#04 - PW Operational Assessment Recommendation

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6 CITY OF LAKE ELMO, MN Analysis and Recommendations Population growth in a city inevitably increases demand for services. Often, those demands for services grow in rough proportion to the growth in population, and this approximates what is seen with the Department of Public Works regarding its service areas of roads and parks. The rapid population growth Lake Elmo has experienced, growing from 8,069 residents in 2012 to 13,514 in 2023, would strain most municipal departments. Importantly, though, the Department also provides water and sewer services, which have grown at much faster rates than would be suggested by population growth. Prior to 2012, there were no more than 30 sewer customers in the City. The water system, while not as nascent as the sewer system, served only a fraction of the City residents. In other words, the water and sewer systems’ growth are not due just to new residents but primarily to rising participation rates in the utilities from existing City residents. This, combined with simple overall growth, places its own workload demands on services. As mentioned previously in this report, the Department has not added a Public Works Operator since 2019. Nevertheless, it has clearly defined Levels of Service (i.e., target rates for various preventative maintenance activities such as valve turning, hydrant flushing, sewer jetting, etc.). The maintenance activities adhere to industry standards, and the Department successfully implements those plans. It has comprehensive Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) for each of its service areas, and it has implemented Asset Management software (Beehive). Some of the maintenance service level targets that the Department has set and strives to meet include:  Sewers jetted every three years  Valves are exercised every three years  Unidirectional hydrant flushing performed every summer; dead-end valves flushed in autumn  Ditches mowed twice per year  Biannual facility inspections Additionally, the Department has established service level targets related to customer service, including examples such as:  Water or sewer leaks investigated within 30 minutes  Water or sewer quality complaints responded to within 24 hours  Tree complaints or concerns are investigated within three days  Park complaints investigated within one to two days based on safety concerns The Department is also advantaged in a key respect in that its utility infrastructure is almost entirely new. Most cities grapple with the repair and replacement of aging infrastructure while needing to contend with growth. Typically, their ability to perform preventative maintenance can be overwhelmed with the need to conduct reactive maintenance, leading to a downward spiral of asset conditions. For example, the Department’s water and sewer utilities have few assets more than 20 years old, with many being substantially younger. What results is a lower than normal demand for reactive maintenance. This will change as the utility systems age; the need to conduct reactive maintenance will rise, even with appropriate preventative maintenance programs. Another advantage held by the Department is its people. The Public Works Operators, in particular, are experienced and have had little turnover. Across the nation, many public works departments and utilities struggle to attract and