May 18 - 24, 2008

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato joins County Council, Governor Ed Rendell and the U.S. Senate in declaring the week of May 18-24, 2008 as Public Works Week to celebrate the men and women of Allegheny County who provide and maintain the infrastructure and services collectively known as public works.

National Public Works Week is observed each year during the third full week of May. The Week seeks to enhance the prestige of the often-unsung heroes of our society - the professionals who serve the public good every day with quiet dedication. This year, the theme, "The Future is NOW," raises the public's awareness of the public works employees who are dedicated to improving the quality of life for present and future generations.

National Public Works Week was instituted as a public education campaign by the American Public Works Association. More information may be found on their website at www.apwa.net.

Description: May, 2008, our Public Works Department, participated in the first ever PW Week! As far as we know, we are the only one in southern Oregon that has, so far.

We met in February, and began the planning. We started out with only 6 or 7 people, but that soon grew to a dozen, or so, volunteers that wanted to do their part.

It was an outstanding success! We had several displays of PW activities, maps, games, and some hands-on stuff. The hands-on was by far the most popular of everything. We focused this first year to our local 4th graders, from three schools. Meeting first with the kids in their schools, they knew ahead of time, what they were going to be seeing and doing. They were very well mannered and all had a great time!

I truely encourage other entities to form up a committee now (start early) and begin the planning for the 2009 event - you will not be sorry. It drew good comments, and positive, public relations is always a good thing.

The intent of National Public Works Week is to bring attention to the importance of public works and pay tribute to hardworking public works employees for the important work that they do. In Glendale we achieved these objectives through our Employee Pancake Breakfast and Public Works Open House events.

On May 22, 2008 beginning at 6:30AM, a Pancake Breakfast was held at the Public Works Corporate Yard. The Breakfast was intended to show appreciation to Public Works employees whose hard work and diligence illustrate the motto of the Department, "Serving The City With Pride." This event, which is funded by private donations, was attended by members of the City Council, and the City's Executive staff. Employees enjoyed a breakfast consisting of pancakes, eggs, sausage, hash browns, juice and coffee.

Later that same day from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM, the Glendale Public Works Department hosted a large Open House event at the Yard designed to inform the community, specifically the youth of Glendale about Public Works operations, functions and Services. Over 700 students, teachers and chaperones from the Glendale Unified School District as well as some local private schools will attend. During the course of the event, these young people particpated in a tour of the shops at the Yard, they participated in hands on activities and games designed to teach them about Public Works, and they viewed equipment demonstrations provided by Public Works Staff Members. Topics included forestry, sewers, sign making, transit, building maintenance, green vehicles and much much more. The Event concluded with a tour of the recycling center and demonstration on the importance of recycling.

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Attendence: 1100
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This is La Quinta's second year in formally celebrating National Public Works Week. Once again we sent out an email blast to all of our customers (i.e. developers, contractors, etc.) from our email database letting them know about National Public Works Week and inviting them to come by our public counter on Wednesday May 21st for free cake and punch. We also had APWA's "Paws Prints" newsletters on the counter along with our information as a hand out. See photo attached.

On Thursday May 22nd we invited La Quinta High School students that are interested in a career in Public Works Engineering come to our offices and meet our Management staff. The Public Works Director, Tim Jonasson, and his management team presented a PowerPoint slide show and had informal discussion with the students. See photo attached.

The La Quinta student counselor, Carol Ramirez, had this to say about the student's visit "Thanks again for having us today. The students were really excited about the presentation. They talked all the way back to the school. Afnan and Curtis actually said that they wanted to major in engineering now more than ever! It's wonderful when community members take an interest in our students. I'm already looking forward to next year" Carol Ramirez, Counselor La Quinta High School.

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Record heat did not stop record numbers from walking through the freshly painted gates of the Public Works Corp Yard on Saturday. Guests & neighbors couldn't miss the hoopla at the corp yard this weekend, a huge American flag flew high atop a boom truck waving over the yard for all to see and as you approached the yard by car or on foot you were immediately struck by the sight of a grader and one huge tractor with 6 foot tall tires on the PW front lawn as well as a sea of city trucks and heavy equipment parked across the street like a fleet of well oiled machinery.

Over 500 guests came to see the inner workings of the city corp yard and 54 classic cars and 8 motorcycles participated. It was 103 degrees on Saturday, but felt hotter if you were one of several Public Works staff lead by James Lee manning the 10-foot long shiny bar-b-q. Staff prepared over 800 hot dogs, hamburgers and hot links in the scorching sun. Guest kept cool over lunch in the service center where they could watch a continuous looping slide show of Public Works happenings on the wide screen TV.

Displays abounded in the yard from all corners. The Police Department came out once again as a big supporter of this event; they had several cars and a motorcycle on display as well as their bomb squad and beautiful dog, Nola. And a special thanks to McGruff, who came by to talk to the kids and help with the finger printing station. The Fire Department really seemed to enjoy the day and took the opportunity to practice their repelling skills while entertaining the crowds with their headfirst repelling. It was an impressive display of skills and bravery.

Each Public Works division was represented by an interactive booth or display. Particularly eye catching was the stump grinding display right as you entered the gates, followed by the traffic signal display. The Streets division went all out and had a working traffic signal with camera and utility box set up. Doug Dutcher and Ron Daugherty fielded questions and educated people on how signal timing works and why you sometimes have to sit for a little while if you've followed up behind a train or emergency vehicle.

Parks and Rec spearheaded children's entertainment with a couple bounce houses, face painting and popcorn. Our Admin staff manned the front gate passing out goodie bags made of recycled material, as well as booths for Recycling awareness. Environmental Control, the Laboratory and Wastewater Treatment Plant were well represented with educational & interactive booths. Our sign shop and GIS office were open for tours and demonstrations. Deb's Safety Corner drew a lot of curious kids to come check out the CPR dolls and various safety gear worn by Public Works crews. Nhgia Vo and Roger Cowan of the Fleet division were excellent hosts and ambassadors for the classic car show participants.

Public Works would like to thank all the departments that participated including Police, Fire, Engineering, the Airport, and Parks & Rec. A special thanks goes out to HANK and KABX oldies for broadcasting live from our event and helping to bring in so many classic cars. The combined efforts of all the Public Works staff lead by event co-chairs Mike Miller and Craig Guilliams helped to pull off another successful event. We hope to see you all out here next year!

URL: http://www.cityofmerced.org/depts/pw/public_works___open_house_may_17th!.asp
Attendence: 513
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Sunday 18th - 11:00 a.m. Employees attended a worship service at a local church

Monday 19th - 7:00 a.m. Employees enjoyed a kick off breakfast cooked by the Fire Dept on site --12 noon Employees had a brick dedication commemorating the former employees that are retired and those deceased. There was a total of (12)employee bricks that were placed in the onsite park area. There was also a memorial plaque and proclamation designating that the "Old Stockade" building carry the name of one of the deceased/former Department Head, Robert Bass.

Tuesday 20th - 7:30 a.m. Employees participated in a Blood pressure screening provided by the Fire Department technicians, --11:30am 1:30 pm employees enjoyed lunch, games and activities at a nearby park.

Wednesday 21st - 3:30 - 3:45 p.m. City employees had a competition softball game against the Bibb County Public Works employees

Thursday 22nd - 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Employees were served a catered appreciation luncheon, they enjoyed talent, music and good food

During the week, various demonstration of equipment and employees participated in the career activities at local Elementary Schools. This was in an effort in order to educate students on the value and necessity of having a department like Public Works and it's mission in keeping our city clean.

In recognition of National Public Works Week, the City of Richardson celebrated with many events. During the week, the Public Services Department held its annual employee safety and perfect attendance awards banquet, a proclamation signed by the Mayor, and for the first time, the Public Services staff hosted elementary students at City Hall for various recycling activities and a recycling survivor obstacle course.

Our employee safety and perfect attendance awards banquet recognized employees who have either stayed accident/injury free or had perfect attendance for the year. This year, 21 Public Services employees had perfect attendance and 127 Public Services employees were accident/injury free.

On Thursday, May 22nd, City of Richardson Public Services staff invited close to 300 1st and 2nd grade students to City Hall to participate in various activities and concluding with an exciting recycling survivor obstacle course, all to educate kids on the importance of recycling and how public works impacts everyone's daily life. Some of the activities included a recycling sort, soda can toss, recycling questions, and a plastic bottle line up. The kids also got to see a recycling truck up close, and what recyclable items look like after they have been sorted at a recycling processing facility.

The most exciting part of the day was the obstacle course. Demonstrated by our recycling mascot, Recycling Richie (who was first introduced at the event), kids had to sort recyclables from trash, "free throw" soda cans into a recycling bin, eat gummy worms and find items in a recycled sand dig.

The recycling event was a huge success and the Public Services Department looks forward to making it a permanent part of our National Public Works Week activities.

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The City of Sedona participated in its sixth annual Public Works Week celebration during the week of May 18 through 24. This year a public works planning committee lead by Administrative Assistant Donna Pfluger, made several changes in planning our celbration. This year,as in the past, Mayor Colquitt issued a proclamation and a display was set up at the Sedona Public Library. This year, however, the Red Rock News carried more articles announcing the week, and the Public Works Fair was moved to the Teen Center. The Boys and Girls Club allowed us to use the center for the day. The Public Works Fair was held On May 20 and include more equipment displays, prizes, games, and food. Besides the various divisions of the Public Works Department, Sedona Parks and Recreation Department, Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona Water Company,Oak Creek Water Company, Yavapai County Flood Control District, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Harris and Associates, Verde Valley Cyclists, Verde Valley Earth Works, Keep Sedona Beautiful, and Sedona Water Conservation Committee, Sedona Recylces participated in the fair.

Brewer Bros., and Tiffany Construction, Inc, both donated equipment for display. The fair was attended by public school and home schooled children,children from the Boys and Girls Club, and numerous adults from the community.

On Tuesday, May 20, 2008, the City of Nashua, NH, Division of Public Works held their first annual "Public Works Expo" at the City Hall Auditorium from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

The newly elected Mayor, Donnalee Lozeau, also the Chairman of the Board of Public Works, honored the employees with a "Presentation of Recognition" followed by a "caution tape" ribbon cutting ceremony kicking-off the event.

Department trucks were displayed in front of City Hall on Main Street throughout the day.

Display booths lined the auditorium with informational literature and photos of current and past divisional projects. A microscope and display screen showed stalked ciliates, used in the secondary treatment process at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. A projected simulation of moving traffic along the proposed Broad Street Parkway was shown on one wall while a slideshow projected recent projects on another. A highly entertaining presentation from the stormwater engineer was a treat. Other exhibits focused on street repair, snow event procedures, recycling, landfill expansion, stormwater treatment, surveying, recreation and park maintenance. Facility tours were held on Wednesday, May 21st.

The event was filmed and edited by the city's local cable channel 16 and will be shown to the public at a later date.

The primary focus of the event was to help educate taxpayers, downtown businesses, municipal employees and newly elected officials about how cohesive public works really is.

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Attendence: 350 plus
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Record heat did not stop record numbers from walking through the freshly painted gates of the Public Works Corp Yard on Saturday. Guests & neighbors couldn't miss the hoopla at the corp yard this weekend, a huge American flag flew high atop a boom truck waving over the yard for all to see and as you approached the yard by car or on foot you were immediately struck by the sight of a grader and one huge tractor with 6 foot tall tires on the PW front lawn as well as a sea of city trucks and heavy equipment parked across the street like a fleet of well oiled machinery.

Over 500 guests came to see the inner workings of the city corp yard and 54 classic cars and 8 motorcycles participated. It was 103 degrees on Saturday, but felt hotter if you were one of several Public Works staff lead by James Lee manning the 10-foot long shiny bar-b-q. Staff prepared over 800 hot dogs, hamburgers and hot links in the scorching sun. Guest kept cool over lunch in the service center where they could watch a continuous looping slide show of Public Works happenings on the wide screen TV.

Displays abounded in the yard from all corners. The Police Department came out once again as a big supporter of this event; they had several cars and a motorcycle on display as well as their bomb squad and beautiful dog, Nola. And a special thanks to McGruff, who came by to talk to the kids and help with the finger printing station. The Fire Department really seemed to enjoy the day and took the opportunity to practice their repelling skills while entertaining the crowds with their headfirst repelling. It was an impressive display of skills and bravery.

Each Public Works division was represented by an interactive booth or display. Particularly eye catching was the stump grinding display right as you entered the gates, followed by the traffic signal display. The Streets division went all out and had a working traffic signal with camera and utility box set up. Doug Dutcher and Ron Daugherty fielded questions and educated people on how signal timing works and why you sometimes have to sit for a little while if you've followed up behind a train or emergency vehicle.

Parks and Rec spearheaded children's entertainment with a couple bounce houses, face painting and popcorn. Our Admin staff manned the front gate passing out goodie bags made of recycled material, as well as booths for Recycling awareness. Environmental Control, the Laboratory and Wastewater Treatment Plant were well represented with educational & interactive booths. Our sign shop and GIS office were open for tours and demonstrations. Deb's Safety Corner drew a lot of curious kids to come check out the CPR dolls and various safety gear worn by Public Works crews. Nhgia Vo and Roger Cowan of the Fleet division were excellent hosts and ambassadors for the classic car show participants.

Public Works would like to thank all the departments that participated including Police, Fire, Engineering, the Airport, and Parks & Rec. A special thanks goes out to HANK and KABX oldies for broadcasting live from our event and helping to bring in so many classic cars. The combined efforts of all the Public Works staff lead by event co-chairs Mike Miller and Craig Guilliams helped to pull off another successful event. We hope to see you all out here next year!

URL: http://www.cityofmerced.org/depts/pw/public_works___open_house_may_17th!.asp
Attendence: 513
Cost:

Greetings:

City Infrastructure (Underground Water Supply Lines)

We have discovered that our high definition thermal camera can detect larger issues when applied to those applications. No one ever thought a thermal camera could be used for underground water supply lines.

Underground water supply lines: Supply lines normally are buried only three feet underground and carry cold water. As we discovered during a test pilot for the City of Portland we can see the coolness of the supply lines above ground. What is more stunning (water leaks) the water will either pool underground or surface which makes it easier to see through thermal. During aerials in a helicopter we can cruse at twenty to thirty MPH at one hundred feet scanning miles of the surface in a short period. It is extremely cost effective to conduct aerial thermal surveys. Not only can large areas be scanned quickly. When problems areas are discovered, being able to stop and hover then investigate is necessary.

At the ASCE Pipelines Conference in Georgia this year a presentation by the City Of Portland Water Bureau will be given. As part of the presentation some of our thermal images will be displayed plus discussions of our report as the main topic. Using our high definition thermal camera we are able to see underground water supply lines. What is even more important if the water line is leaking or broken we will be able to detect that as well. This service is a major break through for all cities that are having problems locating underground leaks. Not only is there a loss in water, the underground leaks lead to other serious issues such as sink holes.

In order to conduct these types of projects with success it takes practice and knowledge of what to look for. These surveys have to be done by helicopter and you must use a high definition thermal camera with zoom capability. Anything less than 640 X 480 res will not work.

Other areas of examples: We have conducted thermal surveys for Oregon Parks and Recs, Win Co grocery and distribution centers, Marion County Correction Facilities, Portland Water Bureau, and Roth's Family Grocery's. And in every case we have found major problems that were corrected (repaired) before they became extremely expensive or worst.

We specialize in: Underground Utilities, Historical Structures, Electrical, Mechanical, Moisture in Walls, Aerial Roof & Structural Surveys, Energy Loss, Energy Audits.

If you are interested in our services please feel free to contact us.

For new home owners:

It is becoming more popular to have a thermal survey conducted when purchasing a new or used home / business. Before thermal you were not able to see if a structure was energy efficient or other structural problems. Roof leaks, electrical, moisture in walls & ceilings, duct work or insulation (energy loss) can all be seen before you purchase. New structures normally have a one year warranty and wouldn't you want to know if any problems exist before the warranty runs out?

Older structures do not have a warranty. So if you have to replace a roof, electrical panel, add insulation or find mold in your walls after the purchase, it's on you! Any of these repairs will cost you thousands of dollars. Protect your investment and spend a few hundred dollars now on a thermal inspection. Most real state companies will not inform you of this service.

Business owners:

For commercial & industrial businesses:

Detecting minor problems before they become large issues can save you thousands of dollars in the long run. Over heating electrical loads, compressors, refrigeration equipment, transformers, condenser fan motors, pumps are all expensive when you have failure. Preventive maintenance is the key. Example: If you were able to see a motor or pump running at nearly two hundred degrees when the operating temperature is suppose to be at one hundred and twenty five degrees don't you think it maybe helpful! Or maybe one leg of an electrical panel at one hundred and twenty degrees and the other leg at ninety degrees. My point is the human eye can not see these problems however a thermal inspection can.

Did you know that the department of energy has a program that can put money back in your pocket? Any business that can improve on saving energy by up grading to save energy, the department of energy will pay thirty percent of that cost.

Sincerely
Kim Diemer
Thermographer
503-884-4866
tic@thermalinspections.net