Gas and Oil
Many communities across the west are working to keep pace with a flood of gas and oil exploration, and the impact the traffic increase is having on secondary roadways.
“Our biggest thing right now is oil activity,” said Colette Smith with the Richland County Road and Bridge Department on the eastern plains of Montana. “We’re having trouble keeping the roads up because of the heavy equipment. In some cases we’re looking at paving some roads just to keep them together. In other cases we have requests for dust control from folks concerned about the health of their livestock”.
While there are obviously costs associated with those repairs and improvements, public works directors we spoke with said that because of exploration impact fees charged by the county it was not so much of a financial impact as it was a manpower issue.
“It’s just going to get worse,” predicted Bobby Branham with Garfield County Road and Bridge in western Colorado. “In the next 3-5 years we’ll probably have to increase one to two employees per district just to keep up.”
An ironic turn following staff layoffs during the post-September 11 economic downturn.
New Capital Projects
In addition to added maintenance demands, the summer is bringing cities and counties new capital improvements driven in part by PubWorks.
“On County Road 328 we used job costing figures from PubWorks to show whether we would be ahead in the long run in maintenance costs versus paving costs. We decided we would be better off paving,” Smith said.
In Pitkin County Public Works Director Brian Pettet recently used numbers from PubWorks to justify paving of the rural Owl Creek Road between Aspen and neighboring Snowmass Resort.
“It takes apparent subjectivity out of what I present to the commissioners,” Pettet said, referring to cost reports he generates using PubWorks software. “And now we can go back and look at whether predictions came true from a financial perspective, in terms of it having been cheaper to pave than to maintain.”
All the same, Pettet notes that his county wants to maintain a certain rural character, so paving may not always make sense.
“We are not providing the same level of service we did five years ago, and that determination was made because of our asset management plan, and the financial realities that PubWorks helps us define,” Pettet said. “In a shifting economy you continue to have to prioritize. PubWorks allows you to set those priorities because you have a handle on all the individual costs.”
Doing More for Less
While many cities and counties are looking at major paving projects, bridge replacements and other significant capital improvements, doing more for less continues to be the watchword for many organizations.
“Trying to provide the most service for the dollars we have is the biggest challenge,” said Tim Allen, public works director in Clear Creek County, Colorado. “Most of our roads are gravel, so we are looking for solutions that give longevity to our work. We are trying chip-n-seal on gravel roads, which withstood the plowing all right this winter, so we are doing another road this summer.”
It is this sort of gradual innovation that many public works directors have reported on over the past several years. Another common theme, as was mentioned in last month’s Around The Industry, has been growing frustration over what many see as unrealistic expectations.
“People buy homes in remote areas and expect snow removal early after a storm, and that is just not realistic. They forget that the trade-off [for living on a rural route] is they may not have the level of service that a city will provide,” Pettet said.
Strategic Decision Making
One of the strategies Pettet employs to balance customer desires and budgetary realities is to rely more heavily on caucuses and neighborhood associations. By referring service requests through such groups Pettet says he is better able to focus on initiatives that his constituents truly desire, and might even be willing to pay for. Another of Pettet’s areas of emphasis is staff training and development.
“Many times when organizations have financial trouble, one of the ways to save money and not impact service is education and training. Long term that hurts you. I think that as managers we need to take care of the people we have, and the resources we have,” Pettet said.
Allen echoed Pettet’s comments in advocating for statewide trade organizations such as the Colorado Association of Road Supervisors and Engineers (CARSE), who provide technical support and advice to county commissioners.
“There are a lot of federal regulations coming down the line and it is hard to stay abreast. With a group like CARSE you can keep on top of it. Plus, there is just no comparison for the value of sharing ideas with your peers,” Allen said.
Information Management
Keeping pace with growth, managing its impacts, and measuring its impact on your organizations are difficult tasks. At Tracker Software we see ourselves as partners offering insights and solutions to the sometimes simple and sometimes vexing challenges you face.
Table of Contents Volume 1, Edition 2
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