvement projects. The public trusts us to work safe-ly in their Right of Way, to expend almost $400 million annually of their money, and to assist in delivering their most treasured resource – their children – to and from

school every day. We have a diverse work-force and a welcoming workplace. We are a best managed and best executed organiza-tion; adopting leading technologies, apply-ing existing approaches in innovative ways, and testing new approaches.

Yes, there are many reasons to take PRIDE in being a Public Worker. What I am most proud of is the humility and sense of purpose with which you achieve such won-

derful results. I would love to hear from you on what gives you PRIDE in our orga-nization! [email protected]

Robin [email protected]

Cynthia [email protected]

Charles [email protected]

Max [email protected]

2012 JANUARY STREET TALK 03

COVER STORY

PWD Shakes It Up!This ain’t your mother’s Public Works Department! Here at PWD, we are ‘shaking it up’ in many ways to be innovative, creative, sustainable, and exemplify best-practice solutions in our daily operations, projects, and coordi-nation with other departments.

contentsJANUARY 2012

cityspace.austintexas.gov/departments/pwdVOLUME 2 ISSUE 1

Grand Opening at the NEW Austin Animal Services Center.


contentsJANUARY 2012

cityspace.austintexas.gov/departments/pwdVOLUME 2 ISSUE 1

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10features divisions columns

ALL AROUND AUSTIN ENGINEERING DESIGN TEAMS KEEP BUSY

NCD: UNDERFOOT AND OVER GROUND

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOR?

THE SAFETY ZONE

Public Workers spent time in July and August doing all kinds of things around town to highlight the work we do in PWD. See what’s been happening and what is coming up next.

For Engineering Services Design Team 2, the work just keeps coming! Read up on their latest design projects.

Michelle Frith profiles two employees that work hard for PWD everyday, who you may have never met!

NCD is improving our sidewalk system and how it benefits multiple communi-ties.

How safe are you staying on the job? Tips on how you can make improve-ments on the job and in your daily life!

06 08

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STREET AND BRIDGE OPERATIONS STAY LEAN AND GREENThe Districts Division finds ways to get the job done spending less money, ex-panding service and applying the “re-duce, reuse, recycle” principal.

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MILESTONESWhat Public Workers are doing out there to achieve, foster community, im-press co-workers and citizens alike, and show we really are the ‘Department with a Heart’!

The Diversity Council has been keeping busy and shaking things up with new programs, events and ideas. Now they want to hear from YOU!

21 THE DIVERSITY COUNCIL: 09

GUEST COLUMN:HEALTHY CONNECTIONS

This Month: How Public Works and other City departments are trying to make Austin the most livable city!

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CIPID: BEHIND THE SCENESHere, you’ll get to lace up your steel-toed boots and meet the CIP Inspection Division’s Road Reconstruction group.

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SHAKIN’IT UP!

PWD’S

BE SAFE:

Because Everyone’s Safety Affects Families Everywhere


BY SHARON WARREN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

safety zone

What is your safety resolution? Here are some tips from the safety office.

ere in the PW Safety Office, we are working on a variety of initiatives

to improve safety in our department for 2012. For the New Year, let’s all look at what we do and maybe change a few things for the better (and safer)!

A great example - if we have been talking or texting on our cell phone while driving, then let’s make the change to quit and be safer while driving on our roads. What is your safety resolution? Share it

H

with your co-workers, your supervisor, or the Safety Office! We all can benefit from each other when we think of new ways to commit to safety.

Become a safety advocate this year - make safety a priority!

This year the Safety Office was able to implement a section within each em-ployee’s SSPR that makes safety a priority and a measurable task for each of us to perform throughout the year. This helps

A New (Safer) Year for Public Works

supervisors become accountable for teaching employees more about safety responsibility, and it also holds the em-ployee accountable for getting trained, and adhering to the procedures set in place for their safety.

Also good news for the New Year is that sometime in early 2012, Public Works will have a new Safety Manager in place. We are excited about the opportunity this will bring for the Safety Office. This will al-low the Safety Team to work on additional initiatives, expand programs and help implement more of the great safety ideas out there!

BY SHANNON WISNER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

events


Public Works Connects You...All Around Austin!Public Works builds our city’s future and celebrates our successes with PWD staff and events all around town.

AUSTIN’S PETS GET COMFORTABLE NEW DIGS

S aturday, November 12th marked the grand opening of the Austin Animal

Center and the first day of its operations. The state-of-the-art center is designed to provide a safe, healthy atmosphere for lost and homeless animals and for visitors who come to adopt a pet. Its modern features allow for more efficient and effective care by staff and volunteers, including improved care for animals with injuries or illness. The project was managed by Kalpana Sutaria, and the water and wastewater systems were inspected by Carlos Lopez. The project embraces the City’s goal of environmental stewardship in its construction, design, and maintenance and will be recognized as a LEED Gold Certified Facility.

Approved in the 2006 bond election, the $12 million complex is 41,400 square feet and includes not only comfortable, hy-gienic housing for animals and greatly im-proved medical facilities, but also includes spaces for educational and prevention activ-ities as the City of Austin works to maintain its objective of saving 90% of the animals that enter the shelter.

Featured along the main entrance’s hallway is an Art in Public Places (AIPP) sculptural seating area by artist Brad Gold-berg. The artwork pays homage to the archi-tectural and cultural history of the property, which once housed the segregated Texas Blind, Deaf, and Orphan School. Images sandblasted on granite disks trace the evo-lution of the site from its geologic origin of being a shallow sea, to more recent history that constitutes the community’s memory.

As of January 6th, the Animal Center reported a 91% live animal outcome rate for 2011, which makes the City of Austin an official ‘no kill’ city! Chief Animal Services Officer, Abigail Smith says, “This is a true tes-tament to the entire community’s compas-sion for the lost, aban-doned, sick and injured animals that end up in the shelter sys-tem.” She encourages pet owners to exhaust all options before surrendering their pet to the center. The center is open from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm daily. For more information on the Austin Animal Center, or information on how to volunteer or adopt a pet, visit: www.austinanimalcenter.org.

91%live animal outcome rate for 2011.


‘TOUCH A TRUCK’ EVENT SPARKS CURIOSITY IN AUSTIN’S YOUTH

If there’s one thing children are facinated by, it’s heavy machinery. Planes, trains, and of course: trucks! PWD has no shortage of trucks and heavy equipment, so it’s only fitting that we would participate in the now annual ‘Touch a Truck’ event, which is hosted by Gorgeous Millie! The event was held on Saturday, November 12th at Bridge-point Elementary School. An estimated 1,000 people came out to the event this year, making it a huge success.

Division Manager Molly Ritter and crew were in attendance to show off our Street and Bridge equipment to the de-light of curious youngsters. In addition to PWD’s participation, the kids were also able to check out fire trucks, police cars, a military vehicle, a recycling truck, and much more. Proceeds for the event go to the Austin Children’s Shelter, so not only is it a great time, it’s for a great cause.

Gorgeous Millie has plans to make this an annual event each fall. Although they have yet to set a date for 2012, PWD has been asked to participate again. Stay tuned for updates on next year’s event!

PROJECT MANAGEMENT HIGHLIGHT: GROUND TRANSPORTATION STAGING AREA (GTSA)

The Grand Opening of the new Ground Transportation Staging Area was held No-vember 9, 2011, at Austin Bergstrom Inter-national Airport and was attended by Mayor

Lee Leffingwell, Council Member Chris Riley and representatives of the Austin Taxi Driv-ers Association.

Opened for operation on October 1, the project provides a new facility for Aus-tin taxi, shuttle and limousine drivers to wait while they are in queue to pick up passen-gers at the terminal. The project, designed by Sunland Group Architects, was managed by Public Works’ Project Managers David Smythe-Macaulay through Design, and from

bid through post-construction by Robin Camp.

This project will be the first Certified LEED renovation at the airport. Energy effi-cient exterior lighting, electric vehicle charg-ing stations, high efficiency air conditioning, and solar panels to be installed by Austin En-ergy are features contributing to the green status of the site and building.

The dispatch system is automated, which allows the drivers to get out of their

cars and use the restroom, work on their computers, eat lunch and stretch or exercise while staying in line. The Automated Vehicle Identification system (AVI) also monitors taxi, bus, limo and shuttle trips into and out of the airport and collects revenue through a sophisticated software/hardware program similar to toll roads with a small transponder located on vehicle windshields.

Drivers are often the first greeters of people arriving in Austin, and a comfortable

rest stop helps them to be rested and ready to deploy in good spirits. Their pre-vious staging area is now open as a cell phone wait-ing lot for patrons, with restroom facilities and Flight Information Display Screens (FIDS). Rather than circle the airport drive, Austinites going to the airport to pick up friends and family can now sit at this lot until their pas-sengers arrive.

BY ROBIN CAMP CONTRIBUTING WRITER


BY LUCIANO TAMAYO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

divisions

ESD delivers in-house design projects with quality, schedule and cost always in mind.

n the Engineering Services Division, the main goal is to deliver and maintain in-house design projects with quality, and within the project schedule and budget.

Each ESD design team works hard to commit to this goal, as highlighted by the recent project loads of Design Team 2. Check out what this team is up to:

COLORADO STREET RECONSTRUCTION AND UTILITY ADJUSTMENT

Part of the 2006 Bond Street Reconstruction Program, this Design Team 2 project will start construction in February 2012. It includes Colorado Street reconstruc-tion and utility adjustments from 3rd Street to 7th Street. The estimated cost of construction is $6 million, and is expected to be constructed within one year. The project is a full depth reconstruction, with a Great Streets streetscape design. Construction includes curb and gutter, water and wastewater lines, storm sewer, wider sidewalks, street lights, trees, benches, bicycle racks and trash receptacles. The construction phase will be managed by Jessica Salinas and the project con-tractor is Jerdon Enterprise, L.P.

Highlighting Engineering Design Team 2

I WEST AUSTIN SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOW PROJECTThe project construction warranty period was completed. This project upgraded the existing concrete wastewater line to an 8-inch PVC SDR 26 pipe in different locations.

Design Team 2 is wrapping up for the 90% submittal. The scope of the project includes a new di-vided two lane roadway with bike lanes, sidewalks, curb and gutter, a roundabout, water line, storm drains, widening and landscaping the existing concrete median, and create bulb out and rain garden features.

3RD STREET FROM NUECES TO CONGRESSThe project is at 60% design completion. The project will in-clude full depth reconstruction, a water line, Great Streets de-sign, and bike lanes.

After being on hold in early 2011 waiting for the storm drainage tun-nel alignment, the project design will resume in early 2012. Geo-technical and Subsurface Utility Engineering services were request-ed and completed. The project in-cludes the replacement of existing 20” cast iron pipe water line to 16” ductile iron pipe, and upgrading some of the existing 8” concrete wastewater line.

DAVIS LANE FROM LEO STREET TO GUIDEPOST TRAIL

NUECES STREET FROM 8TH STREET TO MLK


BY TYLEAH MCGUIRE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

divisions

What’s Shakin’ with Diversity Council these days...

You are our biggest asset and we want to know what’s on your mind! Keep your eye out for our new Diversity Council Comment Boxes that are going to be popping up in your office and at our bi-monthly Safety Meetings. What ideas, questions, suggestions, observa-tions, etc. do you have about how we can make our workplace a more inclu-sive and diverse place to come to every day?

The Diversity Council wants to make a difference for you and our com-munity, and you’re a big part of mak-ing that happen. Understanding what matters to you most helps us focus our efforts to best effect a positive change; one that will help all of our people with-in Public Works and Transportation. We want to see that positive change in both our current day-to-day lives and in the long term future of our Departments, benefitting those yet to join our ranks. So don’t keep your bright ideas to your-self, let us know what’s on your mind!

THE COMMENT BOX: WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND? THE DIVERSITY COUNCIL IS ALSO VERY BUSY

WITH THESE OTHER ACTIVITIES IN THE WORKS:

You may remember from last year’s recognition breakfast the wonderful display of artwork a local elementary class made. The kids came up with an amazing assortment of what diversity meant to them, from their friends at school to all the planets in our solar system. And this year we are expanding our coloring contest to more schools within AISD for a Diversity Poster Contest this Spring.

AISD Poster Contest

This year the Diversity Council is going to jump into something new - starting up a running group! We hope to have a group entry in some local 5k runs. Join us!

Diversity Running Club

Our Job Shadow Day will allow you to tail your co-worker and learn the ins and outs of a day in the life of everything from an engineer, to a construction inspector, to a project manager, graphic designer or someone on our concrete crew. Get thinking on what you would be interested in and join in on the fun. What job are you curious about?

Job Shadow for a Day

This September will be our inaugural Diversity Month. Other departments within the City of Austin will be join-ing us for an action packed month of activities. Diversity Month will include citywide exhibits, a new Lunchtime Speaker Series each week, and even a Proclamation from the City Council Chambers. The Diversity Council is looking forward to September, and bringing you a plethora of activities that highlight the numerous aspects of our diverse community.

Diversity Month

Diversity is the magic. It is the first manifestation, the first beginning of the differentiation of a thing and of simple identity. The greater the diversity, the greater the perfection. -Thomas Berry 1914-2009

”“

SIMON ORTASimon Orta has been in the construc-

tion industry for over 25 years, but he has always found some time to pursue other interests as well. A few years ago, he left CIPID to work as an Executive Director at the Mexican American Cultural Center and came back to work for CIPID in 2009. He is a member of the Austin Creative Alli-ance Board of Directors and does curator work for art shows in photography and

divisionsBY VERA LABRIOLA CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On a chilly December morning, I had the opportunity to see what Pat

Webre’s group was up to and check out some of their projects. Pat’s inspectors, located at the St. Elmo facility, specialize in projects dealing with the rehabilitation of older streets, underground utilities, and drainage improvements most of which are currently in east, south and downtown Austin. These projects are usually highly visible and of the utmost importance for the traveling public. To work on projects of this kind, inspectors’ people skills can be as important as their technical expertise. Pat says that his inspectors are a group of unique individuals that work well together. This group even has more fluent Spanish speakers than any other inspection group!

On the job, they are all expect-ed to get the same result—contrac-tors’ compliance to the project contract and satisfied citizens—and because of their diverse personalities, they achieve this goal using different means.


When it comes to rehabilitating old infrastructure, CIPID has experts on the job, making sure it is done right!

CIP Inspection: Behind the Scenes

PAT WEBRESince Pat Webre began with CIP In-

spection over 28 years ago (he’s been supervising for 22), he has seen it all - no construction-related situation can surprise him! Pat, a stickler for the rules with a smile, is well-liked by his staff, project sponsors, and contractors. Before moving to Austin, Pat worked for a private contractor and was also an inspector with the City of San Antonio for nine years. Besides working in the construction field and being known as the ’man behind the grill’ at the CIPID’s COACCC fund raisers, Pat has a passion for vintage motorcycles and American muscle cars, which he loves restoring. When time allows, he enjoys motorcycle racing and rumor has it, he can go pretty fast. Pat has one daughter, who is currently pursu-ing her master’s degree in mathematics.

JEFF JEWETTAccording to his coworkers, Jeff

Jewett is a walking encyclopedia of the City of Austin construction standards and procedures. One of the first CIPID Lead Inspectors, he is very technical, computer savvy, always knows the specifications, and is much appreciated for his people skills. Due to Jeff’s great sense of hu-mor, his experience, and his excellent communication skills, he is a veteran of a long series of high-profile projects like the Brazos Street Streetscape Improve-ments and Hyde Park Water and Wastewa-ter Line Improvements. Jeff is involved in the Hays County Transportation Plan and participates in the development of the infrastructure master plan that will imple-ment and prioritize projects for the next 10-30 years. Jeff likes being active and, together with his wife, tackles numerous home improvement projects. His next plan is to build a garage for his muscle car.

CARLOS LOPEZCarlos Lopez is a graduate from the

Inspector Trainee Program and the City of Austin LEAPS Program. He worked for Aaron Concrete Contractors prior to join-ing the City of Austin. Due to his work on one of the East 7th Street Projects, Carlos is well known and liked in the East Austin community. He is very thorough and safety conscious. For his quick work with a cam-era documenting contractors’ deficiencies, some of them have nicknamed him “pa-parazzi!” Besides being a great inspector he is also a good auto mechanic. At this time, Carlos is finishing the Riverside Drive Bridges over Country Club Creek and the ABIA Parking Lot Maintenance Projects.

From top left: Kenneth Kirk, Judy Die, Carlos Lopez, Alberto Ramirez, Jeff Jewett. Bottom row from left to right: Larry Williams, Pat Webre, Enrique Glosson, Simon Orta


original oil paintings. Simon has been an actor, producer, writer, and event coordi-nator on film, music, and art festivals and venues. He has also worked on large art galleries and hotel projects in West Texas. Perhaps because of all this, he is not afraid of being in front of a TV camera. Simon is known for being very personable and goes out of his way to meet with citizens and make them feel that their concerns are important and will be addressed. Si-mon inspects the Lady Bird Lake/East 4th Street Drainage Improvements Project.

ALBERTO RAMIREZAlberto Ramirez came to CIPID from

a materials testing lab and has been with the Division for about two years. Alberto holds not one but two degrees from the University of Texas—a Bachelor of Science in Hydrology and a Bachelor of Arts in Ge-ography! Alberto has a quiet personality and does not like to be the center of at-tention. His supervisor says that Alberto is a quick learner. He is recently married and his wife works for TxDOT as an engi-neer. Alberto is a very dedicated Longhorn fan, so don’t look for him on Saturdays during football season because he will be at every game. He works on the 32nd Street Reconstruction & Utility Adjustment Project and the West 34th Street Project.

JUDY DIEYou may not guess Judy Die is such

a tough inspector, given her bubbly, out-going, and caring personality, but she always gets people with her sweetness and charm. Judy makes even the most re-luctant contractor comply with the rules by her persistence and disarming smile. She worked as an inspector for the City of San Marcos before accepting a posi-tion with CIPID. Judy is a proud mother of two daughters; one works as a pilot in Grand Canyon National Park and the other is a mechanical engineer in a pow-er plant in San Antonio. Judy has a horse she shares with one of her daughters and loves horseback riding. She is well-known and one of CIPID’s most often request-ed inspectors. Her current projects in-clude the Westgate Boulevard Extension.

ENRIQUE (RICK) GLOSSONEnrique (Rick) Glosson joined the

division quite recently. Rick previously worked for TxDOT as a Design Techni-cian and was a private contractor. Rick is a proud Marine—he joined the military right after high school (1996-2000). A few weeks after 9/11, he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves and served for seven years, getting him noticed among dozens of ap-plicants. Rick is a self-starter; he brings to work his enthusiasm, motivation to learn, and always asks a lot of questions. He is a proud father of five children and really appreciates that his job with the City of Austin offers his family stability and a fu-ture. Between work and family, he does not have much time left, but still man-ages to work out several times a week, taking physical fitness very seriously. One of the projects he is currently working on is Old Manor Road Bridge Replacement.

KENNETH KIRKKenneth Kirk is a construction vet-

eran. He retired after thirty years in the construction business, but decided to come back to work. He worked on many road construction projects and several highways in Texas. Since he came from the private sector, he has an eye for potential contractor shortcuts. Kenneth was born in Japan, (his mother is Japanese and his fa-ther is American) and his family moved to the U.S. when he was a teenager, in 1971. He says that growing up in a bicultural household gave him a better perspective on things and helped him in many life sit-uations. He has a passion for fishing and likes to prepare the catch himself. Kenneth is married to his high school sweetheart and still remembers their first date on Oc-tober 10, 1975! He is busy with the Mon-tana Street and Felix Avenue Street Recon-struction and Utilities Adjustment Projects.

LARRY WILLIAMSLarry Williams is a great

CIPID story. He was the first CIPID hire from the Inspector Trainee Program and he transferred from Street & Bridge. Larry is very detail oriented and—as his supervisor says—persistent. He is an assis-tant pastor at the Horizon Worship Center and also helps members of our community who were re-cently released from incarceration by offering them spiritual sup-port. Currently, he works on the CBD Alleys Water and Wastewater Rehabilitation Project, which fo-cuses on upgrading existing water and wastewater lines in the alleys of Congress Avenue. This kind of work involves a high level of dif-ficulty and the planning is quite tricky, since the existing utilities are from the 1950s and no plans exist to help. It is also the first proj-ect in the downtown area where the High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe is being used. This kind of pipe works well in congest-ed areas and since it has no joints, the possibility of a leak is very low.

Below: Larry Williams oversees work being done for the CBD Alleys Project.

This ain’t your mother’s Public Works Department! Here at PWD, we are ‘shaking it up’ in many ways to be innovative, creative, sustainable, and exemplify best-practice solutions in our daily operations, proj-ects, and coordination with other departments.

‘ShakesPWD


It Up!’

WD’s commitment to quality and excellence in all we do requires at-

tention to looking for newer and better ways of doing our jobs. By keeping an eye out for how to shake up the everyday, we learn to make the mundane exciting and even have an impact on the bottom line. By not using the tired old mantra “this is the way it’s always been done” we’re forging ahead in efficiency, cost-savings, and cre-ativity. Below are just a few of the ways that Public Works turns our department pro-cesses on edge and rocks the City of Austin.

Shaking out the old and musty ways

and keeping the best practices keeps the Project Management Division pro-pelling towards world class. A great example is the Green Decommission-ing for the Green Water Treatment Plant Project (GWTP). The project, managed by Cynthia DeWitt Jordan, PMP, LEED AP, and inspected by Rip Hirsch received the Gold Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Texas 2012.

In 1923, Dr E.P. Schoch, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Texas at Austin, created a simple chemi-cal treatment that used lime to treat river

water. The City included this treatment method in the de-sign of a new water treatment plant that began operation the following year. The facility, which became known as the Thomas C. Green Water Treatment Plant, thus intro-duced “modern” water treatment to Austin.

Years later, the facility’s age, con-dition, and limited expansion potential caused City engineers to make the diffi-cult decision to close the plant. In 2007 they contracted to decommission and deconstruct the facility. The decommis-

P

MICHELLE FRITH CHIEF REPORTER

MAX EBY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

CYNTHIA JORDAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

CHARLES FELIPA CONTRIBUTING WRITER


sioning of the GWTP has helped trans-form and revitalize Austin’s Central Busi-ness District. It demonstrates the City’s commitment to becoming a greener and more sustainable city by transform-ing an industrial block into new resi-dential and commercial development.

Over the last two years, CIPID man-agement and supervisors have been busy updating all Division procedures. The division began using SharePoint to post all the updated procedures, the division calendar and phone numbers for use by all CIPID employees. In the last sev-eral months, the division tackled another challenge and provided all field person-nel with laptops with the goal of supply-ing them with a wireless connection. This effort is still ongoing but, once complet-ed, CIPID will be able to go another step forward toward smoother and more pa-perless processes by utilizing electronic forms and reporting. In the future, our inspectors will be filling out Daily Prog-ress Reports electronically or printing Un-acceptable Work Letters right at their job sites. That’s shaking up old ways, for sure.

Street and Bridge Operations has a “Cyclonic Crew” of four who are cleaning up the downtown area like never before.

Charles Felipa, Joe Stornes, Guadalupe Morales and

Kenny Smith came from differing ar-

eas to form a team in charge

of sidewalk c l e a n i n g downtown. Their work i n c l u d e s 6th Street h e a d i n g west from

IH-35 to C o n g r e s s

Avenue, on

Congress Av-enue from 2nd Street to the Capitol, on Caesar Chavez from San An-tonio Street to Congress Av-enue and on Trin-ity from 1st to 4th Street. The team just recently added the 500 block of North Lamar under the bridge by the Amtrak station, the Conven-tion Center parking garage, and may soon add the clock tower on East 11th Street. They operate a power wash-ing truck and feature Public Works’ most off-the-hook toy – oops, we mean piece of equipment - a sidewalk cleaner called The Cyclone. The team keeps it clean all while completing the daunting task of re-pairing 6th Street sidewalks. Once the 6th Street sidewalk repairs are complete, the team will begin repairs on Congress side-walks. Work for the crew typically b e g i n s down-

management, asset management, performance measurement, construc-tion quality services, safety programs and training, and administrative ser-vices. This fiscal year, the group is sha-kin’ it up by taking the lead in making big business process improvements - making for a leaner and greener PWD.

Support Services recently moved the department from a paper to pa-

perless timekeeping system. This reduced administrative pro-

cessing time and reduced the department’s cost

on saved paper. Sav-ing time, saving

money and helping to show the rest of the City that it re-ally can be done!

B u s i n e s s Enterprises has also established an Asset Manage-ment – Right of

Way Coordination Meeting. This meet-

ing provides a means to coordinate capital

work and operational ser-vice plans to address our City’s

infrastructure needs across multiple departments. The meetings have iden-tified over $600,000 in cost efficiencies. This allows the City to focus on “Dig Once” opportunities that minimize the distur-bance to neighborhoods, while provid-ing them with the services they need.

Keeping it safe while shakin’ it up is top priority for the PWD Safety Office. They have been working on a variety of

t o w n as early

as 3:00 in the morning, where they inevitably

see some interesting occurrences, as you can only imagine!

Business En-terprises sup-ports all Public Works with financial

continued from pg.13


initiatives to improve safety in our depart-ment and new ways to deliver that mes-sage of staying safe on the job and off. This past month, the Safety Office imple-mented the Safety SSPR component. This allows for accountability at the supervisor level in making sure that all employees understand the need for safety, and how to contribute to those goals in their job.

On the last review of a revised back-ing procedure and CDL practice proce-dure, the safety Office also finalized a new Water Safety Procedure. And to report all of their successes, they have also improved the safety statistic reports that are deliv-ered to the director and executive team.

PWD Human Resources is also keeping things movin’ and groovin’ in 2012. Status quo is boring! HR wants to do things smarter, greener and easier while keeping everything within budget!

This year, HR continued and ex-panded e-Learning to include Hiring Pro-cedures and teamed up with the Systems Engineering group to conduct e-Time-

keeping training online. What’s the point? We saved a whopping 1,770 reimbursable driving miles (and countless wasted com-muting hours) just by conducting classes online this last year. That’s the distance between Austin and San Jose, Costa Rica! Employees are giving us positive feedback about the ability to do training whenever it fits their schedule without leaving their desk. Public Works is one of the few de-partments using e-Learning for such a variety of training topics. That trans-lates into a healthier environment too!

Speaking of keeping it moving, many Public Workers, especially field operations workgroups, wanted a more schedule-flexible way to stay in shape. The PE Pro-gram hours often didn’t match their work schedules. HR partnered with the City’s Healthy Connections and Parks and Recre-ation Department to allow PWD staff use of the recreation centers free of charge via the PARD CARD starting January 9, 2012. Our registration system was designed with ease of use and paper waste reduc-

tion in mind. Most sign-ups were made online, allowing employees to complete a health survey and register themselves for a card from outside the City firewall any time of the day or night! We know that many appreciated this flexibility due to the number of employees who did reg-ister during night and weekend hours.

Moving into the future, HR will be using the Sharepoint HRO site much more extensively. They want to provide “click before you dial” answers to com-mon employee questions and informa-tion requests. Many forms, policies, procedures, and information folders are already on the site. Check out our rough draft at: http://coawss3a/sites/PWD/HR/

There are so many ways that Pub-lic Works is shakin’ it up to make it bet-ter. All innovations and progressive thought is welcome here, so you think of it and we can get it done together. Just imagine where we can go from here!

New and improved equipment in the Givens Recreation Center fitness room.

columns

How Well Do You KnowYour Neighbor?Michelle Frith profiles two employees that work hard for PWD everyday who you may have never met!

reaking the mold is nothing new to Esther Crawford. This woman defies

convention! Esther is from Austin and is an only

child. She attended Reagan High and WR. Robbins. After obtaining her GED in 1985 , she worked at various jobs, including Veo-lia Transportation for 7 years and as a sub-contractor for Capital Metro. She operat-ed a bus, worked as a dispatcher and as a maintenance clerk. She realized she could benefit from learning about mechanics and was the only woman in maintenance. She earned her Commercial Driver’s Li-

cense driv-ing UT shut-tle buses from 2000-2002.

L a s t summer she attended a job fair, ap-plied and became a t e m p o r a r y employee in

PWD Human Resources, working on re-cords management. She cleaned out old files, organized permanent files and com-pleted Public Information Requests. Mon-itoring eCareers, she found a temporary truck driver position in overlay. She was hired as a Class B on July 5. Since then, Esther has been upgraded to Class A, has a tanker endorsement and can haul trac-tor trailers. She loves working in the over-lay division with the heaviest equipment. She likes overlay, repaving, the steel wheel roller, and especially loves the pneumatic roller. She is also interested in learning

B

NEIGHBOR Esther Crawford

DIVISION Street and Bridge Operations

TITLETech 2

to use the milling machine. Esther grins from ear to ear when she talks about us-ing the jackhammer, admitting that she is more than a little competitive with the men in her team. Public Works gained a major asset when Esther was hired as a permanent employee on November 6, 2011. Esther credits James Williams who has given her plenty of advice and help in learning the ropes.

If that’s not enough, Esther is a junior at National American University studying to earn a degree in Organizational Lead-ership. Esther has a great love for learn-ing anything and everything. She will do anything to not “get stuck in a rut” and believes she can do anything she puts her mind to. When asked about what she loves about her job, she is quick to respond “It’s so great to leave my family in the morning, come to work and join my other family. It makes it enjoyable to come to work. Public Works really has all the right people in all the right places.” When describing what it is like to be the only female in her group, she laughs and says “I’m like the mother here, making sure it’s all cleaned up, making sure everyone is wearing their PPE (Personal Protection Equipment). Everyone here treats each other with respect and dignity. I’ve always felt 100% accepted here. I think after the initial shock wore off these guys, they see I can handle the job and some have even thanked me for inspiring them to see that women are capable of more than they originally believed”.

Esther hopes to work her way up the ladder in Public Works. Her ideal position is to “work next to Mr. Lazarus”. She laughs but then becomes serious, “One day be-

fore I got the job in overlay, I got on the elevator, and Mr. Lazarus was on it. He asked me if I had had any luck in finding a permanent position in Public Works. I was so impressed that he was aware of each of us, aware and cared for us. It made me feel great. That’s a great leader!”

Esther is a single mom of two daugh-ters, Crystal (26) a Customer Service Rep-resentative and Christina (23), a Sales As-sociate. Crystal has two sons Legend (4) and Knowledge (2). They play with Chris-tina’s daughter Teanna (4) and son Dar-nell (2). The family is close and spends as much time together as possible.

Esther plans on investigating the City’s tuition reimbursement program to help her finish her undergraduate degree and is considering studying for a graduate degree. We may need to make room for an office for Esther next to Howard in the near future!

BY MICHELLE FRITH CHIEF REPORTER

EstherCrawford


erenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the

storm”. David Smythe-Macaulay’s calm demeanor can instantly put you at ease. He was born in Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone, West Africa, the second of three sons. His family, who founded the first school in Africa, focused on transcen-dental meditation and lived within walk-ing distance of the beach.

He describes throwing stones into the trees to knock down mangos and the large number of snakes in his home town. David’s favorite memories as a child are the sound of the rain on the roofs, which sound just like being under a waterfall. He awoke each morning to the sound of people gathering their drinking water for the day from the town pump and the call to prayer around 6:00 in the morning.

David’s family moved outside Lon-don while he was a small boy and later re-

turned to Afri-ca. After high school, his mother, origi-nally from New Orleans, was pleased that David chose to join his brother Donald in America. Da-vid attended

the Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa for a year to study transcen-dental meditation, but later decided to be an architect. He attended LSU, where he met Ivette, from Costa Rica. Ivette’s de-gree is in International Business and David graduated in 1993 with a BA in Architec-ture. They were married in 1995.

David chose to start working in construction in New Orleans. He worked briefly on residential homes in a city pro-gram to bring older homes up to code, and continued to dabble in architecture on the side. He worked on commercial construction and multi-family homes as a project engineer for nearly 12 years. Then, just before taking exams to receive his Ar-

chitectural License, a disaster struck that would change the lives of David and his family forever. They were in Baton Rouge on their way to a fu-neral, watching radar of a dangerous storm heading toward Loui-siana. David rushed back to New Orleans and grabbed three bags of personal items and a fire box with important docu-ments and headed back. Hurricane Ka-trina hit southern Louisiana on Monday, August 29, 2005. It eventually caused the deaths of 1,836 peo-ple in the actual hurri-cane and subsequent flood, and caused an estimated $81 billion in property damage. David’s family was lucky – his home had minimal damage and they lost their car, but his mother’s home was a complete loss on the first floor. His cousin was rescued by helicopter from the roof of his home.

Ivette returned to the area to ful-fill responsibilities of her job as a first re-sponder in the area. They realized that the extensive environmental damage made New Orleans a place they were not willing return to; due to the chemicals, mold, pe-troleum and more in the water through-out the area. As a result, David, Ivette, and their two children moved to Austin. David started with the City of Austin in February 2006. The hilly area reminded him of his childhood home and Ivette was reminded of her home in Costa Rica. Their children Joshua, 12 and Joy, 10 are lively, intelligent youngsters. Joshua enjoys sports, video games and wants to be an athlete. Many

of Ivette’s family members are former pro-fessional athletes, so Joshua comes by it naturally! Joy is a natural born artist and writer who loves reading and writing and is very inquisitive. Ivette is thrilled to be a stay at home mom. David is awed by his wife’s outgoing personality and extreme intelligence.

David urges other City of Austin employees to utilize the Legal Protection Plan offered by the City. He and Ivette took immediate advantage of this benefit to secure their children’s future with their well thought out plan. David continues to handle daily stresses with yoga, proper breathing and meditation. He has learned to live in peace amid the storm.

NEIGHBOR David Smythe-Macaulay

DIVISION Project Management

TITLEProject Manager

“S

David Smythe-Macaulay



The Sidewalk Program is using more recycled glass from Austin Resource Recovery as its side-walk bed. ARR has a use for the huge amount of glass bottles it collects, and contractors get the base materials free! Also, Street and Bridge crews are now using recy-cled cast iron detectable warning pavers in ADA ramps, saving on installation time and costs.

RECYCLING EFFORTS UNDERFOOT

Neighborhood Connectivity Division’s Sidewalk Program blazes connectivity through innovation.

ince 2004, the Sidewalk Program has quietly and methodically made a

huge impact on our urban infrastructure. The program has since laid down over 371,000 linear feet of sidewalk and has an-other 55,000 planned this fiscal year. Side-walks are really routes, and more specifi-cally, they are Americans with Disabilities Act accessible (ADA) routes.

Much of the success of the Sidewalk Program can stand on the nearly 1,800 ac-cessible ramps the program has installed to create a more walkable, more accessible City. It is the innovation and creativity in the process and construction of sidewalk installations that are the backbone of its achievements.

NCD: Underfoot and Over Ground

S

BY SARA KRAUSE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

division

GETTING IT DONESIDEWALKS CREATE PARTNERSHIPS All of the factors that make the Sidewalk Program innovative also make it a great partner for other City departments and government agencies. NCD has worked with Austin Energy to create ADA compli-ant routes and has installed sidewalks for the Parks and Recreation Department, like the mile long pervious concrete sidewalk installed in Zilker Park. The program is also working with Capital Metro to create ADA compliant bus stops.

Two unique ingredients are the key to the ability of the program to achieve such high volume installations: contracting methods and field engineering.

One of the first things an NCD em-ployee learns about is “indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity,” or IDIQ. It essentially means that sidewalks are bid in groups, by total dollar amounts. We don’t always know exactly where or when a group will be constructed, but we do know exactly how much we can spend under these con-tracts. This allows sidewalk Project Man-

ager Diane Rice to be both responsive and flexible in the construction sched-ule. “A great example is the Safe Routes to School sidewalks. We have a contract ready to go, but we can put off construc-tion for when it is least disruptive to the school such as during holidays or breaks. That’s just one of the ways that IDIQ al-lows us to meet real-world conditions.”

Another way, says Rice, is the bid items in IDIQ itself. “Someone installing a sidewalk can encounter any number of conditions. Our bid unit pricing considers a range of possibilities from the need for landscaping to electrical work. Because we bid in such large quantities, it repre-sents a huge cost savings to the program.”

That’s where key ingredient number two comes in: field engineering. Rather than expend time and resources conduct-ing surveys, creating geotechnical reports and creating detailed drawings for each sidewalk location, they are engineered in the field. This allows staff to keep projects moving forward through quick decision making, adapting to varying conditions, and concentrating on one problem at a time.

Field engineering also allows for in-novation in the way problems are tackled, such as large trees or major obstructions. For example, staff can use meandering walks to avoid trees or obstacles, and have tools such as building void boxes for tree roots when necessary. These approaches lead to faster project delivery with huge cost savings.

A SAFE, WALKABLE FUTUREOne of the most frequently asked ques-tions of NCD is how a neighborhood can get a sidewalk. With over $800 million in sidewalk gaps city-wide, unfortunately many of those callers don’t get the answer they want. However, sidewalks are an im-portant part of the City’s urban infrastruc-ture for accessibility, for transportation, and for recreation. While the task ahead might be daunting, it’s one that Division Manager Mike Curtis and his staff are ready to tackle. One thing is for certain: as long as the sidewalk program contin-ues to implement aggressive, time-saving and cost-saving measures, the ability to stretch dollars into linear feet will contin-ue to grow.

Our fellow NCD program, Child Safe-ty, has obtained multiple Safe Routes to School grants and also a transportation enhancement grant to build new side-walks near schools. The Sidewalk Program works in strong partnership with Child Safety to prioritize and construct these sidewalks.


guest columnBY CLEMMIE CUMMINS GUEST WRITER

The City’s Wellness Program highlights Public Works Leaders in WellnessThe City’s Wellness Program, along with some of our own Public Workers, are here to help with your resolutions to become healthy – and stay that way!

WELLNESS ROLE MODELS AT PWDJames Snow is not just a leader in his

position as an Assistant Director in the Pub-lic Works Department; he also is a leader in the wellness arena at the City of Austin.

James actively participates in the PE Program in the PE2 class, designed for runners who want to improve their speed and endurance. This fall, he completed his second PE session and also completed the Jingle Bell 5K on December 4, getting a Personal Record and knocking a full seven minutes off his prior record! In addition, he has lost 30 pounds since September 16!

Being a COA executive and actively participating in wellness programs makes James a role model for his department. During a recent chat, he said “What I like about PE is that it gives employees an ave-nue to work on a part of themselves that is not work related. Employees get to be just people—separate from their job title. And they get to meet individuals from other de-partments. It’s this kind of friendly atmo-sphere that really builds City camaraderie.”

He discusses his department’s view, which is that work/life balance is important, and cites the PARD CARD program, which encourages PWD employees to utilize City Recreation Center gyms through a partner-ship with PARD and Healthy Connections.

James notes ways the City could sup-port its workforce in being more active—such as having more locker rooms and shower facilities to support early morning and noon time workouts. He also would like to see more upper level executive employ-ees participate in wellness programming.

“When workgroups are engaged in wellness, you can see the results,” he notes, . . . a noticeable increase in positive attitude and a decrease in stress when employees exercise and generally take care of their health.”

Another wellness leader in Public Works is Roger Hickman, an Engineer in ESD. For four years now, Roger has been coaching the PE2 class. This completely voluntary effort brings no extra pay, but it does garner Roger lots of thanks and admiration from his running group, which continues to grow and improve.

Here’s what PE2 class member Sheree Bailey has to say about Roger: “He motivates members of the group to do more. James Snow is just one exam-ple of someone who Roger has inspired and who has improved in a big way.”

PE Co-Captain Jimmy Olivares adds this: “Roger has a well-rounded coaching style; he can adapt to the in-dividual’s fitness level. He supports you and gives you that extra push. The group really appreciates Roger.”

When it comes to wellness, the Pub-lic Works Department is what we call an “engaged department.” There was a 30% increase in participation in the PE Pro-gram from the spring to the fall session. In addition, 176 PWD employees completed a Health Assessment Screening in 2011. PWD employees are also active partici-pants in Weight Watchers at Work, Farm to Work, and health awareness campaigns.

Health Promotion Team at PWD

The City wellness pro-gram welcomes input

from employees. You can send an email to: [email protected]. You also can call us at 974-3284 and ask to speak with a Wellness Consultant.

Be sure to visit the website for up-to-date information on well-ness programs and events [From Cityspace, click on the wellness icon].

HEALTH ASSESSMENT AT PWD IN 2012

You will have the chance to com-plete a Health Assessment and earn four hours of administrative leave in 2012! To be eligible, you must be cov-ered by a City medical plan. You can earn the leave once per calendar year.

On March 7, HealthyConnections will conduct a Health Assessment at the St. Elmo worksite: 4411 Meinardus, from 6:30 am to noon. No fasting is re-quired. There also will be other oppor-tunities throughout the year. Watch for details in early 2012.

WELLNESS: THE BIG PICTURE City Wellness Coordinator, Mi-

chelle Du, is only too happy to hear about engaged employees who take advantage of the valuable well-ness benefits the City has to offer.

She is leading a team effort to reach 5,000 Health Assessment (HA) Screenings in 2012, a number that is almost half of the City workforce. The reason behind the goal is simple: You have to know the status of your health before you can do something about it. The HA provides a personal ized and confiden-tial health re-port, with an overall health score and rec-o m m e n d a -tions for im-proving health and fitness.

The em-ployee re-ceives useful information to reduce their health risks and improve

HealthyConnections works with em-ployees across City departments to bring wellness to our organization. These individu-als volunteer their time to assist with Health Assessments, serve as PE and Weight Watcher Captains, coordinate educational seminars, and more.

The Public Work Department is fortu-nate to have the following energetic and generous individuals on their department’s Health Promotion Team:

MAX EBY

MICHELLE FRITH

LACY GARNER

SARA HARTLEY

RITA MATA

MEMBERS INCLUDE:

their quality of life. The organization gets aggregate data that can be used to tailor programs specially designed to meet the needs of our workforce.

When you consider that the City spent more than $121 million on medi-cal claims in 2010, and that half of those claims were due to preventable con-ditions, it’s not hard to see how well-ness is a winning strategy for everyone.

CONTACT:


divisions

Re-purposing Equipment at Street and BridgeSBO makes greener, leaner choices with their “new” equipment.

BY GERALD NATION CONTRIBUTING WRITER

T

A “NEW” CATCH TRUCK

he Street and Bridge Operations (SBO) group is investigating new ways to ap-ply the “green” philosophy while also saving the taxpayers money through in-

novative thinking.Recently, one of the SBO District Op-

erations locations suffered arson vandalism when a storage facility was burned. Instead of rebuilding the storage facility, a Federal surplus fully contained portable storage facil-ity was purchased, meeting all of the require-ments at a fraction of the cost of buying or building a new storage facility!

This led the SBO group to analyze other needs of the business that could be met out-side standard operating procedures to save money and be sustainable by re-use. Two im-mediate needs were identified that could be met using repurposed equipment.

With the increase in tree trimming op-erations at SBO, a catch truck to receive the chippings from a chipper was needed. The current budget did not contain a truck for this purpose, and in verifying pricing, a new catch truck would cost a minimum of $60,000!

This capability was required for the job, so a catch truck was definitely needed. The Districts Division Manager Gerald Nation and Project Coordinator Clayton Craig put on their “thinking caps” to find an acceptable solution. The solution involved the modification of un-derutilized equipment. The districts have a six cubic yard capacity dump truck that was not being fully utilized. It was decided that the bed on that dump truck could be removed and a catch bed would be added, solving several issues. The business need for a catch truck was satisfied, the under-utilized truck is now being used, and a new vehicle purchase was not required, saving a minimum of 75% of the cost a new truck!

PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT TRANSPORT VEHICLES FOR URBAN TRAILS

The Public Works group accepted the responsibility for maintenance of urban mobility trails beginning in fiscal year 2012. One of the immediate issues identified was transporting employees, materials and tools down the trails, since some were miles in length. The standard trucks and vehicles used by Public Works were too wide for the trails, and it would not be efficient for employees to carry the materials and tools themselves. So once again, Gerald and Clay-ton put their heads together for a solution. They decided that all-terrain or golf cart type vehicles would be the best solution, but the purchase of these types of vehicles if new would be approximately $20,000 to $30,000.

So the team investigated the Federal government surplus site again, and found several of these types of vehicles available at the San Antonio location. A trip to San An-tonio was made and one gasoline Kawasaki Mule and one electric cart were purchased. Each had a 30-day return agreement, allow-ing the return of the vehicles for full refund for any reason. The vehicles were picked up and taken to Fleet Services for evaluation. After Fleet made some minor repairs and de-termined the vehicles were in good shape, they were sanded, primed and beautifully painted to look like new by North District’s Lee Garza-Garcia. The vehicles were placed in service for a total investment of only 10% of the cost of purchasing new!

There are numerous ways we as a group can minimize expenditures while maintain-ing or improving services. We should all take the time to analyze our business needs and think innovatively. We might be able to save the taxpayers, the City and the Department some money, improve efficiencies and even be more sustainable.

Remember to obtain approval before going “outside the box. “ Explain the ben-efits and cost savings associated with your recommendations to your management, follow City of Austin guidelines when pur-chasing an item, and make sure it is placed in the COA inventory as required. You will find that management is always open to new ideas!

Shaking and BreakingExpectations!


street talk extraUPDATES FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

milestones

PWD 2011 City of Austin Combined Charities Campaign smashes goal!

ublic Works showed that we are definitively the “Department with

a Heart” in the 2011 City of Austin Com-bined Charities Campaign (CoACCC). Our goal set in the summer for the campaign was $30,000, which was a real stretch in these current economic times. But true to our nature, PWD employees dug deep and helped to raise a final tally of $35,912.48 for others less fortunate than ourselves. These funds were raised through pay-roll pledges, one-time gifts and special events.

Seventy-two employees made a year long commitment to give to others by filling out a payroll pledge. Pledges are the most convenient way to give and the most helpful, since the hundreds of organizations can count on a set amount of money coming in across the span of an entire year. CoACCC Department Co-ordinator Annie Van Zant notes that it’s like having a set monthly budget in your house. If you don’t know what your in-come is from month to month, you can’t tell how to spend your money wisely. The 2011 PWD pledges equaled $33,087.00 helping those organizations to plan their

spending for 2012. Special events helped

to knock the CoACCC goal out of the park. The Street and Bridge Breakfast offered delicious morning treats and earned $221.73. Bicyclists from many departments gathered at the Ride with the Director event hosted by PWD Neighborhood Con-nectivity, driving donations of $410.00. The Halloween Costume Contest and Pump-kin Carving contest scared up $199.25, and the Halloween Ice Scream Social rose a hair-raising $269.00. Un-fortunately the Annual ESD B-B-Q Cook-Off, always a favorite, was dealt a severe blow this year. Due to the drought, no outdoor fires were allowed, which neces-sitated cancellation of the event. Even though the actual cook-off did not hap-pen in 2011, the event still raised $532.00 through drawings and sales! Finally, 2011 CoACCC was capped off with the CIPID Hot Dog Sale on the last day of the cam-paign. They raised a whopping $1,193.50! HOT DOG! All together, the special events raised an amazing $2,285.48.

Many thanks to all the folks involved in special events, raising awareness, help-ing with mini-fundraisers to raise money

to support the larger events, distribu-tion of materials, marketing events, or-ganization and many other activities too numerous to mention. James Snow was again the Department Steering Commit-tee Representative and Department Co-ordinators were Annie Van Zant, Michelle Frith and Rebecca Zapata. Many teams of dozens of people helped to raise funds and awareness for the campaign. Thank you to them all!

Planning has already begun for events and awareness of the 2012 City of Austin Combined Charities Campaign, so keep an eye out for opportunities to par-ticipate. Please be sure to contact James, Annie, Michelle or Rebecca if you’d like to get involved and make a difference!

CIPID’s Pat Webre and Judy Die prepare for the rush of hungry hot dog seekers. CIPID holds the title as the highest dollar amount raised of all 2011 COACCC events for PWD.

P

Keri Juarez and Cindy Jordan celebrate Council’s passage of the Central Library schematic with representatives from the Austin Public Library (APL).

WHAT’S NEW:Patrice Shackelford’s last day with ESD was on November 23, 2011. After giving birth to her first baby, she decided to stay home to take care of her little boy. We wish her the best.

EMPLOYEE CHANGES (ESD)


milestones continued from pg. 21

awards &recognition

‘PAT ON THE BACK’ AWARD

CIP Inspection Division

Kirkland Fordham for his exem-plary customer service on the Spicewood Springs Pump Station Electrical Improvements Project.

KIRLKANDFORDHAM

PATTIMORENO

TEAM PLAYER AWARDPHILLIPPRESLAR

Phillip Preslar and John Rich for cov-ering for the absent lead project in-spector on the Airport/Chesterfield Project.

‘ABOVE AND BEYOND ’ AWARDPETERMORALES

for achieving the NICET Highway Con-struction Level 1 and Level 2 Certification in one testing.

S.T.A.R.awardsSERVICE AWARDTONY KRAUSS

For providing service to the communi-ty above and beyond his job descrip-tion.

TEAMWORK AWARD

DELIAUBALLE

For her continuous and tireless support to the Project Management Division.

ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

JULES PARRISH

4th

Qua

rter

201

1

‘STAR OF THE STAR’ AWARDS

SERVICETONY KRAUSE

(Each was voted the best winner’s of the previous year’s STAR Awards from four categories).

TEAMWORKRANDY HARVEY

ACHIEVEMENTJULES PARRISH

RESPECTCHRIS CALVERY

From left to right: Delia Uballe, Mark Schruben, Jules Parrish, Randy Harvey. Not pictured: Tony Krauss, Chris Calvery

Patti Moreno for her exemplary work on the 2011 Misc. Streets Overlay Project Phase 2 and 3.

JOHNRICH&

Bill Mason for his outstanding performance on the Ashland Circle Storm Drain Improvement Project.

BILLMASON

Patti Moreno and Phillip Preslar Peter Morales, Kirkland Fordham, and Bill Mason

Project Management Division

For being awarded the Gold Award by the American Concrete Paving Association on her Hornsby Bend Project.


Milestones

generosity

The Utility Cut crews of Street & Bridge Operations continued 17 years of generous work with the Austin com-munity this year by donating to “Any Baby Can.” Each year, the crew organizes themselves to collect for needy fami-

lies and distribute gift cards. They have collected thousands of dol-lars over the years to give back to the community dur-ing the holidays – a time that can be extra tough for those who are in need. This holi-day, they also went above that dona-tion and collected 1,120 cans of non-

Project Management Division

Street and Bridge Operations

UTILITY CUT CREW INSPIRES GENEROSITY

1,465 cans equals 1,644 pounds equals 1,315 Meals!

perishable food items toward the overall total collection for the Food Bank of Austin.

The four divisions of Street and Bridge Operations as a whole collected a total 1,465 cans of food to donate to the Food Bank of Austin during their Winter Appreciation Lunch on December 16.

THE 2011 UTILITY CUT CREW DONORS TO “ANY BABY CAN” ARE:

Alex GarciaLarry JohnsonRicky PorterGabriel FloresJorge RangelJose PerezAlan CollinsDomingo AguilarJesse LunaAntonio CarbajalJohnny TorresOscar Ramirez

Robert CortinasClay RiversDavid ChavezAnthony DoyleMark FrankEarnest YoungDaniel EspinosaEdward MortimerAlex LunaSam SamilpaRene GuerreroTommy Castro

Eugene TowesSteven CannonAndrew MorganIldefonso CarbajalJohnny TrevinoJimmy LunaMike GirodMario PerezErnest GonzalesJesus EstalaGilbert AlvarezMerced Felan

RESPECT AWARD

MARK SCHRUBEN

For the respectful way he worked with the community and business owners on the South Congress Street Project.

Once again, City of Aus-tin employees have exemplified the true meaning of “making a difference”. This past November, the PWD/ATD Diversity Council participated in the 25th anniver-sary of the Coats for Kids Drive. The Coats for Kids Drive is an annual community project that collects and distributes warm winter coats to eligible children and teenagers in Central Texas.

Red barrels were placed throughout various locations in

PWD and ATD facilities to allow employees to do-nate “gently used” winter coats. During a two week period, the Diversity Council collected a total of 115 coats which were delivered to Jack Brown Cleaners for cleaning. Over 30,000 coats were distributed on December 10th to local area youth. In recognition of their efforts, the PWD/ATD Diversity Council was recognized for collecting the most coats by a busi-ness organization.

During the coming year, the Diversity Coun-cil will continue to coordinate this and other similar community efforts. For more information on the activities of the PWD/ATD Diversity Council, you can contact Floyd B. Bermea at 974-7007.

PWD/ATD DIVERSITY COUNCIL KEEPS AUSTIN WARM shout

outPROJECT SHOUT OUT

The Hornsby Bend Compost Pad project has been awarded a Gold Award, the highest level of recognition in the “Industrial and Special Paving” category by the American Concrete Paving Association (ACPA). Chasco, HVJ and the COA were recognized for the project at the ACPA national convention in Indian Wells, CA on December 2nd and 3rd, 2011. Jules Parrish is the current project manager, and Rip Hirsch is the inspector. Project Manager Mark Schru-ben has also worked on this project.

When problems were encountered with linear motion mixers installed on the Horn-sby Bend Biosolids Management Plant Digester Improvements and Sustainability Project, before ordering an additional $1.25M of the units, Jules negotiated an extended warranty for AWU. The warranty terms went from one year to ten years, and an additional five-year warranty on wear parts.

The project sponsor team encouraged Jules to negotiate on their behalf, and the results were better than anyone could have imagined. The sponsor department, AWU, thanked Jules for all the hard work she put into getting AWU the extended warranty. Jules has done a great service to AWU, Hornsby Bend and the citizens of Austin.

new yearsresolutions

“To concentrate on the positive in everything and chalk it all up to valued lessons in life!”

SUSANGARNETT Office of the Director

“To have the sharpest, most shocking bike short tan lines of all the COA em-ployees.”

JESSEDUNCAN

Neighborhood Connectivity Division

“To try to do a much better job this coming year and to help my co-work-ers, supervisor, superintendent, and district manager to accomplish any job task they have been set out to do. I am setting a goal to be the best of the best for my city and the district I work for. I want to be all that I can be at any time-and place.”

GREGORYSTERLING Street and Bridge Operations

“To spend more time with family and friends.”

SARAKRAUSE

Neighborhood Connectivity Diveion

“In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, I’ve always tried to make sure I check the items off my to-do list. My resolution this year is to slow down and get reacquainted with myself and the things I’m interested in.”

MICHELLELOREE FRITH

“To eat more chocolate!”

ELLENCHMIELOWSKI

Office of the Director

Human Resources

“To stop multi-tasking, eliminate dis-tractions, use the phone, and check emails fewer times in the day.”

ROBINA. CAMP Project Management Division

“To go see more live music!”

SHANNONWISNER Office of the Director

“My Special Projects crew’s resolution is to get more sleep!”

CHARLESFELIPA Street and Bridge Division

“To continue spending more time with my family and friends, and make up for lost time.”

BRANDONLOWDEN Street and Bridge Division

“To stay optimistic, despite the gloomy economy.”

CAROLYNPEREZ Office of the Director

“To eat more vegetables.”

NADIABARRERA

Neighborhood Connectivity Diveion

“To commit more “random acts of kind-ness” on totally unsuspecting strang-ers.”

SUSANCOX Shared Services Division

“To look upon negativities that arise ev-ery day as opportunities to learn and to grow.”

ROHINIKUMARAGE Project Management Division

“To help others and be less wasteful.”

KATHRYNTREVINO Engineering Services Division

continued from pg. 23 Milestones


LOCATION 1 LOCATION 2

IN EVERY ISSUE WHERE IS SHUV-L-REDDY?

Where In The World Is Shuv-L-Reddy?

Can you correctly identify both project site locations that Shuv-L-Reddy has visited? Write in to: [email protected] for a chance to WIN A PRIZE!

Answers from last issue:Location 1: Austin Energy Systems Control Center

Location 2: Water Treatment Plant 4 Marina Operation


Remember Carmen San Diego? Waldo? Well, Shuv wanted in on some of the action…play our guessing game as he wanders around the city at various PWD-related sites...and beyond!


events calendar 2012

JANUARY

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

03 04 05 06 07

08

16

23

02Saturday

Sunday

09 10 11

Sunday

17 18

Sunday

42 52

Sunday

28

29

30

27

12 13

19 20

26

OFFICES CLOSED New Year’s

First Thursday

class 8:30 AM-4:30 PM OTC-325

Defensive Driving

class 1-5 PM LRC@ABIA

New Employee Safety Orientation

Diversity Council Meeting1:30 PM St. Elmo Large Conference Rm.

class 8:30-9:30 AM105 Riverside Room 200

Computer Ergonomics

class 8:30-11:30 PM Cheathem FacilityLarge Conference Room

Roadway Safety(S&B employees)



14

15

21

22

31

01Sunday

New Year’s Day

$ PAY DAY

Austin City Council Meeting

OFFICES CLOSEDMartin Luther King, Jr. Day

$ PAY DAY

3M Half Marathon & Relay


class 8 AM-12 PM OTC-325

CPR/First Aid/AED

class 8:30 AM-4:30 PM OTC-325

Defensive Driving



7:30 AM-1 PM Glen Bell Service Center

Health Screening 7 AM-1 PM Kramer Lane Service Center

Health Screening


FEBRUARYMonday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

06 07

13 14

27

2120

Saturday

01 02

Sunday

08 09Sunday

15 16Sunday

22 23

Sunday

2928

03 04

10 11

17 18

24 25

5:30 AM-9 AM and 1PM-4PMKenneth Gardner Service Center

Health Screening

class 8:30-9:30 AM OTC-325

Safety Plus Meeting(PMD/ESD/NCD/QSMD)

class 8-9 AM Cheathem Facility

Safety Plus Meeting(S&B Pavement & Infrastructure SSD)

class 8-9 AM OTC-325

Safety Plus Meeting(ATD)

class 8:30-9:30 AM OTC-325

Safety Plus Meeting(CID/HRO/SSD/Finan-cial Services, OOD, Systems Engineering)


Safety Plus Meeting(S&B District Maintenance)

class 8 AM-4 PM OTC-325

Defensive Driving



05

12

19

26

Groundhog Day

$ PAY DAYFirst ThursdayAustin City Council Meeting

$ PAY DAY


Livestrong Austin Marathon & Half Marathon

Art Night Austin

OFFICES CLOSEDPresident’s Day

Mardi Gras

Leap Day


Safety Plus Meeting(S&B Utility and Structure)



Diversity Council Meeting1:30 PM OTC, 13th Floor Directors Conference Room

6AM-3:30PMRutherford Campus

Health Screening

WRITE IN TO US WITH YOUR SUGGESTIONS REGARDING:

Milestones NOMINATIONS

PHOTO CONTRIBUTION

SPECIAL EVENTS GOING ON IN YOUR DIVISION

EMPLOYEE PROFILE NOMINATIONS

WRITING A GUEST COLUMN

...AND ANYTHING ELSE WE MAY HAVE MISSED OR YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT

CONTACT US: [email protected]

SHAKIN’IT UP!

PWD’S

street talk | january 2012 issue

Documents