Around The Industry By Gary Gleason

A Tracker Software Corporation Product

Around The Industry
By Gary Gleason

As we move full-swing into the busy summer season, public works organizations across the country continue to show resilience and ingenuity in the face of adversity, and PubWorks continues to play a key role in helping savvy managers make the difficult decisions.

Keeping Pace with Growth
From the industry leaders we spoke with, it appears that many public works organizations are focused more on accommodating growth and maintaining current assets than they are on new capital projects. This is not shocking news, given current financial pressures.

“We are still one of the fastest growing counties in the country, so we take on about 30 miles of new roads per year,” said Shawna Potter, Administrative Support Specialist for Douglass County Road and Bridge just south of Denver. “We just keep hiring.”

There are many locales we spoke with, however, who can’t find the staff they need to meet demand. John Wenzel, Public Works Director for the Town of Basalt, Colorado says they are having a very difficult time filling positions, and in some cases can’t even find contractors to do the work.

“We’re having a hard time getting contractors to even bid our work. We had to shelve a project excavating and putting in streetlights, because we could not get a contractor. Everyone is so busy they are not really interested. I am guessing maybe the scale was not large enough for them compared to the other work that is available,” Wenzel said.

Similar experiences were reported in neighboring Pitkin County.

“We end up playing second fiddle to private sector construction, where the pay is a little better. We have been losing a lot of our guys, and having a hard time hiring, because of all the development going on,” noted Pitkin County Public Works Director and past APWA Chapter President Brian Pettit.

Pettit’s comments were echoed by Highway Superintendent Rob Chesley in Graham County, Arizona.

“Where in the past we would receive typically 20-50 applications for a position, this last time we got just seven, and many of them were not qualified,” Chesley said.

Finding Cost Savings in the World of Inflation
The biggest challenge reported by most public works managers is, not surprisingly, rising costs. According to Chesley, 2500 PSI concrete that was $66/yard last year is now $100/yard. Chip-seal oil that used to be in the $240 range, is now over $400 this year. Steel prices have more than doubled in the past three years.

“Everyone has thought at one time or another that they would like to see their government run more like a business,” commented Dave Schemansky, Project Manager for the City of Green, Ohio. “But the business world does not have to provide service 24/7. In the private sector, there are some things they just would not do. In government, we provide that service because the citizens demand it.”

Or, as Boulder County’s John Mosher pointed out, “If you are working on roads the public gets a little upset with you, but if you let the roads go by the wayside the public is going to kill you.”

In talking with PubWorks customers, we found some interesting strategies to help stretch budgets without eliminating essential services.

“With the fuel issue being such a big concern, we have gone to purchasing smaller vehicles: 4-cylinder Ford Rangers instead of full-sized pick ups for admin or such,” Chesley said. “Our people might prefer a full-sized truck, but we are putting them in a smaller vehicle.”

Chesley has also developed a contract with the state to purchase vehicles through federal surplus at what is known as blackbook rate, something just a little over wholesale pricing. Chesley, a former Arizona Department of Transportation employee, has also cut corners by obtaining donated millings from the state for county roadbeds.

Meanwhile, the Colorado Department of Transportation is recycling not just millings, but entire bridgeworks.

“One of the really exciting developments we have this summer will be to connect our two bike path systems over the Roaring Fork River using salvage from the old Maroon Creek bridge that CDOT is replacing this summer,” Wenzel said. “We are hoping to get it done by the end of this season, and are paying for it in part by a CDOT grant that my predecessor secured.”

Wenzel noted that some of their resurfacing projects this year have run in starts and stops, due to a dearth of chip-seal oil.

“Apparently each asphalt manufacturer is only getting so much oil, so they can’t keep up with demand. As a result we have had a lot of start and stop on our paving work. Oil is being rationed, so we have to wait,” Wenzel said.

Chesley suggested using “grease-ring tests” to see how much oil is really needed rather than just pulling a number based on past performance. “That can save a lot of oil,” he said.

According to Schemansky, The City of Green has kept expenses in check in part by outsourcing some of its public works activities to the county.

“There are some layers of a city government that we don’t have here, but instead contract with the county. That helps us to some degree, because we don’t have as large a baseline cost. A lot less dead weight here, and one of the most educated work forces I have ever worked with, Shemansky said. “Our coffers have been stayed relatively full, which is a real switch from past jobs, where we couldn’t rub two nickels together.”

GIS as a Financial Tool
While cutting unnecessary expenditures seems to be a mainstay of the industry, generating additional revenue is another way to address financial concerns. In Boulder, Colorado they are reworking their GIS to make sure they get their fair share of Highway User Tax Fund (HUTF) formula dollars.

“Under HUTF you get paid by lane mile. The state parcels out HUTF revenue based on road length, width and surface type, with most money going to paved,” explained Boulder County GIS and Traffic Coordinator John Mosher. “Instead of just looking at a bunch of numbers in a database we are actually linking the data to GIS to verify that all information is correct, and that what we are sending in [for HUTF grant request] is what is really out there. On a map you can see, ‘oh yeah, we widened that road ten years ago’, but maybe you forgot to enter the change into your database. It is an eye opener. When you can see the details graphically, from a management standpoint it is easier.”

Getting the Most out of your Work Management System
“What I always say, is that PubWorks is very simple, fast, and you can get anything you want out of it in a hundred different ways. Sometimes I don’t remember how I got a report the last time, but I can just figure out another way to get at the data. It is so simple,” Potter said.

Like many PubWorks customers, Potter uses data from the software for Board presentations and historical record of activities. They also use the software to help determine when it makes greater financial sense to purchase a piece of equipment versus renting. PubWorks customers in northern Colorado are taking a similar tack, using PubWorks reports to determine when it makes more sense to repair a piece of equipment as compared to replacing it.

According to Schemansky, in Green Ohio, “The one thing I have tried to instill is the need for better record keeping for liability and budget issues. With PubWorks, when the mayor asks about the cost of a resurfacing project, it is on his desk in about 5 minutes. He loves it.”

It is this sort of accountability for People, Places and Things that launched Tracker Software nine years ago, and the thing that keeps us motivated still. We understand that you cannot manage what you can’t measure, and are a proud partner in these challenging times.

Table of Contents Volume 2, Edition 2