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The City of Davenport, Iowa, is a fully accredited city with a population of approximately 100,000. There are 1,600 lane miles of roads to be plowed with over 400 cul-de-sac's…
(Presented by APWA's 2017 Emerging Leaders Academy (ELA) Class)APWA's Emerging Leaders Academy provides intensive leadership and management training within the context of public works. It encourages professional growth through a strong network of peers and offers an in-depth introduction to APWA at the national and chapter levels. As an element of their class project, the 2017 Emerging Leaders Academy (ELA) participants have investigated how public works departments can increase their presence and reputation within their communities. Their findings revolve around four major components: Leadership: Explore the qualities of servant leadership and why this type of leader is successful in the public works environment. Resilience: Consider how well your public works agency adapts to adversity and meets the challenges of disaster response and infrastructure resilience. Outreach: By engaging the public through events, various forms of media, a strong outreach program empowers people of all walks of life to feel an emotional connection to public works and all the services provided to the community. Technology: By using 21st century technology, including social media, public works is able to provide two-way exchanges of information, involving the public in collaborativeLearning Objectives: Identify the type of leaders that can best serve your public works operation and the community at-large.Discuss the importance of building resiliency into to public works infrastructure and services.Develop a public outreach program that deploys social media and other communication strategies to increase the presence and reputation of public works with your community.
Successful implementation of asset management does not happen by accident. It requires a carefully considered plan to ensure that your agency's goals are met and measureable results are achieved. Using Polk County's pavement management program as a case study, this session will review the steps for implementation, decision-making and reporting requirements, software configuration, testing, and training. Also featured in this session will be a case study highlighting how Dunedin, Florida performed a stream-lined implementation using best practices, a gap-fit process, and field calibration exercises to ensure expected results.Learning Objectives: Conceptualize the process needed to perform a critical review of an existing asset management system and then plan for updates and enhancements.Recognize the functionality required in an asset management software package as it pertains to all collected assets and the agency's goals.Analyze the cost-effectiveness of a robust asset management plan and gain support from key decision-makers.
As public works professionals, we are confident in our ability to do everything from repairing potholes to responding to emergency situations. But one thing that we are not necessarily good at is advocating for our profession and our public works departments. Learn about Charlotte County, Florida’s successful outreach program, which includes “”touch a truck”” sessions at community events and elementary schools, job fairs at high schools and community colleges, and a strong social media presence. They have not only increased visibility within the community, but also improved employee morale.Learning Objectives:Implement a department-wide rebranding project.Communicate communication with the public using social media.Educate the next generation about the importance of public works to the economic progress and quality of life of the community.
Privatization, de-privatization, managed competition-this panel of solid waste management leaders will NOT answer the question on which system is best. (Sorry!) But they will share their expertise and case studies concerning the costs and benefits of each option, discuss issues with service delivery and customer service, and provide tools you can use to design or tweak your service delivery systems. We'll also focus on how to ensure better customer service, fair treatment of employees, and a safe working environment.Learning Objectives:Discuss the different benefits between privatization, de-privatization, and managed competition.Examine how to analyze costs benefits between the three options.Review how to ensure better customer service and a safe working environment.
Every year, around 20% of all crashes, injuries and fatalities on the roadway are weather related and over 30 billion vehicle hours are lost due to weather-related congestion at a…
Self-Assessment is an excellent way to examine and evaluate your agency's current management policies and procedures. In this session, you will gain an understanding of why self-assessment can improve effectiveness,…
Winter maintenance managers have to make many decisions about the weather. This session makes it simple, focusing only on what matters, and provides you with a path toward using these…
The City of Minneapolis recently launched initiatives seeking to understand causal factors of accidents in the Public Works Fleet while ensuring employees fair treatment during the investigative process.Public Works vehicle…
Public Works is a primary emergency responder. When disasters and emergencies occur, Public Works maintenance operations personnel are among the first to respond. Though the primary responsibility is clearing roadways so that other responders can access stricken areas, Public Works also provides traffic control, debris management and assists with rescue, evacuation, damage assessment, infrastructure repair, and restoration of certain services. The national focus in now on building Resiliency, particularly through Critical Infrastructure Protection. Public Works is a major ""owner/operator"" of the transportation, water/ waste water and storm-water systems that are so vital for the safety and health of communities. Though the Homeland Security Department considers Public Works as part of the Emergency Services Sector, overall acceptance and recognition by other disciplines as equal partners in emergency management is still lacking. To overcome this, Public Works must first raise awareness within its own discipline that this is as important as design, construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure. Public Works is extensively involved in prevention, mitigation, response and, most importantly, recovery. Besides maintenance operations field staff, engineers, planners, technicians, mechanics and administrative support from all divisions of a Public Works agency and related departments need to be aware of their roles as well. All incidents are local and the vast majority are caused by natural occurrences. Many do not reach the thresholds to qualify for state or federal assistance. Even if they do, local agencies are expected to handle the emergency for the first 72 hours. This presentation by a panel of public works subject matter experts will examine what agencies should do to have the resources, training, policies, and procedures to be ready and responsive for all-hazards incidents. It will also describe the definitive responsibilities and unique capabilities of Public Works in emergencies and planned special events. Our discipline must have a ""seat at the table"" with police, fire and public health when it comes to planning, training, exercising and actual management of incidents.Learning Objectives: Recognize the evolving role of Public Works in local and national emergency management.Assess your agency's current capabilities to deal with all -hazards incidents including extreme weather.Determine what training, equipping and planning is needed to improve your agency's readiness to respond to and recover from all types and levels of emergency situations.