By Small and Simple Things...

In my faith tradition, there's a scripture that says "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." In local government we do a lot of big things, but from day to day we do a lot of seemingly "small and simple" things that collectively make a community great. In this post I want to bring some attention to some of the recent "smaller" projects of our Public Works Department. And the best part: by doing some of these projects with staff expertise rather than contracting them out, we saved lots of tax payer money! #StretchingYourTaxDollars

Ballfield Renovations and Groomer Equipment
The three big items when it comes to baseball and softball field renovations are infields, backstops, and lights, and each year we try to tackle these improvements at several fields. This year we are renovating 2 infields, replacing 2 backstops, and replacing lights at one field. We are also purchasing infield groomer equipment that will allow us to better care for the infields during and between seasons. Below is a picture of a field getting its infield renovation a few weeks ago. This field had previously gotten new lights and backstops, and is now a first class facility!

Renovated infleld, lights, dugouts, and backstop. 

Recreation Complex Bathrooms
Last year we completely demolished and rebuilt two restrooms at the Complex, and we are currently performing major renovations on a third (expanding the footprint, installing all new plumbing, new roof, new garage door, etc.). And to top it off, by doing most of the work with our own staff rather than contracting it out, we are getting it done for less than half the cost! #StretchingYourTaxDollars

New bathroom near the tennis courts. 

New bathroom near the high school soccer fields. 

Bathroom renovation underway near the t-ball fields. 

Recreation Complex Painting Projects
Sometimes a new coat of paint makes a world of difference. In addition to the new bathroom buildings in the Complex, our Parks Division staff has been repainting other bathrooms, picnic shelters, and concession stands to put our best face forward.

Jaycee Football Building, Before and After.

Repainted Soccer Concession Stand.

Repainted Dudley Park Bathroom.

Repainted Dudley Park Picnic Shelter.

Recreation Complex New Soccer Goals
The Parks Division bought eight new sets of soccer goals (16 individual goals). These are both lighter and easier to secure to the ground, so they are easier and safer to move and to play around.

New Soccer Goal and Net at the Complex.

DIY (Do It Yourself) Salt Brine Mixer
We don't have to worry about snow and ice yet (knock on wood!), but when winter hits this year it will be easier to pre-treat the streets with salt brine (a salt water mixture) to keep ice from adhering to the streets, because our crews built their own mixer. For about $1,000 in materials, they built a mixer that would have cost over $10,000 to buy commercially. #StretchingYourTaxDollars

Salt Brine Mixer Built by Public Works Staff

Downtown ADA Improvements
We recently completed a project to replace or install 23 ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant sidewalk curb ramps. These ramps not only allow individuals in wheelchairs to travel more easily, but also people with less severe mobility impairments, parents pushing strollers, and young children on bikes.

New wheelchair ramp near AT&T Building on Front St. 

New ADA curb ramps near Municipal Court at Front St and New Madrid St.

Street Sweeping
The Street Division replaced our old and unreliable street sweeper with a new model this year. Not only is it more efficient (it picks up about 4 times as much debris in the same amount of time), it can also travel at normal speeds when not sweeping, so it can travel to work areas and to dump sites much faster. It also has a suspension (unlike the old sweeper) so it's easier on the drivers. Not only that, many of the parts such as hoses and valves can be replaced from any hardware store instead of having to buy an expensive specialized part.

New street sweeper right after its daily cleanout.

Demolitions
Public Works recently completed the demolition of 16 unlivable houses and one commercial structure as part of our efforts to clear dilapidated buildings. These demolitions were 100% funded by CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds at no cost to the city. #StretchingYourTaxDollars

The gravel lot above used to be inhabited by a termite infested dilapidated
building which was demolished by Public Works using grant funds. 

Airport Terminal and Operations
The Public Works Department created an Airport Division this year and took over operations of the airport. We also completed construction of a new terminal building and are preparing to demolish the old building.

The new airport terminal building is now compete and open for business. 

DIY Animal Cages
Code Enforcement and Animal Control Officer Jamie Williams designed and constructed the cage below for use by the Animal Control Division. In the past Jamie has also designed and constructed specialized skunk traps that keep both the caged animal, and any humans nearby, safe and happy. #StretchingYourTaxDollars

Animal cage designed and built by our own staff. 

Upcoming Projects
This year's budget contains funds for several other Public Works projects and purchases that we are looking forward to, including purchase of 4 sets of standard bleachers and 2 sets of deluxe bleachers, new mowers for the parks, new mosquito fogging equipment, a snow plow blade for one of the pickups (for use in tighter spots than the dump trucks can fit), a trail link between the Complex and the former Bootheel Golf Course, paving a parking lot at Lincoln Park, and building maintenance at the animal shelter.

Public Works and Public Safety Appreciation

Fittingly, this week is both Public Works Week and National Police Week. Since Public Works and Public Safety make up 87% of City of Sikeston employees, we have a lot to celebrate! And it's appropriate to think about both groups of employees together, because so often they are working side by side to serve our community, especially in emergency and disaster situations. Last week in fact, we had street division workers and public safety officers working together to close streets, reroute traffic, and secure the site of a an old building that was damaged by high winds and was threatening to fall into the street and onto adjacent businesses. A few weeks before that Public Works and Public Safety worked together in an unexpected way when officers were pursuing a suspect on foot, and a Public Works employee who happened to be working nearby witnessed the pursuit and led officers to where the suspect had hidden. Please join me in celebrating our Public Works and Public Safety employees!

                                                Photo courtesy of Sikeston Standard Democrat

Stretching Your Tax Dollars - Part 3

Public Works saved $10,000 by building this salt brine mixer instead of buying one.
The tank is dual purpose and can be cleaned out and used for watering trees in the summer.
The pump is dual purpose and can be removed for pumping flood waters when needed.

These tanks can each hold 275 gallons of pre-mixed salt brine for applying to
the roads when there is snow and ice expected.

City of Sikeston staff is always looking for ways to save money and stretch the precious tax dollars we receive from our citizens. The latest example is from our Public Works Department, who this week put the final touches on a "home made" salt brine mixer. Salt brine is a mixture of salt and water that can be applied directly to the streets before snow and ice hits, or it can be sprayed onto rock salt to help the salt stick to the streets when it is spread.

The total cost for Public Works to build this salt brine mixer from existing equipment and some new materials was $1,001. When we sought bids for a ready-made salt brine mixer the lowest bid received was $11,846, meaning that our Public Works staff saved over $10,000 in taxpayer money using their own creativity and mechanical skills!   

Dark, Wet and Cold

City snow plows clear the airport runway after spending all night plowing the streets. 

I like to use this blog to show some of the "behind the scenes" work of city employees; things that the general public probably doesn't get to see firsthand very often. Last week we had very cold temperatures and one round of snowy weather in Sikeston. Both our Public Works and Public Safety departments are on high alert during winter storms, dealing with difficult and sometimes dangerous situations.

During the day before the storm hit overnight, Public Works employees (both Street and Park divisions) were on the streets salting intersections, hills, curves, and other areas that can be troublesome when there is snow and ice on the ground. Those crews went home at the end of their normal shift in the afternoon and were on call to return overnight whenever the weather arrived. At about 1:00 a.m. crews were called back in to start plowing the streets, and they worked throughout the night and into the next day.

Public Safety Officers were also hard at work doing their normal patrols overnight during the storm, but then around 5:00 a.m. the Department of Public Safety (DPS) also received a call for mutual aid at a fire at a manufacturing facility in a neighboring community. Sikeston DPS crews were on scene at that fire until around 9:00 a.m. Ironically, cold was perhaps as much a threat as heat to these firefighters, who were struggled to stay dry while spraying water in the extremely cold pre-dawn fire response.

Later that afternoon, DPS received another call for mutual aid, this time from the Scott County Sheriff's Office for help with a search for a missing person. DPS sent search and rescue personnel and our mobile command unit, from which the search could be coordinated in the sub-freezing temperatures.

While most of us were sleeping or staying inside where it was warm and dry, city employees in the Public Works and Public Safety Departments were plowing streets, spreading salt, working traffic accidents, and searching the woods for a missing person. I'm grateful for the public servants who keep our city community running even in the dark, wet and cold of a winter storm.  

Following Through on Promises

In November 2015, voters overwhelming approved a new 1/2 cent sales tax in Sikeston, for the purposes of funding Public Safety, Streets and Parks. The City Council pledged that half of the new revenues would be used to make our Public Safety salaries more market competitive, and the other half would fund new capital improvements in our Streets and Parks divisions. To demonstrate the city's commitment to following through on those promises made to the voters, we've just launched a new webpage where we explain what we've done with Public Safety salaries, and where we'll track the Streets and Parks projects as they are completed. #BuildingTrustThroughTransparency

Annual Audit: Clean Again!

Did you know that the city undergoes an independent audit of its financial statements by a certified public accountant every year? And that the audit reports are available for free public viewing 24/7 on the city's website? The audit of the Fiscal Year 2015 financials has been completed and is now available at http://www.sikeston.org/financial_and_annual_reports/index.php. 

Once again, we received a "clean" or unqualified opinion on our finances. Highlights include: 

• The auditor’s report expresses an unqualified opinion on the financial statements of the City of Sikeston (in other words, the auditor found no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses).
• No significant deficiencies were found in the financial statements’ compliance with generally accepted accounting principles and the requirements of the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB).
• No material weaknesses in internal controls were found.
• No material weaknesses in compliance with federal award programs were found.