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Bruce Brooks stands in front of the Menzi Muck AG. Each wheel acts independently, and there a grinding, scooping and mowing heads. The vehicle is used to chop weeds and clear obstructions in ditches and canals.<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY NICOLE DROEGER<\/p>\n
PUNTA GORDA \u2014 Public Works is a big job in Charlotte County, encompassing hundreds of square miles of territory and providing dozens of essential services that residents often take for granted.<\/p>\n
Charlotte County Public Works leaders took time out this week at their Punta Gorda headquarters to explain their fundamentals of service and explain some of the equipment they use.<\/p>\n
Public works manages six divisions of service, each with a leadership team, which are overseen by the public works director. Five out of seven leaders are women.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe like to put the best people in the best positions, and these are it,\u201d said Chad Ray, public relations manager for the Public Works Department. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t ask for a better team.<\/p>\n
ASSET MANAGEMENT<\/p>\n
The county uses Trimble<\/a> through CityWorks, a geographic information system that organizes and manages public assets, so managers can make data-informed decisions. The software includes GPS capabilities and tracks information like the location of underground pipes.<\/p>\n That’s important when you’re trying to keep track of hundreds of facilities and projects that all need upkeep\u00a0\u2014 and repair when disaster strikes.<\/p>\n \u201cUsing CityWorks, we\u2019ve got a zone map that we use for hurricane debris,\u201d John Elias, public works director said.<\/p>\n Included under asset management are camera inspection vehicles, ground-penetrating radar devices and shelter mobilization during storms.<\/p>\n The pipe camera is operated by a console controller.<\/p>\n PHOTO BY NICOLE DROEGER<\/p>\n The inspection vehicle uses a 360-degree camera that can spin in multiple directions to capture live footage of the inside of a pipe as it probes for leaks, chokepoints or other problems. The camera is operated using a console-like controller, and a worker inside the vehicle controls what footage is captured.<\/p>\n Before modern technology, public works used a pipe camera nozzle to investigate the interior of pipes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe camera would screw on, but the pressure from the nozzle would actually loosen it and blow the camera off,\u201d Carly Hobson, leadership for asset management said. \u201cYou would have to crawl in and get it.\u201d<\/p>\n BUSINESS SERVICES<\/p>\n Grants, public relations, onboard training and administrative support is operated under Kenna Hubai\u2019s leadership. The division also maintains and sell plots in local cemeteries.<\/p>\n Public works is accredited under the American Public Works Association.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s some standards that you’re put up against, and then you either make your accreditation or you don’t,\u201d Elias said. \u201cNot only will we make the accreditation, but I think nine of our model practices were so good that they get published in their actual document, and that’s national certification.\u201d<\/p>\n The division is responsible for connecting county schools to the School Zone Speed Enforcement Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was pushed down from Tallahassee,\u201d Elias said. \u201cThat got pushed down the local county commissioners. We’re working with the city of Punta Gorda and they’re still going to bring on some schools online.\u201d<\/p>\n The county uses RedSpeed<\/a> cameras to track license plates of vehicles in violation of the school zone speed limit. Elias said the cameras are installed and maintained by RedSpeed rather than public works.<\/p>\n ENGINEERING<\/p>\n A CAT small wheel loader gets plenty of use.<\/p>\n PHOTO BY NICOLE DROEGER<\/p>\n Transportation, surveying, excavation and stormwater management fall under engineering\u2019s scope of responsibility.<\/p>\n Joanne Vernon serves as leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cShe’s responsible for all the paving of the road network,\u201d Elias said.<\/p>\n The county tries to resurface roads at a maximum of 20 years.<\/p>\n Public Works has had to work around underground fiber network installations that go block to block, and Florida Power and Light upgrades across the county.<\/p>\n The fiberoptic installation has been known to wreak havoc on underground water and sewer pipes, roads and other utilities that residents count on.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother program that we’re not against, but that whole high-speed internet was pushed down federally to state and then locally,\u201d Elias said. \u201cIt kind of ties our hands to it, but they’ve torn up a tremendous amount of infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n MAINTENANCE & OPERATIONS<\/p>\n The largest division in public works is responsible for drainage, road and bridge maintenance, including the Tom Adams Bridge in Englewood and the South Gulf Cove Lock.<\/p>\n MSBU-TU and project management falls under the responsibility of Karly Greene\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are specific taxing units where only this money can be spent through an assessment \u2014 not your ad valorem taxes \u2014 but a special assessment for every vacant or occupied property,\u201d Elias said. \u201cIt’s how we fund stuff here.\u201d<\/p>\n Rich Lisenbee with traffic management control said public works uses Bosch cameras<\/a> to monitor traffic intersections.<\/p>\n PHOTO BY NICOLE DROEGER<\/p>\n The lighting district is in charge of operating and maintaining traffic signals in the county. Live cameras are used to observe traffic intersections, but the cameras do not record vehicle information.<\/p>\n Some intersection cameras use virtual detectors to determine traffic patterns and when a car passes through the dilemma zone, when a traffic light is turning from yellow to red while a car is moving.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there’s enough time and you hit that dilemma zone, you will get green,\u201d Rich Lisenbee with traffic management control said. \u201cSo you don’t have to worry about that.\u201d<\/p>\n The division also ensures traffic signs are installed and maintained to withstand future storms, and they are in charge of updating road paint.<\/p>\n MOSQUITO & AQUATIC WEED CONTROL<\/p>\n With only one city in Charlotte County, the Public Works Department is in charge of a very large residential area, that includes Port Charlotte, Deep Creek, Rotonda West and a good portion of Englewood. Many areas were plotted out by developers like General Development Corp., and have been built up at varying rates over the decades.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re in a very unique situation where we provide almost urban levels of service in a very rural-type setting,\u201d Elias said. \u201cThere’s some areas that there’s barely a house out there, but we have to do mosquito control.\u201d<\/p>\n Under Laura Kraft\u2019s leadership, scientists research the mosquito population and determine methods to deter mosquito breeding.<\/p>\n A jar full of mosquitoes public works have identified in the region.<\/p>\n PHOTO BY NICOLE DROEGER<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s only so many modes that we’re using to kill mosquitoes, and there is a resistance that we’re seeing being built up in the population,\u201d Elias said. \u201cIt’s something that we’re working through and trying to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n To track mosquito-borne illnesses, public works runs a sentinel chicken program and draws blood to determine diseases in the region.<\/p>\n The division also uses a water conveyor system for aquatic drainage and weed control.<\/p>\n SOLID WASTE<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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