03-10-2014 CC - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Discuss Public Works Restructuring Page 4 Increase in Right -of -Way Management In addition to the aging municipal infrastructure, private utilities located in City right-of-way are also requiring replacement. There is also been a growth of fiber optic cabling being installed for telecommunication companies the past few years. This private work requires a Right-of-way permit from Public Works. PWE reviews construction plans, issues the permit if acceptable, inspects construction, and closes out the permit. The highest number of ROW permits processed was 79 in 2009. Public Works is also charged with monitoring any activities in the boulevard areas that are inconsistent with its use. It is expected that more coordination, creation of permit standards, handouts, and inspection work will be required for driveway curb cuts related to the new curbed streets as well. Added Responsibilities Over the years, Public Works has assumed responsibilities that other City departments were previously performing. Most notably, when the Parks and Recreation Department was eliminated, the YMCA was contracted to perform the recreation duties and park maintenance staff was retained as -is. However, no staff was added to perform those duties related to park planning, management, improvement, inspection, etc. that was being performed (half-time) by the Parks and Recreation Director These duties were added to the full-time duties of the Public Works Director, which also included being the staff liaison to the Parks Commission and oversight of the Community Center. Other department duties assumed include water and sewer permitting and inspections (previously performed by Building Inspector), City Hall cleaning contract, city forestry (previously performed jointly with New Brighton), and Streets and Utilities Committee activities. Also, prior to 2009, a consulting engineering firm (SEH) was performing the city engineering duties, which is now performed in-house. Decrease in Staffing Public Works has decreased staffing positions over the past few years. Most recently, two seasonal maintenance positions (one full time parks) were eliminated in an effort to assist in reducing operating costs during the global economic downturn a few years ago. Now, new federal regulations related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will further hamper seasonal maintenance needs when the maximum number of consecutive calendar days to work full-time without benefits will be reduced from 185 to 119. Public Works has traditionally had two seasonal workers begin in spring and continue into the fall for park maintenance. The summers will still be covered since many of the seasonal workers begin in mid-May and leave in late August to return to college. Also, the vacant engineering/GIS intern position was not filled this year since PWE staff did not have time to train and oversee the work of this position. Core Duties Not Being Performed Unfortunately, there are core duties that have suffered tremendously due to the contributing factors mentioned above. Many of these duties are associated with the PWA and PWE staff at City Hall. These duties include routine housekeeping activities like records management/archiving, electronic and hard copy filing, and purging emails. However, more important duties related to regulatory mandates, asset management, documentation, code revisions, engineering standards, and department policies/procedures are also being overlooked for the "here and now" duties related to capital improvement projects and citizen requests. In addition, no time is available to investigate products, learn new software or mapping tools, or attend/provide training to incorporate efficiencies into the workload process. Capital Improvements Beina Deferred Public Works does not have enough qualified staff time to complete capital improvement projects in the years planned. Instead, a prioritization of planned improvements occurs and lower priority projects are deferred to following years. This does not mean that the projects should occur in a later year, but rather, that its impossible for staff to deliver the projects with current staffing levels. The CIP and budget has many examples of deferred projects, including Mustang Drive Improvements, City Hall Irrigation Improvements, Trailway Development and Maintenance. Some projects have been deferred for multiple years in a row. In addition, adequate time is not available to determine more accurate estimates for these improvements before they are added to the CIP and budget. This has resulting in the City Council having to amend adopted budgets when construction contracts are approved.