Association honors outstanding leadership

Each year, the American Public Works Association (APWA) recognizes outstanding leadership in the Public Works field. The association’s 2002 Public Works Leaders of the Year are:

Patricia Biegler

Director of Public Works
Chesapeake, Va.

By instituting new technology, along with Best Management Practices, Biegler established a customer service program that has allowed the Public Works Department to better manage citizens’ requests for service and maintenance. Under her leadership, the department implemented a change in trash collection service to improve efficiency, reduce redundancy, increase recycling and provide more consistent standards of service.

August Caires

General Manager, Padre Dam Municipal Water District
Santee, Calif.

Under Caires’ leadership, the Padre Dam Municipal Water District developed a 20-year master plan for capital improvement projects in water, wastewater and recycled water, identifying savings of $140 million from the previous master plan. Caires has spearheaded an aggressive cost-control program, reducing spending by more than 14 percent since fiscal year 1993-1994.

Jason Cosby

Director of Public Works
Lancaster, Texas

Cosby implemented a pavement management system that allowed the city to obtain matching funds from Dallas County for current and future transportation projects within Lancaster. He developed the Public Works Department’s first safety training program, in which staff members present a safety problem and solution to each division. Other city departments are encouraged to join in the monthly safety discussions.

George Crombie

Director of Public Works
Nashua, N.H.

Crombie guided the city through a number of environmental initiatives, including the Multi-site Landfill Closure and Park Renovation Project. As part of that project, the Public Works Department provides closure and post-closure reuse services to five former city landfills. The department also constructed one of the state’s few publicly owned and operated lined landfills. As part of his involvement with APWA’s Solid Waste Management Committee, Crombie interviewed key personnel in the New York City Sanitation Department and wrote an article about the department’s role in the cleanup of the World Trade Center. Also for the committee, he is taking the lead in developing a technical publication on beneficial reuse of landfills.

David Gravenkamp

Director of Public Works
Siskiyou County, Calif.

Gravenkamp has worked for Siskiyou County for 38 years. During his first six months of service, a flood destroyed much of the county’s infrastructure, and Gravenkamp worked with federal and state agencies to achieve timely replacement/repair of the flood-damaged facilities. He has guided the county through disaster recovery on five other occasions, supervising restoration and garnering maximum reimbursement from state/federal disaster agencies. During his tenure, the county has replaced more than 110 of its 175 bridges.

Charles Owsley

Director of Public Works
Lee’s Summit, Mo.

Owsley developed a strategic plan for selection and submittal of road projects to the Transportation Committees of the Mid America Regional Council for allocation of Surface Transportation Project funding. As a result of the plan, Lee’s Summit has received $8.8 million for projects over the past four years. Under Owsley’s direction, the Public Works Department improved snow and ice control by converting from a 50-50 sand/salt mixture to a straight salt application with calcium-chloride pre-wetting. It also constructed a salt dome, allowing it to store a full winter’s supply of salt under cover.

James Reynolds

Director of Public Works
Village of Northbrook, Ill.

Northbrook has had its share of emergency-disaster situations, including record flooding in 1987 and record snowfall in 2000. Reynolds has managed response and recovery efforts following five such disasters in the community. He led a massive upgrade and expansion of the village’s water system, including educating the Village Board and residents on the project’s need. The multi-phased project began with construction of a 4.3-mile, 30-inch, cross-town water main, which resulted in enhanced reliability and customer service, as well as improved fire flows.

Gary Simmons

Public Works Director
Postville, Iowa

Simmons has worked extensively on extending water and sewer infrastructure to newly annexed areas of the city. He formed a housing task force — including contractors, bankers, land owners and city personnel — and worked with them to offer tax rebates that would encourage new housing construction. He was the project engineer for construction of a Child Care Center, serving as a liaison between the city, the Child Care Center Board and the project engineer.

Lawrence Thacker

Director, Public Works Department
Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Thacker developed the Public Works Department’s formal training program for heavy equipment operations in cooperation with the Indian River Community College. The program has allowed the department to cross-train all employees, thereby increasing productivity by 35 percent. Under his leadership, the department obtained accreditation through APWA and, in doing so, became the first Florida agency and the eighth agency internationally to become accredited.

Marc Thornsberry

Director of Public Works
Springfield, Mo.

Under Thornsberry’s leadership, the city is collaborating with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and local MoDOT District 8 to operate an integrated transportation management system that is unique to the state. Thorns-berry took the lead in working with the Chamber of Commerce to develop a 350-acre industrial park owned jointly by the city and the Chamber. The site is 90 percent sold after six years, and the city and Chamber are now developing a second 400-acre industrial park.