City of Bloomington issued the following announcement on Feb. 20.
Public Works is a diverse department in the City of Bloomington. The Department has three divisions that work together, with support from Public Works Administration, to accomplish its vision, mission, and values. The Divisions include Water, Engineering, and Public Service. Although the Department continues to operate with limited resources, staff, contractors, and consultants completed another successful year. Public Works released a 14-page report with additional details, photos, and graphics to highlight the Department's 2018 accomplishments. Click here to view a PDF of the document. Major accomplishments for the Department in 2018 include:
Winning awards from the American Public Works Association, Illinois Chapter, and the Illinois Potable Water Supply Operators Association
Balancing the Solid Waste Fund by proposing solid waste fee and service changes that were ultimately approved by council
Revitalizing and refurbishing the Citizen Convenience Center (formerly known as the Drop-off Facility)
Reorganizing the Public Works Department to include the Water Department as a division of Public Works
Overseeing three major water main projects
Establishing a train horn quiet zone at three Union Pacific / Amtrak at-grade crossings
Making progress on ADA ramps and sidewalks
Resurfacing and maintaining streets
Implementing Complete Streets on Front, from Madison to East
Launching a drone program for design development of engineering projects
Signalizing the intersection of Streid and Ireland Grove
Partnering with McLean County to improve Towanda Barnes at Ireland Grove
Modeling the water distribution system with WaterGEMS
Additional 2018 accomplishments for the Department include:
Implementing permit fees that are projected to cover the cost of administering permits
Replacing 3,000 outdated residential water meters to account for water usage and control water fees
Improving alertness and safety by providing snacks and bottled water to employees during snow events
Constructing a new parking lot at the Fleet Maintenance building
Installing shoreline protection on Lake Bloomington and Evergreen Lake and installing stream stabilization at T3, which is a tributary of Evergreen Lake
Converting the existing 2400 volt electrical distribution systems to 480 volts, which includes replacement of components due to failure, end of useful life, age, inefficiencies and safety concerns
Providing education during lunch and learn career sessions, morning field trip sessions, and workshops that covers water career options and issues that impact our water supply.
For more information, please visit Public Works online at www.cityblm.org/publicworks or contact Jim Karch, P.E., MPA, Director of Public Works, at 309-434-2225.
Original source can be found here.
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