STAFF REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: Regular Meeting of February 28, 2023
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Dante Hall, City Manager
SUBMITTED BY: Mike Roberts, Public Works Director/City Engineer SUBJECT: Update on the City of Hercules Public Works Department RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive an update on the City of Hercules Public Works Department BACKGROUND:
The Public Works Department is, at its core, a service organization committed to enhancing the lives of residents and strengthening businesses through the management of public space. This consists of the design, construction, maintenance and operations of the built environment including the transportation network, City-owned buildings, sewer collection system, storm drain system, and City-owned parks. The Department also manages facets of public open space, including fire breaks, trees at the urban interface, and slope stability (i.e. landslides) as well as stream corridors.
With regards to resource levels, the Department consists of 12 employees and is organized into 2 Divisions: Maintenance & Operations (M&O) and Engineering. The Engineering Division consists of an Associate Engineer, Management Analyst, and Inspector/Specialist while M&O is managed by the Superintendent who oversees 7 Maintenance Workers. The Public Works Director/City Engineer serves as the Department Head for both Divisions and reports to the City Manager.
M&O is responsible for maintaining and operating the City’s built infrastructure and open space. A typical day for a Maintenance Worker consists of opening a park restroom and picking up garbage and emptying the trash cans, then moving on to a daily assignment which could include filling potholes, building cabinets, tending to a sewer lift station, and working with contractors on cleaning out storm drain inlets or maintaining the City’s landscaping.
Maintenance & Operations employees also serve as first responders to ensure roads remain open during natural disasters for emergency vehicles and evacuations, potential flooding during storms is mitigated, and sanitary sewer overflows are addressed as quickly as possible to limit health and safety hazards.
The Engineering Division administers the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for the planning, design and construction of new infrastructure such as street reconstructions and sewer line replacements; performs traffic and transportation engineering including traffic calming, traffic impact studies, and regional transportation planning; and regulates private development to ensure orderly development and conformity to engineering standards through engineering plan checking and construction inspection. The Division also issues encroachment permits for work performed by private parties in the public right of way and administers the sewer lateral certificate program to reduce infiltration into the public sewer system and prevent backflows into private residences. State law requires the City Engineer who oversees engineering functions be licensed by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
ANALYSIS:
Through the latter part of December and January, Public Works was fully engaged in fighting the series of winter storms including unclogging inlets, removing fallen trees and limbs, clearing debris, and replenishing sandbags. It will take some time to address the longer-term impacts, including landslides and damage to retaining walls.
The new contract for janitorial services for public buildings is being processed. Once this work begins, dedicated janitorial services levels will be provided which will allow more consistent service levels while M&O staff will be freed up to work on the backlog of deferred facility maintenance work.
With the recent approval of funding, a rotational program for M&O employees will shortly be put in place during non-working hours to ensure staff is available to respond to emergencies and urgent issue. This will also allow the Superintendent to focus more on managing the Division.
Since Gogov – the City’s citizen request management program – has been implemented, M&O operations has received and responded to over 440 service requests.
The Sycamore Avenue Rehabilitation project was recently completed and the Willow/Palm Sidewalk Project has been put out to bid, with groundbreaking anticipated to occur in Spring. Engineering staff has begun creating the draft Capital Improvement Program for FY 23-24 and it’s shaping up to be a robust year.
The Hercules Hub remains the Department’s top priority. A total of $12M in grant applications are being submitted and the design for the utility relocation phase of the project is advancing.
The Engineering Division is also plan checking multiple private development projects, including both on private property and in the City right of way. This includes the improvement plans for Loop Road which is located in the Village of the Bayfront Development and Ohlone Creek Way which is part of the Sycamore Crossing Project and will connect San Pablo Avenue to Sycamore Avenue in the vicinity of Aventine.
For calendar year 2022, Engineering issued 158 encroachment permits, the vast majority of which were issued to PG&E (103 total) and the East Bay Municipal Utility District (25 total). A total of 106 sewer lateral certificates were also issued during this period.
Studies and agreements are in various stages of development as well, including a sewer fund financial health assessment, ferry feasibility study, pavement management system update, Hercules Transit Center 3-Party agreement update, and the conservation easement agreement with the John Muir Land Trust for The Hub. The status of these studies and agreements can be provided during the presentation and will be brought before City Council in the future for full consideration, once they’ve been sufficiently prepared.
The next several years will present a unique opportunity for organizational change. The majority of the PW workforce, who have been with the City for decades, will likely retire in the next 5 years. Additionally, staffing levels and the Department’s organizational structure have remained unchanged since being reduced 40% a decade ago due to financial hardship. Meanwhile, evolving technologies, such as low maintenance LED streetlighting coupled with increasing regulations for sewer systems and stormwater runoff, are driving changes in priorities and the associated need to reallocate resources.
The changes needed for PW to be successful in the future are already underway. This year the Department swapped a vacant Maintenance Work I position for a Public Works Specialist/Inspector to provide for the consistent oversight of construction work in the field, including encroachment permits. As mentioned above, Council recently approved funding to implement an on-call program that will assign a Maintenance Worker to be on standby on a rotational basis to respond to urgent issues and emergencies during non-working hours.
However, much remains to be done. Succession planning, staffing levels, and the potential changes to the Public Works organizational structure will all need to be carefully evaluated, planned, and then implemented to meet the demands of the future. Fortunately, the City’s financial position has been steadily improving and staff remains optimistic about the future of the Department.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with receiving this report.
ATTACHMENTS:
Presentation