The Premier Magazine For America’s Municipalities
June 2021
WATER & ENERGY
INSIDE: Protecting water systems from cyber threats Bolingbrook, IL Permit No. 1939
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Contents
June 2021 | VOL. 12 No. 3 | www.themunicipal.com
Shutterstock photos
26
21 Focus on Water & Energy
36
22 Focus on Water &
Energy: Protecting your water utility from cyber threats
26 Focus on Water &
Energy: An ‘array’ of benefits: Healdsburg creates the nation’s largest floating solar array
50 Parks & Environmental
30 Focus on Water & 34 Focus on Water &
trucks, more bikes: Santa Cruz paving project focuses on the environment
Energy: Wisconsin city and county partner to realize energy savings
36 Focus on Water &
Energy: Huron Watershed city project educates the public about stormwater
44 Public Safety: Helena Police Department extends a hand to veterans with a new program
54
Bridges: How a new system in Dickinson, N.D., gives residents real-time flood alerts Services: Pickleball picks up steam at municipal parks nationwide
Energy: Oceanside turns to purified wastewater to reduce the need for imported water
50
46 Streets, Highways &
52 Public Works: Fewer 54 Maintenance &
Operations: Historic belfry gets helping hand in Asheville
58 Technology: Solar panel
roadways gain real-world testing in Peachtree Corners
60 Municipal Management: Community engagement is a top priority in Rancho Cucamonga
ON THE COVER Building more resilient operations is a goal harbored by many municipalities across the globe. AIMS Power is keen to offer cities solar alternatives to traditional backup power sources. The company’s range of solar panels, batteries and inverters ensure a smooth continuation of operations while being environmentally conscious. Learn more on page 12.
June 2021
WATER & ENERGY
INSIDE: Protecting water systems from cyber threats
www.themunicipal.com
6 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
U.S.’s largest floating solar farm
JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 7
Departments
Meet our Staff publisher RON BAUMGARTNER rbaumgartner@the-papers.com
10 Editor’s Note: Building resiliency against mayhem
editor-in-chief DEB PATTERSON dpatterson@the-papers.com
editor SARAH WRIGHT swright@the-papers.com
publication manager CHRIS SMITH chris@themunicipal.com
senior account executive REES WOODCOCK rees@themunicipal.com
graphic designer MARY LESTER mlester@the-papers.com
business manager CARRIE GORALCZYK cgoralczyk@the-papers.com
12 From the Cover: AIMS Power offers tools to develop resiliency
14 Unique Claims to Fame: American Computer & Robotics Museum, Bozeman, Mont.
17 City Seals: Jonesboro, Ark. 42 Personality Profile: Going the
distance: Public works employee runs to help raise funds
64 Conference Calendar 65 Product Spotlights 66 Company Profile: What to do when you find manmade toxic chemicals in your water system
director of marketing STEVE MEADOWS smeadows@the-papers.com
72 News & Notes 76 Top 10: ‘Cheesiest’ cities in America 81 Advertiser Index
mail manager KHOEUN KHOEUTH kkhoeuth@the-papers.com
WWW.THEMUNICIPAL.COM PO Box 188 • 206 S. Main St., Milford, IN 46542 866-580-1138/Fax 800–886–3796 Editorial Ext. 2307; Advertising Ext. 2505, 2408 or 2489
8 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
The Municipal does not knowingly accept false or misleading advertising or editorial content, nor does The Municipal or its staff assume responsibility should such advertising or editorial content appear in any publication. The Municipal reserves the right to determine the suitability of all materials submitted for publication and to edit all submitted materials for clarity and space. The Municipal has not independently tested any services or products advertised herein and has verified no claims made by its advertisers regarding those services or products. The Municipal makes no warranties or representations and assumes no liability for any claims regarding those services or products or claims made by advertisers regarding such products or services. Readers are advised to consult with the advertiser regarding any such claims and regarding the suitability of an advertiser’s products. No reproduction of The Municipal is allowed without express written permission. Copyright © 2021.
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Editor’s Note
Building resiliency against mayhem Sarah Wright | Editor
W
hen things go wrong, they tend to go really wrong — in accordance with Murphy’s Law, of course. Being a fan of the TopTenz YouTube channel, my eyes have been opened to just how fragile our human systems are when confronted by extreme displays of nature, cosmic catastrophes or even nefarious players, who have to muck it up for everyone else. With the right punch, basic services and utilities can be knocked out, a disruption no one wants, especially if it stretches — like seen in the South following February’s massive winter storm. The pandemic tested all avenues of city operations in 2020, and 2021 has proven equally as interesting for utilities. In early February, a hacker adjusted Bruce T. Haddock Water Treatment Plant’s — located in Oldsmar, Fla. — sodium hydroxide to unsafe levels. Thankfully, the facility’s remote supervisor saw the tampering and made the appropriate adjustments. While this may seem to be a rare occurrence, writer Denise Fedorow found it happens more often than one might suspect and not always by a faceless individual in another country miles away but by former disgruntled employees — a key reason to remove access upon termination. On this issue, Fedorow spoke with the American Water Works Association and Mandiant Threat Intelligence at FireEye about ways utilities can safeguard against cyberattacks. She also shares tools the AWWA has developed for its members to become more secure. Securing new sources of water can also aid resiliency. Oceanside, Calif., is constructing a state-of-art recycled water purification facility called Pure Water Oceanside. This facility
10 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
will reduce Oceanside’s imported water by 45% while making the city more drought proof. Writer Nicholette Carlson shares more about Pure Water Oceanside in this issue, including how its purification process will work. Having different means for maintaining power in a crisis is another important aspect of resiliency planning. Many municipalities have already begun to adopt alternative power sources like solar and wind to meet carbon footprint reductions; however, in a pinch, these alternatives, when paired with batteries or generators, could maintain city operations during a power outage. Healdsburg, Calif., is doing something out of the norm with its solar array, namely, it’s floating it on top of the wastewater treatment facility’s ponds. Writer Julie Young shares the new floating solar array is proving to be a triple threat for the community: meeting environmental goals, reducing algae buildup and producing 8% of the community’s annual electrical needs. It’s a rather cool project Healdsburg has going on! It’s also the largest floating solar array in the U.S. Other water and energy articles include a partnership between Madison and Dane County in Wisconsin to improve the energy efficiency of their shared City-County Building and Ann Arbor, Mich.’s, impressive stormwater management program. Thank you, utility workers, for keeping the power on and the water flowing. Without you, society would truly fall apart.
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From The Cover
AIMS Power offers tools to develop resiliency By SARAH WRIGHT | The Municipal
R
esiliency has become a buzzword nationwide amongst city officials as they move to ensure their municipalities can weather unexpected storms, literal and metaphorical. Unexpected power outages, in particular, can cause extensive disruptions to vital services and emergency responses. For this reason, many
municipalities have embraced generators, with gasoline and diesel generators serving as go-to backup power sources. While providing uninterrupted power, these generators take time to power up and are powered by carbon-based fuels, a habit many cities are attempting to kick as both officials and residents grow more conscious of the environmental impact caused by these fuels. Beyond mandates aimed at reducing carbon footprints, cities must also consider the potential for fuel shortages in the midst of a disaster. AIMS Power has seen these potential hiccups and created innovative solar alternatives made possible by improvements in battery
AIMS Power offers numerous solutions to ensure resiliency during unexpected power outages. With its solar panels, batteries, inverters and other innovative products, municipalities can continue to serve residents. (Photo provided)
12 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
and inverter technologies, which have also plummeted renewable energy prices. “We’ve been working 20 years making products that can provide power when there just isn’t any other source for it — perhaps in a remote location or the city power is just down,” AIMS Power President Bruce de Jong said. “Our batteries are ready and charged up, using our own battery chargers and/or solar panels.” Based in Reno, Nev., AIMS Power has garnered notice in the off-grid and renewable energy sector, thanks to its products, which serve as trusted sources of power to many of the world’s largest companies and government organizations. It has also found a niche in the RV industry, where it is a provider of portable power solutions. Among its offerings are DC to AC inverters, solar panels, deep-cycle batteries, solar charge controllers, controllers, cables, fuse kits and more. AIMS Power’s inverter chargers feature much larger capacities compared with competitors’ while being within a consumer-friendly cost
point. Most competitors offer a 3,000-watt unit, while AIMS Power has an off-the-shelf 12,000-watt inverter charger. De Jong said, “Our inverter chargers are among the most durable, are easy to use and are rich with features. We have over 50 models, and they all have algorithms to charge any battery type. Priority can be set to either AC in or battery. They also switch over rapidly and seamlessly.” The company’s low frequency and pure sine inverter chargers come in 12-, 24-, 48- and 384-volt variants. These inverters feature automatic power transfer bypass. Producing cleaner power, the pure sine inverter chargers are all-in-one devices that convert DC power to AC power, enabling them to charge a backup battery bank for use when AC power is disconnected or electricity from the local utility is lost. “Our inverter chargers are used worldwide for emergency backup systems,” de Jong said. “Whether it’s an alarm, cash register, lighting or barricade systems, you can count on the AIMS Power system to power your backup or portable needs.” In the pursuit of green energy, cost-savings and resiliency, cities are embracing solar panels. AIMS Power offers a wide range of 60-watt to 275watt solar panels in rigid and foldable variants for several applications. “Cities all over use our inverters with solar to provide clean, reliable emergency and daily use power,” he shared. “We can help design systems that a handy man or electrician can install. Larger systems are generally installed by professional solar installers.” Additionally, the company carries an extensive selection of AGM and lithium deep-cycle batteries and accessories available in many versions. AIMS Power combines its lithium iron phosphate batteries with a smart battery management system. This pairing brings more efficient power, delivering full power until the cell is fully discharged while not impacting battery health. “Recently a customer that was using a variety of battery chemistries found their city employees were using the same chargers to charge up the batteries. The batteries weren’t lasting, and they were wasting tens of thousands of dollars buying new batteries,” de Jong shared. “They called us, and we found the problem and advised that our chargers are programmed for seven different chemistries. This solved their problem so now they buy our chargers and inverter chargers to take care of their charging needs no matter what battery type they have.” AIMS Power continues to prioritize innovation and its philosophy of sustainable living. Living by this principle, its own office building in Reno is entirely off the grid. In 2021, the company will be introducing hybrid inverters to tale solar power and load share with city power to reduce clients’ energy bill. These inverters will also allow net metering for energy credits. A control unit is also underway, which will put data into a single box, enabling users to control the AIMS Power products remotely via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. “As AIMS Power moves forward in the development of new products, we continually appreciate the input and feedback we get from our customers,” de Jong said. “It’s really what has driven our success for now our 21st year. We look forward to releasing our central control and display units that are able to pop warning messages to cellphones, send updates on battery levels and notify about equipment failures. It will also have full software manuals and remote updates, and the list goes on. Later this year, our hybrid inverter will be released. This will be our product line to enter the grid market. Our units will be very flexible and be a tremendous upgrade to the current grid inverters. Stay tuned for the details.” For information, visit aimscorp.net.
This graph showcases the Aimscore Central Hub’s connectivity, which connects smartphones, PCs or optional LCD displays with batteries, inverter chargers and solar charge controllers. (Photo provided)
AIMS Power’s inverter chargers feature much larger capacities compared with competitors’ alternatives. Most competitors offer a 3,000-watt unit, while AIMS Power has an off-the-shelf 12,000watt inverter charger. (Photo provided)
JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 13
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Unique Claims To Fame
American Computer & Robotics Museum
Bozeman, Mont. By RAY BALOGH | The Municipal
One can often be fooled by first impressions.
ABOVE: Barbara Keremedjiev co-founded the museum with her husband, George, who passed away in November 2018. (Photo provided by Rachel Leathe, Bozeman Daily Chronicle) TOP PHOTO: The unpretentious facade of the American Computer & Robotics Museum belies the wonderland of fascinating exhibits, and their attendant stories, within its walls. (EQRoy/Shutterstock.com)
14 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
But making that mistake with the American Computer & Robotics Museum in Bozeman, Mont., will deny one the opportunity to experience a place visitors have hailed as “absolutely amazing,” “small but fascinating,” “little gem of a museum” and, according to Dr. Edward O. Wilson, professor emeritus at Harvard University, “inch for inch, the best museum in the world.” The nondescript exterior and unassuming welcome sign of the shared suite location downtown might lead visitors to “expect a sterile display of computers on shelves like you might see inside Staples,” said Eleanor Barker, the museum’s enthusiastic executive director. “But what always surprises them is the range of fascinating stories we’re telling through our artifacts.” The museum, founded in May 1990 by “visionary collector” George Keremedjiev, “is the oldest continually operating museum of its kind in the world,” according to its website, www.acrmuseum.org. Keremedjiev passed away in November 2018, and Barker sees her challenge as “turning a labor of love run by George and his family into an institution that has prominence nationally. Only four or five
The motherboard of an original Apple I computer was signed and donated by its inventor, Steve Wozniak. (Photo provided by American Computer & Robotics Museum)
The museum owns the last surviving mainframe computer used by Mission Control for the Apollo 11 moon landing. During her tours, Eleanor Barker, the museum’s executive director, opens a modern greeting card, which plays “Eye of the Tiger,” and notes the musical chip contains 30 times as much memory as the mainframe. (Photo provided by American Computer & Robotics Museum)
museums in the world are devoted to the CEC 30-103 computer A Sumerian cuneiform tablet, dated 2000 Information Age and we have the potential “This was the first commercially available B.C., is the oldest artifact in the museum to stand out.” electronic computer, and quite probably the and represents the starting point in the The museum is well along that trajectory last one in existence,” Barker said. The comnarrative of 4,000 years of humans’ jourwith its host of riveting displays and exhib- puter could calculate 12 simultaneous linear ney of information. (Photo provided by its, assembled in a one-of-a-kind collection, equations in 45 minutes, a task requiring sevAmerican Computer & Robotics Museum) decades in the making, that spans 4,000 years eral hours for a mechanical computer. of information technology. Mission Control mainframe computer Artifacts include: The half-ton mainframe used to guide the First edition of ‘Rossum’s Universal Cuneiform tablet first moon landing on July 20, 1969, takes up Robots’ The clay tablet from Sumeria dates from 2000 the space of six refrigerators and contains Czechoslovakian playwright Karl Capek B.C. and describes a financial transaction just 32 kilobytes of memory, only 1/30 the introduced the word “robot” to the English between a high-ranking official and an agri- memory of a musical greeting card sold today. language exactly 100 years ago in his 1921 cultural supplier. Keremedjiev rescued the mainframe from play about artificial factory workers who “Why do we have that in a computer a Houston warehouse, where it was awaiting evolve into independent sentient beings. He adapted the word from the Czech term museum?” asked Barker. “Because our the scrap heap. interest is the flow of information — how it is “roboti,” which means slave. recorded, stored and transmitted — and how Moon landing wristwatch technology has impacted that flow through The Omega Speedmaster wristwatch is Robby the Robot equipped with an oversized watch band The iconic character made its debut in the the centuries.” designed to be worn over Apollo 15 Com- 1956 sci-fi movie, “Forbidden Planet,” and mander David Scott’s space suit when he subsequently appeared as a regular in “Lost Original Apple I computer The motherboard from an Apple I computer walked on the moon. Barker recounted a in Space” and made cameo appearances in is signed by its inventor Steve Wozniak. He memorable incident about the artifact. “A “The Addams Family” and “Columbo.” personally donated it to the museum about gal visiting the museum literally screamed The American Computer & Robotics 15 years ago. “It is the pride of our collection,” when she saw it, because her best friend in Museum dedicates a section to notable said Barker, “and definitely one of the muse- childhood was Commander Scott’s daughter. women in the field of mathematics, physics um’s ‘wow’ objects.” She called her friend and said, ‘You’ll never and technology, including: believe what I’m looking at right now!’” JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 15
continued from page 15
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• Mathematician Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), considered the world’s first computer programmer, who in 1843 wrote the world’s first machine algorithm for the Analytic Engine, an early computing machine that existed only on paper. • Archaeologist Sarak Parcak (b. 1979), who initiated the revolutionary practice of using satellite imaging to locate and map ancient sites around the globe. When Keremedjiev, proposed the exhibit, he said, “Without a doubt, women were the first computer programmers.” The museum owns or has on loan thousands of artifacts, but fewer than half are on display because of its cramped quarters. Barker, however, peers into the horizon with unbridled optimism. “We’re looking forward to the next 30 years, which we hope will find us in a larger stand-alone building where we can display more of our collection. We have many more stories to tell.” After a two-year hiatus, the museum will resurrect the annual Stibitz and Wilson awards on Friday, Sept. 24, at the Rialto Theater in downtown Bozeman. The awards are named after prominent technological innovators George Stibitz and Edward O. Wilson. Past honorees include Walt Disney, Steve Wozniak and Ross Perot. Every year the museum draws more than 10,000 visitors “through our doors and another 3,000 to 4,000 who encounter us through outreach activities and big community events,” Barker said. Visitors have arrived from all 50 U.S. states and nations around the globe, including England, Ireland, France, Belgium, Poland, Australia and China. The museum, located at 2023 Stadium Drive, Suite 1-A, Bozeman, is open from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and is closed on holidays. The admission price is $7.50 for adults; and $4 for youth aged 10-17, seniors 65 and older and students. Admission is free for kids 9 and under and for members of the Association of Science and Technology Centers network, which serves more than 500 museums around the country. Virtual and in-person tours — depending on pandemic restrictions — are available for classes and clubs. For more information, call (406) 582-1288 or visit www.acrmuseum.org. 16 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
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City Seals
Jonesboro, Ark. The colorful ideographic line art of the city seal of Jonesboro, Ark., says a lot — and says it quite neatly.
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The circular seal is bounded by a perimeter reciting three of the city’s essential assets: people, pride and progress. The center is comprised of four diamond-shaped images signifying religion and education, industry, agriculture and medicine, all of which were important in the city’s evolution. In 1803 the Arkansas territory was acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase, and the Jonesboro area attracted hunters, trappers and traders who conducted business with the indigenous Native Americans. Jonesboro is located in the northeast corner of the state and was established simultaneously with the creation of Craighead County, which was carved from parts of three existing counties, on Feb. 19, 1859. Jonesboro was named the county seat, but as the county’s settlement expanded, Lake City was added as a second county seat, an arrangement shared by only 36 counties nationwide. Shortly after the St. Louis Southwestern, St. Louis-San Francisco and Missouri Pacific railways came to the area, Jonesboro was incorporated in 1883. The town prospered from sawmilling until the local timber supply was exhausted by 1910. Agriculture replaced the lumber industry as the town’s mainstay, aided in part by the establishment of a state agricultural training school, which became Arkansas State University in 1967. The history of Jonesboro, which had a population of 150 residents at its founding, reads like a chronicle of gritty serial resurgences following natural disasters, which included: • New Madrid earthquakes, 1811 and 1812. • Malaria epidemics, throughout the 19th century. • Fires in 1869, 1876 and 1878, each of which destroyed the then-existing county courthouse. • Great Mississippi Flood, 1927. • Droughts, 1930 and 1931. • Tornadoes, 1968, 1973 and 2020. Despite the setbacks, Jonesboro has averaged more than 30% growth per decade to reach its present population of 80,714. After the malaria epidemics, the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters founded St. Bernard’s Regional Center in 1900, which continues today as one of Jonesboro’s largest employers. In 1910 a group of area farmers experimented with growing rice. Their successful efforts led 20 years later to the construction of the then world’s largest rice mill, which is still operated by Riceland Foods. Other prominent agricultural industries include cotton and soybeans. Jonesboro is also a regional hub for Frito-Lay, ConAgra Foods, Kraft and Nestle. Notable celebrities from Jonesboro include best-selling novelist John Grisham; actor Ben Murphy, who starred in “Alias Smith and Jones”; Debbye Turner, Miss America 1990; and Hattie Caraway, the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate. For more information, visit www.jonesboro.org. JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 17
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Focus on: Water & Energy
$12 million Ann Arbor, Mich., collects around $12 million per year in stormwater fees, which are used to improve the city’s stormwater infrastructure.
Learn more about Ann Arbor’s ongoing stormwater projects on page 36.
$1.5 million A project to retrofit the City-County Building in Madison, Wis., is expected to cost this much. Madison and Dane County are coming together to complete this project, which will offer energy savings.
Focus on:
Water & ENERGY 45% Pure Water Oceanside, a recycled water purification facility, will reduce the amount of water that Oceanside, Calif., has to import by this percentage.
Learn more about this ambitious energy project on page 34. Read more about this innovative facility on page 30.
11,600 Healdsburg, Calif.’s, floating solar array features 11,600 panels. It is the largest floating solar array in the U.S.
11,100 parts A virtual intruder changed the sodium hydroxide levels at Bruce T. Haddock Water Treatment Plant in Oldsmar, Fla., from 100 parts per minute to 11,100.
More information available on page 26.
1,300 The number of households that Iowa City, Iowa’s, first-ever Energy Blitz hoped to reach with its energy saving kits.
Source: https://www.thegazette. com/news/iowa-city-launches-energyblitz-in-south-district/
Find how this unlawful intrusion is increasing vigilance within water utilities on page 22.
5,100 The approximate number of appointments that the Meadville Area Water Authority in Pennsylvania has made to upgrade water meters since 2012. MAWA approached the end of its upgrades in April.
Source: https://www.meadvilletribune.com/news/citys-water-meter-replacement-projectnears-finish-line/article_48c37916-971c-11eb-8969-fb06f0f4d3a0.html
JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 21
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Protecting your water utility from cyber threats By DENISE FEDOROW | The Municipal
Oldsmar, Fla., averted a potential catastrophe in February when someone breached the computer system at the Bruce T. Haddock Water Treatment Plant and changed the levels of sodium hydroxide from 100 parts per minute to 11,100 ppm. An operator monitoring the system happened to see the cursor moving across the screen and corrected the levels. “That’s called getting lucky,” Kevin Morley, manager of federal relations for American Water Works Association, said. During a press conference organized by the sheriff and city officials following the event, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said it was an “unlawful intrusion” to “part of the nation’s critical infrastructure.” The perpetrator actually made two attempts. The first was at 8 a.m. Feb. 5, but it was very brief, and the operator thought maybe supervisors were accessing the system through remote access. At 1:30 p.m., the system was again breached, but this time the perpetrator changed the amount of sodium hydroxide — a Kevin Morley, caustic ingredient in drain cleaners — to “sigmanager of federal nificant and dangerous levels,” according to relations for Amerithe sheriff. can Water Works The sheriff and city officials — Mayor Association Eric Seidel and City Manager Al
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ABOVE: Vigilance is key to preventing cyberattacks on water utilities. Water utilities should focus on implementing best security practices, such as avoiding exposure of critical assets to the internet, establishing redundancy mechanisms for critical assets, employing strict access control policies and raising security awareness among employees. (Shutterstock.com)
Braithwaite — stressed residents were never in danger because even if the cyber attack had not been detected, there are other controls in place that would’ve set off alarms before the increased ingredient could have entered the drinking water system. They also noted it takes 24-36 hours to hit the water system. At the time of the press conference on Feb. 8, Sheriff Gualtieri said they didn’t know whether the threat came from inside or outside the country. The FBI is still investigating the incident, so when called, Oldsmar’s assistant city manager said, “We’re not engaging in any conversations on that topic at this time.” During the press conference, Braithwaite responded to a reporter’s question by stating, “We anticipated this day coming — we talked about it and studied it.” However, Morley said the Oldsmar system had no firewall and a weak password, so “it didn’t require a lot of sophistication to hack it.” In a press report days after the incident, an FBI investigator was cited as stating the cyber actors likely accessed the system by exploiting cybersecurity weaknesses, including poor password security and an outdated Windows 7 operating system, and they likely used a shared software, Team Vision, to gain unauthorized access to the system.
Morley said this is not an isolated incident and shared a man was just indicted in Kansas for breaching a water utility. In that case, it was a terminated, disgruntled employee who shut down the water system. A press release dated March 31 stated that Wyatt A. Travnichek, 22, of Ellsworth, Kan., was indicted with one count of tampering with a public water system. On or about March 27, 2019, Travnichek knowingly accessed the Ellsworth County Rural District’s protected computer system without authorization. It is alleged Travnichek performed activities that shut down the processes at the facility, which affected the facility’s cleaning and disinfection procedures, with the intention of harming the Ellsworth Rural Water District #1, known as Post Rock Rural Water District. A special agent in charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division in Kansas said the indictment sends a clear message that individuals who intentionally violate these laws will be vigorously prosecuted. Upon conviction, the alleged crimes carry the following penalties: tampering with a public water system — up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 — and reckless damage to a protected computer during unauthorized access — up to five years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine. When asked how common these instances are, Morley replied, “It’s the number one threat to critical infrastructure and not exclusive to water.” Prioritizing and protecting cybersecurity Daniel Kapellman Zafra, manager of analysis, Mandiant Threat Intelligence at FireEye, a cybersecurity firm, spoke to the threats utilities face. He said all organizations are vulnerable to cyberattacks. “However, the water and wastewater sector is generally less mature in cybersecurity than other sectors. This is partly caused or exacerbated by the local nature of most operations: mostly small, municipality-owned utilities that rely on limited resources to support complex cybersecurity programs. Additionally, there is currently a lack of regulation and resources developed specifically to guide and enforce implementation of security controls in this sector.” Zafra added, “Some of the challenges water utilities face — similar to other critical infrastructure industries — include slowly maturing cybersecurity infrastructure, outdated hardware/software, unauthenticated protocols and lack of security resources and knowledge. This is especially important in water utilities, given their relevance for other industries and social well-being. “More than large-scale cyber physical attacks, water utilities face an immediate threat resulting from financially motivated criminals and low-sophistication actors that leverage commodity-type attacks or target internet-exposed assets (such as the case of the recent hack on a Florida water utility).” To protect against these types of attacks, Zafra said, “Water utilities should focus on implementing best security practices such as avoiding exposure of critical assets to internet, establishing redundancy mechanisms for critical assets, employing strict access control policies and raising security awareness among employees. They should also place emphasis on understanding the safety processes in place and how these could be (or not) bypassed by attackers via cyber means.” He added, “Further investment in regulation and guidance for supporting water utilities to mature their security programs would also be beneficial.”
The Bruce T. Haddock Water Treatment Plant in Oldsmar, Fla., was the victim of an attempted cyberattack on Feb. 5, 2021. The cyberattack was caught by a vigilant employee, and city officials stated in a press conference there were other redundacies in place that would have alerted them there was a problem before the elevated levels of sodium hydroxide hit the drinking water system, but an outdated operating system and weak passwords put the water utility in that vulnerable position, according to the FBI and cyber security officials. (Photos provided)
Even if a utility is confident it has a working security system in place, Zafra said, “Ideally any organization should invest at least in regular monitoring of traffic from non-trusted networks. In the case of organizations such as utilities, this traffic volume could be limited by implementing a robust segmentation that limits access to and from production networks. Organizations that reach a high maturity level and have access to the resources may also be able to hunt for malicious behaviors based on threat intelligence.” Morley pointed out in an article, “Priority on Cybersecurity,” which he wrote for DC Beat in March 2019: “Drinking water and wastewater systems not only manage sensitive personal data, they also operate process control systems that are essential to day-to-day operations. A cybersecurity breach in the water sector could result in serious harm to public health and safety, as well as other damages from service interruptions, lost data, compromised systems, litigation and repair costs and reputational harm. In fact, government intelligence has confirmed that drinking water and wastewater systems have been directly targeted by nation states, as part of multi-stage intrusion campaigns, and by individual criminal actors and other groups seeking to harm the United States or obtain illicit proceeds.” JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 23
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TABLE 1 Who must comply and when? Emergency Response Plan
(population served)
Risk and Resilience Assessment
>100,000
Mar. 31, 2020
Sept. 30, 2020
50,000-100,000
Dec. 31, 2020
June 30, 2020
3,300-50,000
June 30, 2021
Dec. 30, 2021
Community Water System
Pinellas County, Fla., Sheriff Bob Gualtieri — at the podium — held a press conference regarding the attempted hack at Oldsmar, Fla.’s, water treatment plant. Also with the sheriff are Oldsmar City Manager Al Braithwaite, far left, and Mayor Eric Seidel. (Screenshot via https://youtu.be/MkXDSOgLQ6M)
This table shows the deadlines community water systems had to comply with the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018’s requirements. (Table provided)
He wrote those attack campaigns used various tactics, including scorecard is something that can be taken to management to spur action. spear-phishing emails from a compromised legitimate email, watering For instance, if there are 20 priority one controls but the utility is only hole domains, credential gathering, open-source and network recon- implementing 10, managers can see the other 10 controls need working naissance, host-based exploitations and industrial control system on ASAP. infrastructure targeting. Morley stressed all these safeguards don’t mean a utility won’t be But AWWA has developed tools and training to help. “Since 2014, we breached, “but it makes it harder to do so. This is risk management, not developed a set of guidance and assessment tools for utilities to examine risk elimination.” vulnerability in line with the National Institute of Standards and TechAWWA also has a set of resources for small systems and developed nologies (NIST) cybersecurity framework,” Morley said, adding these training as well through a USDA grant. “It’s been very successful in helpwere developed along with the Obama administration under executive ing smaller utilities move along in getting things done.” order 13636. He said the impetus for the tools goes back to 2008 when officials Risk and resilience assessment developed a roadmap for security processes and discovered there was Morley shared a reminder that communities are under a statutory obli“a whole lot of different standards but no consistent template to apply gation under the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 to provide a those standards.” risk and resilience assessment, including cybersecurity, and also to have So in 2013, at the same time as the Obama executive order, AWWA put an emergency response plan, which requires an action plan. Larger sysin guidance for water utilities. Morley said the organization collaborated tems serving over 100,000 had their deadline last year. Systems serving with the Department of Homeland Security, EPA and NIST “to ensure between 50,000 to 100,000 had their first deadline in December 2020, the end product aligned with the federal family.” and the next one to certify the emergency response plan with the EPA is “We had the first sector-specific approach to applying controls for due June 30. Smaller systems, which compose the largest group — utilicybersecurity framework,” he said. ties serving 3,300-50,000 — have a deadline of June 30 for its risk and According to Morley, AWWA recognized it couldn’t expect someone resilience assessment and Dec. 30 for the emergency response plan. in small-town Mid-America to become a cyber expert, so the association “Getting cybersecurity right is not an easy issue — threats are persistent developed the tools in a way that its 52,000 diverse community water and mutable,” Morley said, adding, “The scary thing is, from a cybersesystems would find relevant. curity perspective, the parameter isn’t at the gate — the criminal element “We said let’s take this from the perspective of the utilities — how do can be anywhere in the world.” these controls apply to the guidance they use?” he said. But he said, “The priority one controls are foundational speed bumps The guidance tool asks questions about how utilities use technology, mitigating a lot of the large number of threat attempts we see. “If the Kansas utility had disabled the employee’s credentials when he such as whether they allow employees to “bring your own device” or not? He said there’s a set of 22 questions that utility managers either answer was fired and if Oldsmar had a firewall and a strong password — in these that they do or they don’t, and if they don’t know, they’ll need to find out. cases, there were no real speed bumps to accessing the systems.” Utilities “should have a basic working knowledge of how their system “So there’s some self-discovery there, and that’s really important,” Morley said. is moving information through the system. Once they know that, it’s The tool also allows them to prioritize controls, with priority one being easier to assess the risk.” a must-have. “They found it to be very useful in the decision-making “Cyber risk is a serious threat, and it is critical that organizations in process,” Morley said. the water sector make cybersecurity a top priority,” Morley said, adding, As the utility answers questions, one feature is a status check of 100 “Use the tools.” controls, and the utility gets a scorecard of its level of progress. The 24 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
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M Focus on: Water & Energy
An ‘array’ of benefits: Healdsburg creates the nation’s largest floating solar array
Pictured is an overhead shot of Healdsburg, Calif.’s, south pond solar array. (Photo provided)
26 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
Taken by the Healdsburg Police Department’s drone, this photo shows the solar project — near pond and far pond — during a dedication ceremony. Included in the picture from left are Felicia Smith; Rhea Borja; Michael Kremer; council member David Hagele; Mayor Evelyn Mitchell; Vice Mayor Ozzy Jiménez; council member Ariel Kelly; Jeff Kay; Terry Crowley; and Jon Wank. (Photo provided) By JULIE YOUNG | The Municipal
The city of Healdsburg, Calif.’s, new floating solar array didn’t start out to be a triple threat of environmental responsibility, but since its completion in January, it’s been generating quite a bit of buzz. Not only does the 4.78-megawatt photovoltaic array produce 8% of the community’s annual electrical needs, but it also shades the ponds at the Healdsburg wastewater treatment facility, reducing algae build-up so the recycled water can be sold for agricultural purposes. As if that weren’t enough, it is the largest floating solar array in the U.S. Made for shade According to Terry Crowley, P.E., utility director for the city of Healdsburg, having the largest floating array in the country was not the intent of the project, nor was producing nearly 5 megawatts of power for the city. The genesis of the project was the desire to mitigate algae growth within the city’s recycled water ponds. “The city explored various options to shade the ponds,” he said. “The two top tier options were shade balls (small balls that float on the water) or floating solar. In looking at the economics, float solar was found to be more economical due to the energy created.” Healdsburg’s wastewater treatment facility is a state-of-theart tertiary treatment system, which processes raw sewage into clean and disinfected recycled water that can be used in orchards,
vineyards and for other agricultural purposes. The water is stored in large thermoplastic-lined ponds and funneled through pipelines to those who need it, which reduces the demand for groundwater. The floating solar array is a concept that has been around for about 10 years, but the pricing was never within a range that was competitive with wholesale energy markets. After drafting the project with the support of the Northern California Power Agency and releasing a request for proposals, the contract was awarded to Dissingo as a power purchase agreement in June 2020. Construction began four months later and was completed in March. In addition to the novelty of being located on water and — at the present time — being the largest floating solar array in the nation, the floatation devices can be moved so city wastewater staff JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 27
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can inspect and repair the pond liners if necessary. Crowley said the project has a design life of 25 years but could operate a lot longer thanks to its ability to incorporate a future utility-scale battery storage system. The array is located on a 25 million-gallon tertiary pond and contains 11,600 panels. “Construction of the project went surprisingly smoothly, largely due to the efforts of White Pine Renewables and Collins Electrical,” Crowley said. “These two entities were able to bring real-world experience and knowledge to the project, completing it within an incredibly short period of time.” A power play In a PPA, the developer pays for the entire project and retains ownership of the array, while Healdsburg Electric pays a fair market price for the electricity that is delivered to its publicly owned utility. In addition to allowing the solar developer to apply for tax incentives that the governmental entities are not eligible for and cutting Healdsburg’s costs for energy, the new array helps Healdsburg meet the state of California’s environmental sustainability requirements and climate goals to add renewable and carbon-free energy. “The city of Healdsburg owns and operates its own electric utility,” Crowley said. “This helps the city keep energy costs low, but also allows the city to commit to building new green energy sources for our customers. Not only will the floating solar project provide 8% of citywide annual energy needs, it fits within the city’s goal of providing 50% renewable energy by 2025 and 60% renewable energy by 2030.” Crowley said community response to the project has been very supportive, and the knowledge of the project has helped raise awareness about how the city of Healdsburg meets the community’s energy needs. He suggests communities considering a similar project take the time to vet potential contractors regarding their experience in constructing large solar arrays and spend time developing a good power purchase agreement that contemplates future problems and end-of-life issues. “It’s easy to get excited about these projects on the front end, but thought should be given to what might happen over the duration of the agreement,” he said. 28 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
This photo provides a closeup look of the floats with panels attached; the flat portions are for walking on when the floats are in the water. The total project required 11,600 panels, each capable of producing 410 watts. (Photo provided)
Displayed is the construction method to assemble the floats and panels. Like a large knitting machine, the floats are laid out in a row before panels are installed and wired atop them. Once complete, each row is pushed into the water to make room to construct the next row. (Photo provided)
From the ground level, this picture shows the north pond’s floating solar array. The array is anchored into the berms on all four sides. (Photo provided)
M Focus on: Water & Energy
Oceanside turns to purified wastewater to reduce the need for imported water By NICHOLETTE CARLSON | The Municipal
In order to create a new, local source for high-quality drinking water, the city of Oceanside, Calif., has turned to recycled water purification. After beginning with a feasibility study, the project is now near completion, with construction projected to be finished by late 2022. Pure Water Oceanside’s water will be clean, safe, drought-proof and environmentally sound. Once completed, the program will produce enough water to make up more than 32% of the city’s water supply. 30 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
Why is it necessary? The majority of Oceanside’s water supply is imported and comes from cities hundreds of miles away. This imported water is vulnerable to rising costs, which are out of the city’s control, and transportation requires a large amount of energy. Imported water is also at risk from natural disasters, such as earthquakes.
LEFT: Construction is underway at the Pure Water Oceanside site in Oceanside, Calif. This site will take recycled water and put it through filtration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet light and advanced oxidation to purify it. Minerals will then be added before it is injected into the Mission Basin aquifer. (Photo provided by Jeremy Kemp, city of Oceanside) RIGHT: This map shows the future site of Pure Water Oceanside as well as the location of recycled water pipelines, injection wells, monitoring wells and the like. This advanced water purification project is set to be completed in late 2022. (Photo provided by NV5)
While the city has a small, local, naturally occurring underground aquifer, known as the Mission Basin, the aquifer’s water supply has declined over years of use. The option of diverting water from the Colorado River and Bay Delta would affect ecosystems that area fish and wildlife rely on. Reoccurring drought and climate change pose a significant threat to the city, given its high reliance on imported water. How does it work? Pure Water Oceanside uses state-of-the-art water purification steps that both recreate and increase the natural groundwater recycling process. The first step is filtration, which removes any bacteria and suspended solids from the reclaimed water. After filtration, the reverse osmosis system uses ultra-fine filters to remove any salt, bacteria, viruses, chemicals or pharmaceuticals. As a final polishing step, ultraviolet light and advanced oxidation neutralize any remaining substances. Minerals are then added before the purified water is injected into the Mission Basin. Following the treatment at the Pure Water Oceanside facility, water is extracted from the aquifer and treated again at the city’s Mission Basin groundwater purification facility. This process will create between 3 and 5 gallons each day of exceptionally pure, local, high-quality drinking water that can then be distributed to the residents and businesses of Oceanside.
Why Pure Water Oceanside? Pure Water Oceanside, as well as other local programs, reduces the reliance on imported water by 45% by creating a local, sustainable water source while also diversifying the water supply. Currently, 89% of Oceanside’s water is imported, 10% is groundwater or reverse osmosis and only 1% is recycled water for irrigation. After phase one, only 67% of its water will be imported, with 21% coming from Pure Water Oceanside and 12% serving as recycled water for irrigation. Following phase two, the imported water will be reduced to 44%,
while Pure Water Oceanside will provide 32% of water and 24% will be recycled water for irrigation. The Pure Water option is financially competitive with both the imported and desalinated water rates. Local groundwater resources are improved since the facility is environmentally sound and enhances Oceanside’s water supply resiliency to both drought and climate changes. This program will provide an uninterruptible, reliable local source of water that will also help to stabilize water costs over time. JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 31
continued from page 31
Compared with ocean water desalination, purifying wastewater is only approximately one-third of the cost. Since removing a high concentration of salts requires three times more energy, additional membranes and results in a shorter membrane life span, desalination also incurs greater maintenance costs. With wastewater, there are fewer dissolved solids to remove. The California State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set the public health requirements for water purification. Pure Water’s addition of purified water to the Mission Basin aquifer meets all the dilution regulatory requirements. This will further increase the amount of water in the aquifer as well as the overall water quality. By using water purification, critical, sensitive ecosystems will be protected by reducing imported water. The amount of recycled water that is discharged into the ocean is also decreased. Additionally, purification uses only half the energy necessary to transport imported water, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Pure Water Oceanside will be the first advanced water purification system in San Diego County. The estimated cost of the project is $67 million. The local resources program provided by San Diego County Water Authority and Metropolitan Water District will help to fund approximately $25 million of the project’s operating costs over the next 15 years. The city is also actively pursuing grants and loans to assist with the cost of the project.
32 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
Recycled water pipes are placed throughout Oceanside, leading to the Pure Water Oceanside facility. These pipes will help provide safe, high-quality purified drinking water to residents and businesses while also cutting down on the need for importing water. (Photo provided by Jeremy Kemp, city of Oceanside)
M Focus on: Water & Energy
Wisconsin city and county partner to realize energy savings
By LAUREN CAGGIANO | The Municipal
As cities and towns across the nation look to hit next-level climate change-related goals, a city and county in Wisconsin are setting out on their own energy-saving initiative together. Earlier this year, the city of Madison announced the U.S. Department of Energy would be giving Dane County, the city of Madison and local nonprofit, Slipstream, nearly $1 million to retrofit the 500,000-square-foot City-County Building with high performance, triple-paned windows and cost-effective LED lighting systems. The funding is being made available through the department’s Building Technologies Proving Ground — Public Sector Field Validation Funding Opportunity. This project is expected to produce whole-building energy savings, resulting from integrated HVAC and lighting systems that save 10% and 60%, respectively, while providing key grid services simultaneously. According to Kathy Kuntz, director of the Office of Energy and Climate Change at Dane County, Wis., the project is significant in part because of the joint nature of the effort. She said the two government entities became
As director of the Office of Energy and Climate Change for Dane County, Wis., Kathy Kuntz is charged with coordinating the energy-saving project’s implementation. (Photo provided) 34 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
aware of the grant last year and determined it was best to streamline efforts. “The City-County Building is kind of typical of older government buildings,” she said. “It’s had various retrofits and additions at various points in time. And it’s a big project to tackle the windows in a holistic way because they’re really expensive. And so, figuring out a way to do that, that would be cost effective was sort of challenging. And because the city and county share the building and are responsible for their own spaces, it was complicated for either of us to sort of do it on our own. So, coming together seemed like a really good idea.” This isn’t unusual in the sense that, according to Kurtz, they have what she refers to as “an active collaboration” among the cities, towns and villages in the county on clean energy and sustainability issues. The project is expected to total about $1.5 million, with Dane County and the city of Madison allocating approximately $500,000 in matching funds. Since receipt of the grant in February, Kuntz said officials have been busy refining the scope of the work and agreeing on the specifics. At the time of press, she said involved parties were expecting to finalize the contract with the vendor in the next few weeks. Then officials plan to spend the next six to eight months studying window technologies and how they can be coupled in tandem with innovations in interior lighting. Then implementation will follow, likely next year.
“That means that when the sun is coming in a window, the lights in that room might dim and save electricity in addition to the energy efficiency of those windows,” she said. Speaking of energy efficiency, Kuntz said the plan is to monitor the building as it is now, to create a baseline for energy consumption. Following the installation of the windows and lighting, officials will do another round of measurements to really get a handle on the energy savings. Comfort is another factor, she said, regardless of the season. “It goes both ways in these aging buildings,” she said. “We get drafts in the winter because of these old windows. Heat comes through them in the summer, so it’s uncomfortable then, too. If we can more effectively reflect some of that heat off of triple-paned windows, we reduce our cooling costs and make folks more comfortable there, too.” Keeping people safe and healthy might be another perk. “In this COVID-19 era, when we’re thinking so much more about the quality of our ventilation in indoor air, this sort of takes on heightened interest,” she said. “We want to understand how that building functions now and how improved that functioning is going forward.” Kurtz said officials have specific goals in mind for the project, and that’s where Slipstream comes into the picture. With offices in Madison and Chicago, Slipstream is a nonprofit that inspires new solutions to big energy challenges by empowering more people to adopt new practices and technologies. According to Kurtz, the organization will help the city and county with monitoring on the front and backend to help officials understand how the savings happened and how they might replicate success in the future.
Built in 1955 and expanded in 1985, the City-County Building encompasses 484,000 square feet of facility space and houses several city of Madison and Dane County departments. (Photo provided) “They have some experience doing super-efficient windows in other facilities and the data to back it,” she said. “So, they’re bringing a kind of technical expertise. But their primary role is to install monitoring equipment and to survey occupants … so we really understand such questions as: “What was the building like before? And what’s it like after? And what are the big lessons learned?” Kurtz said another goal is to execute all of this with minimal disruption to the building’s occupants and its operations. “Because any disruptions to our county government staff, ultimately, can lead to disruptions in services for the public,” she said. “We’re probably like all local governments in that our focus in these projects is always to make the upgrade happen as quickly and efficiently as possible to minimize disruption. And so for us, it’s a cool opportunity to have the luxury here of having a research partner whose very aim is really to understand the savings and feed that information back to us.” She’s also bullish on the city and county’s partnership and what it might mean for the future. “What’s notable is that the city and county are coming together to do this work in a collaborative way,” she said. “It means that we’re learning from each other and comparing notes.”
JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 35
M Focus on: Water & Energy
Huron Watershed city project educates the public about stormwater By DANI MESSICK | The Municipal
The city of Ann Arbor, Mich., wants its residents to know the importance of stormwater. “People don’t normally think about stormwater until it floods their house, and we are trying to keep it prevalent in their mind,” said Robert Kelly, communications specialist for Ann Arbor. “We understand that most people don’t know what stormwater is or what it does. We need to explain what (the stormwater system) is, what it does and what we need to do to maintain it.” The city recently developed a program called “Stormwater Smart” to help educate and guide residents to make beneficial decisions surrounding stormwater in the city. “When you turn on your tap, it’s an immediate, intimate connection. With (stormwater), you don’t have that same connection unless it floods your house, but the fact is stormwater and the system is ever present, and it’s under your house.” Ann Arbor is one of nine municipalities in Michigan with a stormwater fee already accounted for in its monthly consumer fees. Service fees are regularly calculated and changed based on the city’s needs. Each parcel of land is charged based on the impervious surfaces present. Installation of mitigations, such as rain barrels, give a credit to the customer’s bill. The fee collects around $12 million per year for the city; however, the capital improvements plan has an estimated $80 million worth of necessary improvements toward the city’s stormwater infrastructure, which includes over 200 miles of pipes and 300 miles of conveyance, ditches and channels that move stormwater. The city also has over 23,000 catch basin structures and close 36 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
In November 2020, Ann Arbor, Mich., held a virtual commemoration marking the official grand opening and completion of the $9.4 million Allen Creek Berm Project, the largest stormwater management and flood mitigation project in city history. The project addresses stormwater and flood protection mitigation while promoting nonmotorized transportation. (Youtube Screenshot)
to 55,000 street trees, which it includes as a part of the stormwater system and continues to plant roughly 1,000 each year. “The pipes alone, if you laid only the pipes end to end, you could make it from Ann Arbor to just outside of Chicago,” said Lawson. “Just the pipes that we have staff managing and maintaining is a lot of system, but you don’t see them because they’re underground, and we wanted to make sure our community knew that’s what their fee is going to pay for.” The customer-centered program also highlights some of the principal employees of the city’s stormwater management department. Barely half a dozen workers are in the field managing the day-to-day necessities of the system, but there are 19 full-time equivalent positions that help manage the stormwater system.
In addition to educating the public about the importance of the stormwater system and ways they can help, Ann Arbor staff is also seeking to improve the system as a whole. “Basically, we are talking about revamping a system that is 120 years old,” explained Keller. “There was a lot of impervious surface built. The days of just paving over a parking lot are over in Ann Arbor. That also means we have programs in place to help residents deal with water as a general flooding issue but also as an environmental issue. Now the same rain that we used to get over two days ago, we’ll get over two hours, and our system was not designed for that. We’re also having to enlarge the stormwater pipes we do have. “You can’t stand pat on the system. You have what was built for the storms of 120 years ago when the city was very different,
Ann Arbor has been the site for Master RAIN Gardener Classes, which are designed to teach students how to design and install rain gardens. Attendees then serve as their neighborhoods’ experts. (Photo provided) and the climate was very different. (Without change), people are not going to have a very good quality of life.” One way the city is doing this is to ensure every building project within municipal boundaries takes stormwater into account. The green streets policy states any major road requires the city, homeowners and developers to treat the stormwater falling on the reconstructed road surface, including in the right-of-way. This is important because the roadways are 25% of the impervious surfaces in the city. “We’re looking at capturing and treating at a minimum the first inch of rainfall when a street is reconstructed,” Lawson said. In addition to the city’s funds, they also work with other municipalities and the county to develop bigger, more expansive projects. “Stormwater doesn’t follow municipal boundaries. Inherent to stormwater management is that you do need to work with those around you,” Lawson said. The Stormwater Smart program also offers ideas for activities for families, as well as ideas for how individuals can make a difference in protecting the Huron Watershed that runs through Ann Arbor. “If you’re going to ask the public to make these investments, they should know what they’re paying for,” said Keller. “It’s very basic good consumer practices. You should not ask your customer to pay for something without knowing what it is. Investments in any part of our community should be understood.”
Trees are included in Ann Arbor’s stormwater management plans. In fact, the city plants roughly 1,000 trees each year. (Photo provided)
Ann Arbor is serious about stormwater management and has 200 miles of pipes; 300 miles of conveyance, ditches and channels; over 23,000 catch basin structures; and close to 55,000 street trees, all designed to wisely move stormwater. (Photo provided)
JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 37
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Personality Profile Mayor Joe Schember and a police escort joined Fleming as he tackled the last leg of the run. (Photo provided)
Going the distance: Public works employee runs to help raise funds By JULIE YOUNG | The Municipal
Erie, Pa., Public Works employee Pat Fleming hasn’t been running for long, but he knows how to make every stride count. In March, he completed a 50-mile run across the county to raise funds for Erie’s small downtown businesses that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pat Fleming 42 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
Fleming came up with the idea for the run after visiting Erie Ale Works with a friend. As the two chatted with one of the brewery co-owners about how uncertain things were for small businesses in the downtown area, Fleming felt compelled to try and help. “At this point, it was two days before Pennsylvania’s second lockdown, and I just got the idea that maybe I could use running as a way to raise money and awareness for some
of the local businesses that were so obviously struggling,” he said. Fleming collaborated with the Erie Downtown Partnership, an organization that serves as an agent of change in the area bounded by Presque Isle Bay to the north, the 14th Street railway bridge to the south and stretching from Sassafras to Holland streets. Together, they created the Frozen 50: Go the Mile for Main Street Run, which
Erie Public Works employee Pat Fleming crosses Seventh Street during the Frozen 50: Go the Mile for Main Street. His efforts raised $2,675 for downtown Erie businesses impacted by the pandemic. (Photo provided)
took Fleming across Erie County from the Ohio state line to New York’s while raising money for the Main Street Relief + Recovery Plan. “I genuinely love this city, and I am passionate about supporting local businesses. (More importantly,) I want to continue to visit all of our local businesses when this is all over,” he said. “The local businesses seemed to be very excited that someone was willing to take on such a task to try and help them out — especially in the harsh Erie winter temperatures.” The members of the Erie Downtown Partnership said it was inspiring to see a 29-year-old city employee step up to support businesses that have been struggling since March 2020, and they know Fleming’s efforts will help. “Many of the businesses, particularly in retail and the restaurant sector, experienced decreased sales during the first quarter. This year will be harder for most, coming off of a dismal 2020,” said Emily Fetcko, assistant director of Erie Downtown Partnership. “The more funds raised, the more businesses can be helped.” Fleming is a heavy equipment operator who has been employed by the city of Erie since 2009. He became involved with the public works department when a family friend working with the city mentioned he could get a part-time job throwing garbage for the refuse department. He obtained his CDL after one year and was hired full time into the union in 2011. Five years ago, Fleming began running to support a friend who was training for their Air Force physical. As luck would have it, he fell in
Erie Public Works employee Pat Fleming met friends along the Frozen 50: Go the Mile for Main Street Run route, which took him across Erie County, from the Ohio state line to New York’s. (Photo provided)
love with the sport and has participated in a number of 15K and halfmarathon events. During the pandemic, he kept up with his training, then challenged himself to run 50 miles for the sake of the businesses he works around every day. Fleming started his run before dawn on March 6, and as he made his way to State Street, he was given a police escort. Even Mayor Joe Schember joined in for a few blocks in support of his effort. Fleming said he spread the word about the run through his social media sites in hopes he would raise $2,500 to help local businesses get back on their feet after the pandemic, but he surpassed that goal by raising a total of $2,675. Funds from the Frozen 50 Run will be combined with other monies raised, which included the $55,000 in microgrants raised last summer, and will be distributed through the Erie Downtown Partnership. “It feels great to provide a public service with my job at the streets department to help the businesses that I love, whether that is clearing snow in the winter to make these downtown businesses more accessible or street cleaning/paving to make our downtown look more appealing,” he said. “I definitely do get a sense of satisfaction from my job as I spend the majority of my free time in the areas that I work. Why wouldn’t I want to do all that I can to help them survive?” JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 43
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Public Safety
Helena Police Department extends a hand to veterans with a new program
Officers Kristopher Cooper and Marquese Jackson hold the American flag at a walk/ run event. (Photo provided)
44 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
By LAUREN CAGGIANO | The Municipal
Veterans run the gamut in terms of the nature, scope and extent of their service; however, one thing they have in common is the difficulty of transitioning back into civilian life, which isn’t always widely understood or appreciated. That’s why a program — the first of its kind — launched early this year in Helena, Ala., is designed to address that elephant in the room. Helena Police Department’s Officer Marquese Jackson provides some context. “When Chief (Brad) Flynn came on, he wanted to create a veterans program,” he said. “And so, he brought in a couple of us as a team to go out and do some community outreach with veterans and get to know the veterans and see what issues arise.” Each year, nearly 200,000 service members transition from the military back to their civilian communities. Sometimes they reenter public life seamlessly, while others have a harder time. Jackson said being a veteran himself, he feels uniquely qualified to offer assistance. For instance, if they’re homeless or struggling with mental health concerns, sometimes they just need an ear and someone who will listen without judgment. Jackson, who was trained as a suicide prevention officer in the military, has the expertise and qualifications to act accordingly. He said there’s an overlap between military and public safety service, as they both deal with traumatic events. “We’re always there constantly,” he said. “And there’s always an officer available. They do have some officers who offer peer support, so they’re able to talk through the situation.” In addition to offering moral support, officers can connect veterans with relevant agencies that might help, but that’s really second to the emotional connection. Whatever the nature of the interaction, this outreach is important to the Helena community. The area has a good number of veterans
Officer Marquese Jackson poses with his K-9. Jackson has specialized training to address mental health on the job. (Photo provided)
with a nearby Air Force base and other military presence. Still, according to Jackson’s peer on the force, Officer Kristopher Cooper, it’s less about numbers and more about the vital nature of the work. “The thing about veterans is fellow ones are easy to spot because we all act alike,” Cooper said. “We like to hide our scars and the experiences we’ve been through. We all hide to some extent.” That’s why it’s critical to address mental health issues before they can spiral out of control. According to Jackson, they rally around the cause of suicide prevention as it relates to the veteran population. For instance, earlier this year, officers hosted a 4.2-mile run to raise awareness around the issue. Jackson said 300 people came out, which he considers a good turnout. If anything, these efforts will translate into increased visibility and hopefully save lives at the same time. The rate of suicide among veterans ticked upward in recent years despite increased public attention and funding on the problem, according to a new report released by Department of Veterans Affairs officials in November 2020. The rate of suicide among veterans was at 17.6 a day in 2018. That’s a slight increase from 2017 when the number was 17.5. And perhaps even more concerning, mental health experts have warned the pandemic
may be causing even larger increases in the rates of mental distress and self-harm among veterans. Acknowledging this reality, Jackson said the veterans program could be a lifeline of sorts. “It’s letting them know that they do have an option to reach out to us if they get to that point,” he said. Going forward, they hope to start offering monthly group meetings once restrictions imposed by the pandemic are removed. They’re also looking into Zoom or outdoor sessions. Whatever the venue, Jackson said the objective is to stay in touch with the community. And at the time of press, the department was planning a walk-run awareness event on May 22 with a community partner. In the meantime, officers are taking stock of the feedback so far, which has been largely positive. They also want to broaden the program’s reach and focus. Cooper’s message is one of solidarity and hope. “Just because it’s geared toward veterans, we’re open to anybody — whether it’s law enforcement, fire, any first responder group,” he said. “(Whatever they share) is going to stay confidential and everything. But at the same time, if there’s a civilian facing mental health challenges, we’re always going to be willing to help.”
JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 45
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Streets, Highways & Bridges
How a new system in Dickinson, N.D., gives residents real-time flood alerts By MARY JANE BOGLE | The Municipal
Most people underestimate the height of standing water in roadways and the speed at which water can rise in sudden storms. Unfortunately, that water can do real damage to vehicles — or to the drivers and passengers themselves. We’ve all seen drivers plow through standing water, waves splashing in all directions. Even worse, we’ve seen those same cars stalled in roadways — areas that were safe to travel just minutes before. According to the National Weather Service, all it takes is 6 inches of standing water to stall a vehicle, and 12 inches of moving water is enough to sweep a car away. Those statistics are a real concern for people tasked with public safety, especially if there’s no good way to warn people about high water in real time. Such was the case in Dickinson, N.D., at the Highway 22 railroad underpass. “Flooded vehicles were a real safety issue,” said Gary Zuroff, Dickinson Public Works director. “Our pumping system would get inundated and just couldn’t keep up with the volume of water generated by large storms at that location.” That’s why the city decided to invest in a high-water warning system, which it installed earlier this year. System design High-water warning systems operate through sensors positioned at the target water level. When these sensors get wet, stainless steel electrodes meet, essentially functioning as a switch that sends power to LED warning lights, triggering them to begin flashing. The lights continue to flash until the water recedes, turning off the switch, so to speak. These sensors can also send power to a transmitter, which can communicate with a city’s supervisory control and data acquisition system. The sensors are contained in protective housings and work in all conditions, including briny, brackish or freshwater. They even work When a high-water warning system’s sensors get wet, stainless steel electrodes meet, essentially functioning as a switch that sends power to LED warning lights, triggering them to begin flashing. Pictured is Dickinson, N.D.’s, high-water warning system. (Photo provided) 46 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
Drivers can often misjudge flood roadways, which can result in them becoming stranded. High-water warning systems have become a solution in areas prone to flooding since they will alert in real time to dangerous conditions, making them an improvement to traditional signage, which must be hand placed. (Shuttestock.com)
“That alert gives us time to put up road closure barricades as well,” said Zuroff.
Highway 22’s railroad underpass in Dickinson, N.D., is an area prone to flooding when the city’s pumping system gets inundated during large storms. Due to the safety risk, city officials approved the installation of a high-water warning system. (Photo via Google Maps) with icy, slushy conditions. And with no moving parts, the system isn’t subject to jamming, which can occur with mechanical floats. Immune to trash or debris, these systems are both automated and reliable, giving public officials confidence and peace of mind. System at work In Dickinson, these sensors activate electronic warning signs posted at locations to the north and south of the underpass. The signs, complete with flashing, LED lights and a written warning that the road is closed, alert approaching drivers to real-time road conditions and prevent them from driving into the high water. The system also activates Dickinson’s SCADA system, so operatives know right away that the road is unsafe for travel, even during off-hours.
System installation High-water warning systems can be installed with electricity or solar power. “We didn’t have any electricity in the area,” said Zuroff, “so we went with the solar option.” The public works department set the poles for the signs and installed the high-water warning system to the poles. “We then had to install the float system and the main box where the radio is located.” This radio signal is what communicates with the signs, triggering the warning system. “Once the infrastructure was in place,” said Zuroff, “the supplier sent a technician to wire the equipment to the poles and get the radios to communicate with each other. Finally, they verified the system was working before they left.” Cost and benefits As with most systems, cost is determined by the number of customized features a city chooses, as well as the complexity such a system requires. Single-pole, battery-powered systems can cost as little as $3,000, while systems equipped with more than one pole, radio transmission or cameras can run as much as $30,000. It’s always a good idea to get multiple quotes as well. Dickinson opted for a system from Tapco, but a company called ELTEC offers an effective high-water warning system as well. The real benefit to these systems, of course, is public safety. Because even seconds can make the difference between safe and unsafe roadways, immediate detection is the best way to give drivers the chance to take alternate routes. Today, thanks to the high-water warning system, Highway 22 underpass in Dickinson no longer poses that kind of threat in sudden storms. JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 47
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Parks & Environmental Services
Pickleball picks up steam at municipal parks nationwide
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By AMANDA DEMSTER | The Municipal
City parks and recreation departments in every state offer a variety of activities: baseball, softball, tennis, swimming, to name a few. One lesser-known sport has gained in popularity over the last few years, and parks departments everywhere are setting aside space so the public can enjoy it. That sport is known as pickleball. What is pickleball? Pickleball has been described as a cross between ping-pong, badminton and tennis. According to the USA Pickleball Association, the court is the size of a badminton court, with a smaller version of a tennis net. Players use paddles and a plastic ball with holes. The game can be played outdoors or indoors, doubles or singles. The ball is served underhanded, diagonally, from outside the court. After serving, the ball must bounce once in the receiving team’s court before they can return it and once in the serving team’s court. After this, it no longer has to bounce before it can be returned. Games typically go to 11 points, though tournament play can go to 15 or 21 points. A complete description of pickleball rules and strategies is available at www.usapickleball.org. Keystone Heights, Fla. While the rules are the same, municipal pickleball facilities and programs are varied. Some cities simply have an outdoor court or two for the public to use during park hours. Others have state-of-the-art facilities and offer leagues, lessons and tournaments.
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For Keystone Heights, pickleball is a fairly new sport. According to City Manager Lynn Rutkowski, bike trails, basketball, tennis and other activities were already available. The city also had a concrete slab intended for a skate park. However, resident feedback indicated a preference for pickleball. Completed in January 2021, the court is standard size, with more than a dozen players using it each day. “Once you have the concrete slab, it’s fairly easy,” she said. Options range from painting over a concrete slab, costing approximately $2,000, to using an expensive material Rutkowski called the “Rolls Royce” of pickleball, costing tens of thousands of dollars. Keystone Heights chose to go middle-of-the-road, installing a plastic overlay onto the concrete slab, a cost of between $4,000 to $6,000. Other than a monthly power washing, the material requires little maintenance, Rutkowski said. As Keystone Heights plans an overhaul of its local parks this year, additional pickleball courts are a consideration, though not necessarily top priority at this time, though there have been discussions about adding one to three more courts and even hosting tournaments. “I didn’t think pickleball would take off the way it has in this area,” Rutkowski said, adding that feedback from users has been positive.
Residents of Keystone Heights, Fla., requested a concrete slab be converted into a pickleball court, rather than be used for a skate park as originally planned. (Photo provided)
A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place earlier this year to launch the Keystone Heights, Fla., pickleball court. (Photo provided)
On the flip side, the city’s experience with local pickleball players has been positive. “The pickleball population is extremely friendly,” Rutkowski said. “They’ve been grateful. Our pickleball court seems to be the least of our concerns as far as vandalism. The pickleball players are respectful of each other. It’s a fantastic addition.” Surprise, Ariz. Pickleball made its way to Surprise, Ariz., 12 years ago, and the program has grown. Surprise boasts a large facility that — besides pickleball — includes tennis, racquetball and table tennis. There are currently 16 pickleball courts, with open play allowed between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and COVID guidelines in place. Open play is currently limited to one hour per group, and players are asked to leave immediately after they have finished, ensuring proper social distancing. While the facility has loaner racquets, players are asked to bring their own for now. Clinics, lessons, leagues and tournaments are all part of the Surprise pickleball program. According to city of Surprise Recreation Coordinator Jennifer Wright, all instructors are employees of the city. Surprise residents and nonresidents alike take advantage of the city’s pickleball offerings. Men’s, women’s and mixed leagues cover a range of experience levels, and “Pickleball Newbies,” “Pickleball 101” and “Pickleball 202” are available for beginners. According to Wright, user feedback has been positive. “Players are impressed with our teaching pro and the level of play that the city leagues provide,” Wright said. As with Keystone Heights, the pickleball courts in Surprise are lowmaintenance, receiving a monthly washing. Debris is blown from the playing surface daily. While there is no court fee for pickleball play, lessons and other programs generate some revenue for the city annually. Outside entities
Residents of Surprise, Ariz., enjoy a game of pickleball on one of 16 courts at the city’s racquet complex. (Photo provided)
also reserve courts for tournaments, booked through the city’s sports and tourism department. More information about Surprise’s pickleball program is available at www.surpriseaz.gov/1430/Tennis-Racquet-Complex. JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 51
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Public Works
Fewer trucks, more bikes: Santa Cruz paving project focuses on the environment
The River and Water streets project is one way Santa Cruz is connecting residents to the downtown area and more biking options. Biking is a popular mode of transportation in the city. Pictured is Santa Cruz’s Main Street. (Shutterstock.com)
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By DANI MESSICK | The Municipal
A coastal California city is using its street projects to benefit not only its residents but the environment as well. The city of Santa Cruz was recognized with a 2021 Award of Merit for Transportation Projects Less than $5 Million by the American Public Works Association, Monterey Bay Chapter. The award recognized its work on River Street and Water Street last year, but that was by no means the goal of the project. “It’s about doing the right thing for the environment,” said Roberto Valdes, associate civil engineer for the city of Santa Cruz’s public works department. The project included road repaving, bike lane improvements and ADA compliance measures. “Whenever we do pavement improvement projects, we always take advantage to improve pedestrian infrastructure,” Valdes said. Not only did workers add buffers to bike lanes and green paint to make those lanes more visible, but they also made their paving project as green as possible by using recycled materials to refresh the roadways. “You could grind 4 inches of asphalt and remove those 4 inches of asphalt and truck those grindings outside of the city with trucks creating a lot of emissions that contaminate the environment, or you could lower the grinding and recycle the existing material,” Valdes explained. “You’ll reduce trucking by half, and then you don’t bring in 4 inches of asphalt to replace it, and you reduce the incoming trucking of the asphalt by half. You don’t want to replace 4 inches of asphalt.” He continued, “Basically, we just ground 2 inches of existing asphalt, and we recycled 6 inches of the asphalt base. So we recycled most of the existing material, and then we installed back two inches of asphalt.” The roads were failing regardless, and the city has done it this way for at least five years. “You reduce a lot of trucking and traffic and emissions created by those trucks, plaster and asphalt.” There was no other option for Santa Cruz. “We didn’t do alternative bids because we were really interested in recycling the existing pavement,” Valdes said. “It’s not about the savings.” In this process, cement and other materials are added to the asphalt grinding to make them stronger before filling the lower level of the roadway, then a few inches of asphalt is added to the top so it looks like a normal road, but it’s secretly stronger and more environmentally friendly. The city used up to 15% recycled asphalt. The public works department also upcycled grindings for other city projects as well. Such was the case with the rail trail project. “We didn’t waste it,” Valdes said. “The project was happening at the same time, and they needed materials to backfill the bad soils, so we just coordinated between engineers and our city and sent all
ABOVE AND BELOW: Santa Cruz, Calif., was recognized for its River Street and Water Street project, which saw road repaving, bike lane improvements and ADA compliance measures being implemented. Pictured are before and after shots of Water Street. (Photos provided)
the grinding to that project so we didn’t have to just dump it on the landfill.” The two streets are significant thoroughfare for the city, with Water Street and River Street connecting residential areas to the downtown and biking options, a popular mode of transportation in Santa Cruz. Still, no project is without its struggles. For this street project to show real benefits for cyclists, the city had to remove some parking to allow for safer bike lanes. “We have really good businesses in this town,” Valdez admitted, “They were really good sports and didn’t give us any trouble (on) removing the parking.” The improvements to the street are noticeable as well. “Looking at the street, it looked bad; I don’t think drivers were happy to take that route, (and) cyclists didn’t feel safe,” said Valdes, who cycles with his own child to the downtown area regularly. “Those two streets are usually very busy, and now they provide a smoother route, and it’s safer because now you can see the bike lanes.”
JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 53
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Maintenance & Operations
Historic belfry gets helping hand in Asheville By DEBORAH C. GERBERS | The Municipal
Downtown Asheville, N.C., has a striking landscape that consists of numerous historic structures, quite notably the Asheville City Building. With repair work that began in early 2021, the massive, colorful Art Deco-style building is currently undergoing a facelift of sorts — meticulous repairs on the ornamental top of the octagonal-roofed building. The nearly 100-year-old belfry is constructed of terra cotta red tiles and pink Georgia marble piers, a visual masterpiece of architect Douglas D. Ellington, who came to Asheville and designed the landmark in the 1920s.
Work begins on Asheville City Building’s historic belfry. Built in the ’20s, it had begun to show its age. (Photo provided)
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The eight-story city building was completed in 1928 and was created from natural materials Ellington thought would represent a “transition in color paralleling the natural clay-pink shades of the local Asheville soil.” Other Art Deco design elements include angular pink Georgia marble piers between the tiles, which also feature precise vertical rows of ornamental green and gold feather motifs. The city hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Originally proposed as part of a joint City-County Plaza development, the building represents the progressive aspirations of the city during the 1920s. City officials proceeded with Ellington’s design for the city hall, and Ellington went on to later design other Asheville landmarks, including the First Baptist Church, Asheville High School and the S & W Cafeteria. According to the National Park Service’s website, Ellington stated the design of the city building was “an evolution of the desire that the contours of the building should reflect the mountain background,” referring to the amazing scenery that surrounds Asheville and serves as the backdrop for the city. The interior of the building is designed in a manner typical of 1920s office buildings, with a central core containing public elevators and an enclosed staircase, while offices lie along the perimeter of each floor. “The second floor houses the distinctive City Manager’s Office and City Council Chambers, both decorated in Neo-Georgian fashion. The interior of the council chambers features murals by New York artist Clifford Addams that portray the story of the American
Pictured is the highlighted areas for repair. (Photo provided)
Architect Douglas D. Ellington used natural materials that he thought would represent a “transition in color paralleling the natural clay-pink shades of the local Asheville soil.” The nearly 100-year-old belfry is constructed of terra cotta red tiles and pink Georgia marble piers. (Photo provided)
Indians and early white settlers in the area. City Hall has changed little since the 1920s and still captivates residents and visitors alike with its bold and colorful style,” states the NPS website. Engineer Walter Ear, building construction program manager for the city of Asheville, said the aging structure of the building’s ornamental belfry recently showed obvious signs of deterioration, and it became clear to the city that repairs would be necessary. There were visible cracks in the stairwell plaster, peeling paint, leaks in the elevator, as well as water bubble pockets in the roofing itself. Because of the inaccessibility of the roof slopes, Ear said the city employed an engineering firm to utilize drones with high-powered cameras to capture footage of the structure and conduct necessary investigations into the repair project. Because the city hall building is such an historic landmark with delicate design elements, it was necessary for the city to coordinate efforts to preserve the history of the ornamental belfry while maintaining its structural integrity. “A lot of effort went into ensuring that we did maintenance work in a historically appropriate way,” said Ear. “We are also doing an elevator modernization project in city hall, where our old manual elevators will be converted to automated ones — again, historically appropriate.” Ear and his team also worked with masonry experts to ensure the plaster, paint and grout would match the original materi- The Deagan chimes atop city hall will remain silent during the construction phase; normally, the 10 tubular bells are programmed to play “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” and “God als as closely as possible. Bless America.” (Photo provided)
JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 55
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“Doing a project on an old building like this is almost an archaeological dig,” he said. “At some point, the interior columns had been painted for some reason. When color-matching, it’s a puzzle to figure out if that color of paint was the original from 1928 or perhaps a glazing on top applied years later. Our contractors almost become on-site craftsmen to ensure a cohesive finished product.” Undergoing a project of this scope, given its historical importance, required adequate funding that would ensure a top-quality engineering firm and construction company while still being affordable for the city Workers work to repair the belfry, which had begun to show signs of deterioration, of Asheville. including visible cracks. (Photo provided) “We originally estimated the cost of the project to be about $550,000, then added a few necessary items (like fall protection), which brought the final work on the city building belfry is expected to be completed in May cost to around $880,000,” Ear said. “With that unexpected overage, 2021, weather permitting. According to an Asheville press release, we had to find additional funds from other projects around the city, the Deagan chimes atop city hall will not ring during construction. which were thereby delayed.” Normally, the 10 tubular bells are programmed to alternate between Indeed, there are several other buildings in downtown Asheville in two songs at noon daily: “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” and “God Bless need of repair. For example, the county building will be undergoing America.” a repair project similar to the one being done at city hall. The repair
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Technology
Solar panel roadways gain real-world testing in Peachtree Corners
By MARY JANE BOGLE | The Municipal
Peachtree Corners, Ga., is no stranger to innovation. Founded with the express purpose of promoting and improving technology in a wide range of applications, this forward-thinking city has done it again, offering smart city infrastructure for corporations and innovators interested in developing future-forward transportation. A planned community designed to attract innovation, Peachtree Corners works in collaboration with Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners, an economic development initiative that leverages public money and private investments. Together, they have designed multiple options for high-tech companies, entrepreneurs and academicians to come and work alongside like-minded industries. Companies and universities of all sizes are invited to test, demo and deploy cuttingedge technologies in this environment. Testing infrastructure includes a 3-mile autonomous vehicle test track, complete with intelligent traffic signals and smart streetlights, along with access to a 5G testbed and lab space in a 25,000-square-foot innovation center. It’s all part of a 500-acre technology park, which offers amenities that are hard to beat. Solar panel testing One project currently under testing is roadway solar panels. Working with French company Wattway, Peachtree Corners and
58 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
Curiosity Lab have embedded these solar panels in a small section of the test track. The track includes two narrow outer lanes designed for autonomous vehicles that run alongside two lanes of regular traffic. These roadway-embedded solar panels power an electric vehicle charging station in front of city hall. Broad range of options Originally tested in conjunction with The Ray, a nonprofit proving ground for transportation located in western Georgia, these roadway-embedded solar panels offer realworld testing options and serve as a proving ground for technology that has graduated from a closed testing environment. This collaborative relationship between Peachtree Corners, Curiosity Lab and The Ray has made it possible for Wattway to test their roadway solar panels in both rural and bustling suburban settings. At The Ray, solar panels are installed in the parking lot of the Visitor Information Center located along The Ray Highway,
ABOVE: Working with French company Wattway, Peachtree Corners, Ga., and Curiosity Lab have embedded solar panels into a small section of the test track. This allows autonomous vehicles to run alongside two lanes of regular traffic. The embedded solar panels power an electric vehicle charging station in front of city hall. (Photo provided) an 18-mile stretch of interstate along I-85 named in memory of Ray C. Anderson, a Georgia native recognized as a leader in green business for pursuing a zero environmental footprint. In this setting, Wattway can learn how the solar panels work in a rural setting, while at Peachtree Corners, Wattway can conduct research in such realworld conditions as pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Open for testing Through Peachtree Corner’s collaboration with The Ray, entrepreneurs like Wattway can essentially take advantage of a twofor-one deal when they travel to the greater Atlanta area. At The Ray, they can gather data along the interstate. And at Peachtree Corners, they can test technology in a more suburban setting, complete with all the naturally occurring variables that a small city environment provides — think rolling hills, sweeping curves, walkways and right of ways.
The solar panels were originally tested in conjunction with The Ray, a nonprofit proving group for transportation. (Photo provided)
A place to learn, grow and thrive Peachtree Corners hopes to leverage its investment in testing facilities to attract cutting-edge companies to the area, offering an extended invitation to innovators to test advanced deliverables and even potentially settle in Peachtree Corners. That’s where Peachtree Corners’ Technology Park comes in, offering companies everything from low-rent space in the innovation center to access to the test track at no charge. As a result, companies can develop and then test innovative projects that not only promote road safety but also improve infrastructure resiliency and integrate current and future technology. In this sense, Peachtree Corners is living up to its tagline. It truly is an “innovative and remarkable” place. For more information about these and other innovations, or to explore potential partnerships, visit peachtreecornersga.gov, curiositylabptc.com and theray.org.
Pictured is an EV charging station installed by Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners. Curiosity Lab is an economic development initiative that leverages public money and private investments. (Photo provided)
Rooted in innovation Gwinnett County’s newest city, Peachtree Corners’ roots date back to the late 1960s when businessman Paul Duke pitched the idea of creating a planned community to be built in the area once known as Pinckneyville. Duke’s dream included Technology Park Atlanta, a campus of low-rise buildings for high-tech industries. Today, Technology Park is home to Fortune 500 businesses and continues to attract high-tech companies drawing top-tiered engineering talent from around the country. Founded on July 1, 2012, Peachtree Corners is also home to regional, national and international headquarters for a number of corporations.
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Municipal Management
Community engagement is a top priority in Rancho Cucamonga By AMANDA DEMSTER | The Municipal
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., knows that, in order to build a healthy community, the focus needs to be, first and foremost, on the individuals who comprise it. Rancho Cucamonga was named a 2020 All-America City. That year’s theme focused on health and wellness, which the city has achieved over the years through the Healthy RC program and through close work with community organizations like Campeones Para La Comunidad, translated Champions for the Community. Healthy RC Nationwide, Healthy Communities programs have addressed health needs through things like exercise and nutrition. Healthy RC, which began in 2008, does this and more, also taking into account mental and emotional well-being. 60 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
While Healthy RC is housed within the city manager’s office, it does not necessarily “belong” to one department alone, but encompasses all areas of the city. “Rancho is Healthy RC,” Joanna Marrufo, who oversees Healthy RC’s mental health subcommittee, said. “It’s embedded in the DNA of the city council’s goals and even our general plan … it’s in the DNA of all of our projects and programs and policies. We’re city employees, so just the structure of it is very grassroots, so that’s what makes us unique as a city, and it’s very progressive.” In other words, Healthy RC is visible and active in every aspect of Rancho Cucamonga, from the Etiwanda Heights neighborhood
LEFT: Rancho Cucamonga residents create a decorative mural during a recent CommUNITY Paint Day. (Photo provided) RIGHT: Community members admire their finished work on the CommUNITY Paint Day mural. (Photo provided) development to Los Amigos Park, to the city’s overall priorities. “Healthy RC came out of a council priority to create an environment where health is an accessible opportunity for all,” Marrufo said. Community Programs Coordinator Clarence de Guzman described Healthy RC as collaboration of community stakeholders from schools, faith-based organizations, nonprofit groups and businesses. “Really, we invite everyone to be a part of it,” he said. “Even if you’re not affiliated with these community-based organizations, you’re welcome and we encourage you to be a part of it.” Healthy RC has identified eight focus areas, including healthy eating and active living, community connections and safety, mental health, economic development, clean environment, healthy aging and disaster resiliency. “We really tried to address the whole gamut, not just your traditional sense of healthy eating and active living,” de Guzman said. “We were really looking at the holistic view.” Mental health Marrufo oversees Healthy RC’s mental health subcommittee, which offers tools and resources and raises awareness. An example is the “Your Mind Matters” campaign, a bilingual program that encourages conversation on a number of mental health topics, like resilience, coping skills, stress and anxiety and suicide prevention, which are often otherwise avoided. “These are all stigmatized issues in all cultures and all generations,” Marrufo said. The campaign also ensures residents are connected to mental health resources, information and training through support groups, self-care workshops and symposiums. Marrufo recalled feedback one resident gave on a speaker who shared resiliency skills.
A teen summit was held by Healthy RC, and it focused on mental health topics. (Photo provided)
“She wrote, ‘Being able to practice the coping skills was so impactful because, as a mother, I don’t have time to do this on my own, but now I have the skills I need to know what to do,’” Marrufo said. Healthy RC has also hosted grief and loss groups. “One person said they feel they’re not alone in their struggle, hearing people’s perspectives helps them realize that there are other folks going through grief and it brings them peace,” Marrufo said.
Healthy eating, living Access to fresh, locally grown produce is another concern for Healthy RC. Several neighborhoods were identified as “food deserts,” meaning there were no grocery stores within walking distance of where residents lived. “So we collaborated with planning to change the zoning of the city so we could reduce the barriers for farmer’s markets to come into the city and increase community garden zoning,” Marrufo said. JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 61
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One of the top priorities for these programs was affordability for low-income families, allowing them to purchase healthy, fresh foods. The city found grants to help subsidize the cost of these local products. A dollar-for-dollar match allows program participants a 50% discount on produce. Through private and federal grants, the program is able to feed thousands of families each month through the farmer’s market. Another Healthy RC project is Los Amigos Park. Workshops gave parents a say in the park’s layout, featured amenities and even its name. Local children helped design the park’s logo. Campeones Para la Comunidad According to Marrufo and De Guzman, many of the above programs would not have been possible without Campeones Para la Communidad, translated as “Community Champions” in English. The Champions’ purpose is to ensure historically marginalized groups have access to local government and are included. Rather than inviting these residents to city hall, the Champions went to the community, meeting in neighborhood community centers, engaging people in conversation to gather data and find out what issues they are facing while also building trust and involving them in leadership. Examples of programs include a photo voice project, featuring images of sidewalks and other areas needing improvement. Safe Routes to School was another need, and the city received a grant connecting the engineering, planning and community services departments to implement safe routes for students walking or biking to school. The local police and fire and several other departments took part in a Walk to School Day promotional event. “Without the Champions, we would not have that insight and understanding of the community needs,” Marrufo said.
Residents give input during a planning meeting for the Etiwanda Heights development. (Photo provided)
Community projects Two city projects that caught the eye of the All-America City committee included the Etiwanda Heights neighborhood and Los Amigos Park. Etiwanda Heights began as an abandoned gravel mine. Several years ago, the city saw the area’s potential for development, including the realization of walkable neighborhoods and conservation areas. Through the Champions’ efforts, the original plan was reworked, with input from city residents who, otherwise, would have been excluded. “The Champions said, ‘We really value open space, greenery; we Los Amigos Park was largely designed by Rancho Cucamonga really want our kids to have opportunities for sports and exercise and residents. (Photo provided) mental health,’” De Guzman said. Another example of this is Los Amigos Park. From the beginning, the Champions were at the planning meetings, bringing feedback The park’s grand opening went beyond the traditional ribbon from the community. cutting, featuring food, entertainment, games and information on “They really wanted the community to design the park and help community resources. “At a city council meeting, our Champions spoke on behalf of the with creating the priorities,” Marrufo said. “The city partnered with the neighborhood communities, with Los Amigos School which is park, confirming how the park has changed their lives,” Marrufo said. a three-minute walk from the park. They did a lot of outreach there, “One of the Champions lives next to the park and said, ‘For the first engaged them through workshops, even developing the name and time in 10 years, I don’t have to drive anywhere to go to the park,’ and her whole lifestyle changed.” designing what elements they wanted to have.” For more complete information, visit www.cityofrc.us/healthy-rc. Local students created artwork, which the city printed on tiles that are now part of the park’s “Friendship Wall.”
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Conference Calendar To list your upcoming conference or seminar in The Municipal at no charge, call (800) 733-4111, ext. 2307, or email the information to swright@the-papers.com.
JUNE June 8-9 and 15-16 EUFMC 2021 Virtual https://eufmc.com June 7-10 CleanPower 2021 Online Education & Matchmaking Virtual https://cleanpower.org June 7-13 Fire-Rescue South Carolina Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, Columbia, S.C. https://firerescuesc.org June 8-10 World of Concrete Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev. https://worldofconcrete.com June 9-11 New York State Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting and Training School The Sagamore in Bolton Landing, Bolton Landing, N.Y. www.nycom.org June 9-11 Indiana Volunteer Firefighters Association Convention The Derby Hotel Louisville North, Clarksville, Ind. https://ivfa.org June 10-13 Oregon Volunteer Firefighters Association Douglas County Fairgrounds, Roseburg, Ore. http://ovfa.org/conference/ registration/ June 10-13 Texas City Management Association Annual Conference Kalahari Resorts & Conventions, Round Rock, Texas tcma.org/329/TCMA-AnnualConference 64 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
June 10-13 Montana State Volunteer Firefighters Association 2021 Volunteers Convention Shelby, Mont. www. montanavolunteerfirefighters. com
June 16-18 Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers (Rescheduled: Aug. 30-Sept. 1) Kalahari Resort and Convention Center, Round Rock, Texas https://texastamio.org/2021annual-conference/
June 11 Fire-Rescue Med Virtual https://www.iafc.org/
June 18-19 The League of Kansas Municipalities Leadership Summit & Kansas Mayors Association Conference Lawrence, Kan. www.lkm.org
June 14-16 Prima 21 Virtual conference/primacentral.org June 14-17 ACE 2021 Virtual www.awwa.org/ace June 14-17 SWANA S.O.A.R. (Rescheduled: March 21-24, 2022) Kansas City, Mo. https://swanasoar.org June 15-16 Illinois Rural Water Association Annual Conference Holiday Inn/Keller Convention Center, Effingham, Ill. http://www.ilrwa.org/ June 15-17 New York Water Environment Association Spring Technical Conference & Exhibition Virtual www.nywea.org June 16-18 Arkansas Municipal League 87th Annual Convention TBA www.arml.org
June 22-24 International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference Virtual https://www.iafc.org/ June 22-25 Association of Washington Cities Annual Conference Virtual www.wacities.org June 22-25 Colorado Municipal League Annual Conference (Rescheduled: Sept. 22-24) Westminster, Colo. www.cml.org/conference June 22-25 League of Minnesota Cities Annual Conference Virtual www.lmc.org June 23-24 Oklahoma Rural Water Association Equipment Expo & Training Payne County Expo Center, Stillwater, Okla. https://orwa.org/expo
June 23-25 Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference TBA https://cacp.memberclicks.net June 23-26 California Association of Recreation and Park Districts Conference 2021 Monterey, Calif. www.caparkdistricts.org June 23-26 Utah State Firefighters’ Association 112th Annual Convention Hosted by Tropic/Bryce Canyon City Fire Department www.fireassociation.com June 25-27 Texas State Firefighters’ & Fire Marshals’ Association Overton Hotel, Lubbock, Texas www.sffma.org/annualconference-contest-rules/ June 27-29 Maryland Municipal League Summer Conference Ocean City, Md. (Virtual Option: July 19-20) www.mdmunicipal.org June 27-30 Michigan Water Environment Association 96th Annual Conference (In-person and virtual options) Boyne Mountain Resort, Boyne Falls, Mich. www.mi-wea.org June 27-30 Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police Summer 2021 Professional Development Conference Shanty Creek Resort, Bellaire, Mich. www.michiganpolicechiefs.org
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What to do when you find manmade toxic chemicals in your water system By ASHLEY CAMPBELL | Attorney at SL Environmental Law Group
Recent developments in groundwater testing and regulation have made it easier to ensure safe public drinking water for all. If harmful contaminants have been detected in your water source, it’s crucial to take action to comply with the law and protect your community from exposure to health risks. While the Environmental Protection Agency sets national standards for drinking water purity, many states have put stricter regulations in place to protect their residents against man-made contaminants such as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether and 1, 2, 3 trichloropropane. Research suggests that exposure to these contaminants can have serious health implications, including increased risk of cancer, weakened immune systems, increased cholesterol levels and potential birth defects, among others. Many of the threats posed to public drinking water today arise from the use of defective commercial products near surface and groundwater sources, or from consumer prodAshley Campbell ucts that release harmful chemicals into the water system through everyday use. Shifting the costs to those responsible Whether the source of pollution is natural or man-made, the public often has to bear the burden of funding treatment costs through rate increases. But with man-made contaminants, water utilities and their constituents are increasingly pushing for more accountability. Toxic man-made chemicals showing up in water systems is not new, but it has become more common, as municipalities are now increasing mandatory testing due to state and federal regulations. As municipalities become more aware of the man-made contaminants in their water systems, and as the public sentiment shifts toward holding corporate polluters accountable for the environmental damage, litigation is becoming a water provider’s best line of defense. The good news is municipalities are having success in seeking compensation from the manufacturers responsible. A precedence has been set, and the legal team at SL Environmental Law Group has not lost a water contamination case yet. Some recent wins include over $250 million settlement for the state of New Hampshire; $26.5 million for St. Louis, Mich.; $30 million for Clovis, Calif.; $9 million for Livingston, Calif.; and many smaller settlements that have all lifted the cost burden of water remediation from small to medium-sized utilities. 66 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
Take action Whether your municipality is facing new maximum contaminant levels or has recently discovered the presence of a contaminant in your water system, you need to act swiftly regardless of funding. Protecting citizens and preserving your legal rights are vital. Transparency is crucial from the beginning, and keeping the public informed as you determine the next steps and decide whether or not to pursue litigation is important. Although some water utility leaders are reluctant to draw unwanted attention to harmful contamination, the Flint, Mich., crisis is a strong reminder of the repercussions of failing to be fully transparent. How and when you respond can significantly impact your ability for a successful legal outcome. Here are some critical first steps: Step 1: Engage an engineer to assess solutions Once you’ve detected a contaminant in your water supply, the first step is to investigate possible solutions. There are many ways to address, mitigate and respond to water contamination problems, including: • Water treatment. Various media can remove certain contaminants from the water supply, and novel adsorbents are being developed regularly. Treatment may need to be used in conjunction with other solutions. • Purchasing alternative water sources. This can be a costly shortterm option and may disrupt existing water treatment solutions, since the introduction of water from a new source may impact existing treatment. • Abandoning or drilling new wells. This may be the costliest of choices due to the uncertainty of finding greater water quality and potential losses in production. The cost of additional water treatment is significant but often necessary. Although you’ll have to incur upfront costs to move quickly on remediation, you can then bring legal action to recover those costs. Step 2: Determine how the contamination occurred In addition to reacting quickly on remediation, you’ll need to understand how the contamination occurred in the first place. This calls for an investigation of who was responsible and whether the impact is ongoing. This research can be time-consuming, but it’s crucial for predicting whether levels may increase over time. The more you understand the reason for contamination, the more confident you can be in your chosen solution.
The cost of treating contamination can easily run millions of dollars, even for one small well. Naming the parties responsible for contamination can also help prepare you for pursuing compensation. This process is easier with the help of a team of experts in water contamination law, who can work with you to identify contamination sources even if you decide not to move forward with litigation to recover funds. SL Environmental Law Group works closely with expert witnesses, like hydrogeologists and engineers, who can help uncover the causes of contamination. This step is critical in determining a successful legal outcome and can speed up the time to recover funds for treatment or replacement water. Step 3: Determine how to fund your treatment solution When faced with treatment costs, many water utilities decide to pay for these expenses by either increasing water rates, issuing bonds or finding applicable government grants. In instances when contamination occurs due to natural causes, these may be the best options available. However, when a detected contaminant can be traced to the use of a commercial product use or manufacturing process, it may make sense to file a lawsuit. Across the country, water systems are placing the financial responsibility of treatment costs on the source of the problem: the commercial manufacturers whose defective products have resulted in the contamination of public drinking water. Choosing a water law firm to guide you through the process The steps listed above aren’t easy to navigate without experts to advise you along the way. Many water utilities decide to work with a firm that has a specific focus on water law to increase their chances of successful cost recovery after contamination is found. In your search for the right team to serve as your trusted advisors, there are a few criteria to consider. Seek out a firm with many years of experience in water law exclusively. Firms covering broader environmental law can be too generalized to
understand the nuanced approach it takes to move through the legal process efficiently. The firm you choose should draw from experience working with water utilities, state and local governments, engineers, hydrogeologists and water treatment technologists — they should also be able to point to a long history of water law settlements and verdicts won by their team. Pursuing litigation often requires a large investment of time and resources from the utility with no guarantee of a favorable result. To move forward confidently, utilities must consider another important factor in assessing a law firm: their billing structure. Instead of an hourly billing method, where the client pays a set fee along with any expenses incurred by attorneys along the way, seek out a contingency fee arrangement that allows you to pay only when a settlement or trial verdict is won. At SL Environmental Law Group our approach is unique. Rather than rely on federal acts involving time- and resource-intensive procedures, we use well-established legal theories based on common law and work at the local level. This technique has proven effective for our clients, allowing us to move quickly and efficiently through the court system and focus on reclaiming damages from a single polluter rather than a group of ancillary stakeholders. A note of caution The length of the statute of limitations, the starting point for measuring contaminants and other factors vary considerably from state to state, so water systems who are considering bringing a lawsuit against those responsible for the contamination should consult with legal counsel at the first opportunity, to ensure they are within the legal timeframe for filing a lawsuit. Additionally, the trend for lowering and setting low MCLs and the tightening of federal regulations means more municipalities will be stepping up, which can put pressure on the manufacturer’s legal reserves, resulting in smaller settlements. Being among the first to take action may result in more generous settlements and also ensures your lawsuit is scheduled into busy court dockets as early as possible. Assess the regulatory outlook It’s important to both understand current regulations and have a sense of how they might change. Water quality standards are not static — they have the potential to become more stringent as new testing techniques are developed and health impacts are studied. For example, PFOA and PFOS are chemicals that are commonly being considered for regulation by states. However, there is a whole class of unregulated PFAS chemicals that are currently undergoing scientific and regulatory scrutiny. The EPA has recently published a proposed 5th Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. This would add a further 29 PFAS substances to be monitored in sample collection between 2023 and 2025. Any response to contamination should take into consideration possible regulatory changes that may impact treatment options. Building in some kind of protection against these unknowns is important, and a good legal team can help with recommendations to achieve this. Visit www.slenvironment.com for more information.
JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 67
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News & Notes Incentive Program Launched for Small Municipalities to Replace Their Lead Pipes WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Policy Innovation Center announced the launch of a Lead-Free Water Challenge to help incentivize small municipalities to remove and replace their lead service lines. EPIC will select five municipalities or public water systems that will receive technical assistance, connections to resources and funders, policy guidance and information-sharing through peer networks with the goal of removing all lead pipes. EPIC encourages interested municipalities and small water systems to apply on the Lead-Free Water Challenge webpage, where they can find additional information on the program. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through June 15, 2021. Approximately 11,000 communities across the country have lead service lines, which were largely installed a century ago even as the threat of lead in drinking water became evident. While some larger cities have successful programs to replace lead service lines, many small and under-resourced municipalities and water systems have not had the capacity to address this threat. President Biden announced an intent to remove 100% of the estimated 6 million to 10 million lead service lines across the country, but this will require more than just funding. Small municipalities and water systems face steep challenges such as a lack of specialized personnel, staff capacity and/or financing expertise to figure out how to get started, where their pipes are, how to secure funding and how to initiate a replacement program that is equitable for all residents. EPIC has teamed up with Blue Conduit and other partners to deliver much-needed technical assistance to the selected municipalities. EPIC’s Lead-Free Water Challenge is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Spring Point Partners.
Bonnell Industries announces new sales representative DIXON, ILL. — Bonnell Industries announced some adjustments have been made to its sales and customer service process, welcoming new Bonnell National sales representative Tom Godbold. Godbold has worked with Bonnell Industries for the past four years as a parts and service sales representative. He has amazing customer relations skills and is knowledgeable on the products and solutions that Bonnell provides for its customers. For more information, visit www.bonnell.com.
Agile Fleet’s Joe Poznick takes helm of client success group CHANTILLY, VA. — FleetCommander creator Agile Fleet Inc. has tapped fleet industry veteran Joe Poznick to lead the company’s client success group. He succeeds Matt Wade, who is pursuing
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a well-earned retirement while still continuing with Agile Fleet as a board of directors member. Poznick, who joined Agile Fleet in 2020 as senior director of client success, brings with him over 20 years of experience working with multinational fleet operations with business process analysis, fleet solutions development, telematics, systems integration as well as car-sharing and mobility. “Joe’s dedication to advancing technology to solve complex fleet challenges makes him a natural choice to fill Matt’s formidable shoes,” said Agile Fleet President Ed Smith. “We are confident that Agile Fleet will not only continue to assist our clients with best-in-class service but will go above and beyond.” “Matt and I share the same vision for supporting our clients, and I am excited to continue the great work he has done for Agile Fleet over the past 20 years,” said Poznick. “Agile Fleet clients will continue to experience the benefits of partnering with us, optimizing their use of our solutions, improving their motor pool vehicle management and managing their fleets efficiently.” “Joe’s presence in the role not only supports client relationship continuity but strengthens Agile Fleet’s role as a leader in the vehicle sharing/optimization sector, thanks to his expertise in process optimization and cost reduction,” said outgoing Vice President of Client Success Matt Wade. “I see this as a win-win for all, especially our clients.” Prior to joining Agile Fleet in February 2020, Poznick was senior vice president of operations and customer success for Chevin Fleet Solutions and a mobility and fleet technology consultant for car-sharing and pool vehicle management solutions aimed at government, education, healthcare and corporate shared vehicle fleets. For information, contact Agile Fleet at (571) 498-7555, ext. 1, or Ed Smith, esmith@agilefleet.com, or visit http://www.agilefleet.com.
Congratulations to the latest companies earning MVP status FARMINGTON HILLS, MICH. — Because standards don’t raise themselves, NTEA’s Member Verification Program acknowledges the companies leading the industry to excellence. Fleet managers, truck dealers and OEMs know truck equipment manufacturers and distributors with MVP status have implemented specific business and quality standards and comply with federal regulations. New MVP members (since Jan. 1, 2021) • ABG Fabrication (Naples, Fla.) • AmeriDeck (Hadley, Pa.) • Bob’s Services Inc. (Anchorage, Alaska) • Bucks Fabricating (Hadley, Pa.) • Deist Industries Inc. (Hadley, Pa.) • Driverge Vehicle Innovations (Akron, Ohio) • G eneral Truck Body (Louisville, Ky.) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (Flint, Mich.) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (Jefferson City, Mo.) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (St. Peters, Mo.)
• Scelzi Enterprises Inc. — Colorado (LaSalle, Colo.) • Vantage Mobility International (Phoenix, Ariz.) Renewals • Adrian Steel Co. (Adrian, Mich.) • Aspen Equipment Co. (Bloomington, Minn.) • Demers Ambulances (Beloeil, Quebec, Canada) • EBY Truck Bodies (M.H. EBY Inc.) (Blue Ball, Pa.) • Fontaine Modification Co. (Charlotte, N.C.) • G eneral Body Metroplex (Arlington, Texas) • G eneral Body Mfg. Co. of Texas (Houston, Texas) • HA Dehart & Son (Thorofare, N.J.) • Klein Products of Texas (Jacksonville, Texas) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (Griffin, Ga.) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (Jeffersonville, Ind.) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (Ladson, S.C.) • Knapheide Truck Equipment Center (Miami, Fla.) • Lancaster Truck Bodies (Lancaster, Pa.) • M GS Inc. dba Maxey Trailer Sales & Truck Fitting (Fort Collins, Colo.) • Omaha Standard PALFINGER, A Member of the PALFINGER North America Group (Council Bluffs, Iowa) • PB Loader Corp. (Fresno, Calif.) • Pick Up Pals Inc. (Lubbock, Texas) • Prime Time SV (Elkhart, Ind.) • Summit Truck Bodies LLC (Wathena, Kan.) • Supreme – A Wabash National Company (Cleburne, Texas) • Supreme – A Wabash National Company (Goshen, Ind.) • Supreme – A Wabash National Company (Griffin, Ga.) • Supreme – A Wabash National Company (Jonestown, Pa.) • Transfer Flow Inc. (Chico, Calif.) • Vanner Inc. (Hillard, Ohio) Current NTEA distributor and manufacturer members are encouraged to apply for MVP status at any time. There is no charge — NTEA underwrites the cost of MVP as part of an ongoing effort to enhance the core competencies of its members. Once qualified, companies receive MVP status for a three-year term. To renew, MVP members must again document compliance, ensuring their ongoing commitment to professionalism, industry knowledge and high performance. In keeping with the goal to continuously increase program value, NTEA enhanced qualification requirements, effective Jan. 1, 2021, for first-time applicants. Companies renewing MVP status do not need to comply with changes until Jan. 1, 2022. Visit ntea.com/mvp to learn more and apply, or contact NTEA’s technical services department for personalized assistance at (800) 441-6832 or mvp@ntea.com.
and improved every Dannmar two-post lift, four-post lift, specialty lift, tire changer, wheel balancer and accessory. All Dannmar products are now built alongside BendPak and Ranger equipment in the same factories to ensure consistent quality and durability. “With Dannmar, we are giving customers more choices of durable, dependable and affordable equipment for their professional shops or home garages,” explained Jeff Kritzer, BendPak executive vice president. “All Dannmar equipment is built to the same standards that have made BendPak the benchmark of quality worldwide.” The new Dannmar lineup includes portable low-rise and midrise lifts; two-post lifts with lifting capacity ranging from 8,000 pounds all the way up to 15,000 pounds; four-post lifts for vehicle service, storage and alignment; tire changers, wheel balancers and wheel service packages; plus rolling jacks and other accessories. All Dannmar products feature a blue paint scheme highlighted with the Dannmar white and orange logo. Dannmar products are available to buy online at the new website dannmar.com. For customer support or to order by phone, call (877) 432-6627 from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time Monday through Friday.
New resource provides park and recreation professionals with tools to advance health equity by applying a racial equity lens ASHBURN, VA. — The National Recreation and Park Association announced the release of a new resource: “Elevating Health Equity Through Parks and Recreation: A Framework for Action.” Developed in collaboration with Epic Health Solutions, the interactive framework guides local park and recreation professionals in applying an equity lens to system-wide operations, programs and services. “NRPA strives for a future where all people have access to and are welcomed into programs, facilities, places and spaces that are parks and recreation,” said Autumn Saxton-Ross, Ph.D., vice president of education and chief equity officer at NRPA. “When health inequities are eliminated, the health of individuals — especially Black, Latino, Indigenous and Asian American people and their communities — improves. Many park and recreation agencies have made progress toward this goal; however, there is still much work to be done to eliminate and prevent health inequities. NRPA is proud to assist park and recreation professionals in their efforts to advance health equity.”
Dannmar unveils fully upgraded line of car lifts, wheel service equipment SANTA PAULA, CALIF. — BendPak Inc. has completed its overhaul of the Dannmar brand and is rolling out a completely updated and expanded line of professional-grade car lifts, tire changers, wheel balancers and accessories. BendPak purchased the Dannmar brand and assets in April 2020 and immediately got to work rationalizing and upgrading the product portfolio. Over the last year, the BendPak team has redesigned
News releases regarding personnel changes, other non-product-related company changes, association news and awards are printed as space allows. Priority will be given to advertisers and affiliates. Releases not printed in the magazine can be found online at www.themunicipal.com. Call (800) 733–4111, ext. 2307, or email swright@the-papers.com.
JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 73
REVERSIBLE FANS FOR RADIATOR CLEANING
Improved Air Conditioning
Increased Horsepower
Less Downtime
www.cleanfix.org Toll Free 1-855-REV-FANS (1-855-738-3267) | Phone 519-275-2808 | www.cleanfix.org Reader Service No. 5998
JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 75
TOP 10
‘Cheesiest’ cities in America In honor of National Cheese Day, which is June 4 this year, we are sharing LawnStarter’s listing of the “Best Cities for Cheese Lovers.” Who doesn’t love cheese?
When compiling its list, LawnStarter compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities across 10 cheesy metrics, “from the availability of fondue restaurants and Cheesecake Factory locations to average cost to the number of cheese-related events.”
The website notes, “In 2019, the average American ate over 40 pounds of cheese. Yes, you read that It is not surprising to see California cities and one right: 40 pounds per capita. And while we’re not the Wisconsin city take the top three spots. No. 1 consumers of cheese in the world (Europe is), we’re not far behind in claiming the top spot, either. That’s because every year we’re piling on another half-pound to our plate.”
1. San Francisco, Calif. 51.50 2. Madison, Wis.
49.19
3. Pasadena, Calif.
39.91
4. Chicago, Ill.
34.12
5. Atlanta, Ga.
33.71
6. Arlington, Va.
32.89
7. Torrance, Calif.
32.63
8. Dayton, Ohio
31.57
9. Philadelphia, Pa.
31.36
10. Pomona, Calif.
31.07
Source: https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-cities-for-cheese-lovers/ 76 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
TAKE BACK CONTROL OF YOUR PARKING PAYMENTS T2 MobilePay is a mobile payment solution that provides your parkers a simple and convenient way to pay for parking on their smartphones while empowering you to own your customers, your brand, your data, and your revenue.
NO APP, NO ACCOUNTS
ALL-IN-ONE SOLUTION
100% WHITE LABEL INCLUDED
PROMOTIONAL MESSAGING
Users simply text an SMS short code or scan a QR code to access the online payment portal through a web browser.
When combined with T2 Iris™ software, MobilePay brings all your transaction data together into a single system.
Add your own branding to your MobilePay portal and digital receipts for a customized experience.
Communicate directly to your customers with real-time, geotargeted online messaging on your MobilePay portal.
Whether you’re a large campus with tens of thousands of permitted parkers or a small municipality with a few blocks of on-street spaces, T2 Systems has an industry-leading suite of solutions to help you generate revenue and make every trip a smooth journey for your patrons.
800.434.1502 | T2Systems.com
A STRONGER FUTURE STARTS AT WWETT
You’re the lifeline for customers. The unsung heroes of keeping systems safe and clean so customers can get back to life as usual. Just as you’re there to help support your customers, the WWETT Show is here to help and support you and your business.
Surround yourself with other wastewater and environmental service professionals who understand your daily challenges Uncover the most effective treatment processes through educational insights, innovative techniques and groundbreaking tools Learn best practices for sustaining and growing your business so it can continue to serve your customers for generations to come
REGISTRATION: NOW OPEN LEARN MORE at wwettshow.com @wwettshow
CONFERENCE: JUNE 29-JULY 1 MARKETPLACE: JUNE 30-JULY 2 INDIANA CONVENTION CENTER
PROUD MEMBER OF:
“TURBOCHARGE” Sediment Removals
The Turbo Plate® from Best Management Products, Inc. reduces Total Suspended Solids (T.S.S.) from stormwater runoff. Designed to work with the SNOUT® water quality hood in an online sump structure, these stainless steel plates decrease the velocity and turbulence to increase the capture of fine solids. The Turbo Plates showed an 80% removal rate in 3rd party testing at Alden Labs in Holden, MA, for a sediment sample with a 50-1000 micron particle size distribution at 225 gallons per minute. Turbo Plates are suitable for new construction or retrofitting sumped structures with both an inlet and outlet pipe.
TURBO PLATE Affordable, Proven, Effective
Made in the USA, with over 85,000 SNOUTs installed world-wide. For more information on how our system can solve your stormwater quality issues, contact us at (800) 504-8008 or visit us at bmpinc.com. 80 THE MUNICIPAL | JUNE 2021
US Patents D892972, D893672 Int’l Patents Pending
M
Advertiser Index A
L
AIMS Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover, 12-13
Land Pride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Air Burners, Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Air Netix LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
M
All Access Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
McGard LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Alumitank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Mean Green Mowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
American Shoring Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Mel Northy Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Andy Mohr Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Midwest Sandbags LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
APWA PWX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Monroe Truck Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
B
N
BendPak Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
NAFA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Best Management Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Bonnell Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Britespan Building Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 75 Buyers Products Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
C CBI Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Central Life Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 CleanFix North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Clearspan Fabric Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Curbtender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Curtis Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
D
National Construction Rentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 National Pump Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
P Patriot Sewer Equipment & Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Post Guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 56 Precision Concrete Cutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
R Rapid View LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BACK
S SL Environmental Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 66-67
das Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
T
E
T2 Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Ebac Industrial Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Tech Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
F
The Cone Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
FCAR Tech USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
U
Fluid Control Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Unique Paving Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
G
Utility Truck Equipment Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Global Environmental Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
V
Greystone Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Vermeer MV Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
H
Versalift East, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Henderson Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
VMAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
I
W
ICOM America Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
WWETT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
This index is provided courtesy of the publisher, who assumes no liability for errors or omissions. JUNE 2021 | THE MUNICIPAL 81