The Premier Magazine For America’s Municipalities
PUBLIC SAFETY
April 2022
SIGN HARDWARE ASSEMBLIES BRACKETS
THE LEADER IN TRAFFIC SIGN HARDWARE SINCE 1982
ANCHORS SPACERS CLAMPS RIVETS TOOLS BOLTS NUTS
INSIDE: Communities deal with increasing EMS calls Bolingbrook, IL Permit No. 1939
PAID PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
www.themunicipal.com
Elected officials become firefighters for a day
2022
Safety for All: BUILDING CODES IN ACTION Week 1:
Week 2:
Week 3:
Week 4:
May 1–8 Energy and Innovation
May 9–15 Building Safety Careers
May 16–22 Disaster Preparedness
May 23–31 Water Safety
www.buildingsafetymonth.org
#BuildingSafety365
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Contents
April 2022
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VOL. 13 No. 1
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www.themunicipal.com
Shutterstock photos
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17 Focus on Public Safety
Focus on Public 44 Fleet Services & 22 18 Safety: Communities deal with Maintenance: Meet the Racine increasing EMS calls
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Focus on Public Safety: Brazilian jiu-jitsu shows promise in reducing injury and excessive force
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Focus on Public Safety: Traffic incident management improves cooperation in Maine
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Focus on Public Safety: Cities embrace public safety centers
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Waste & Recycling: Community education program combats recycling contaminations
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Streets, Highways & Bridges: Go with the flow: Tulsa street-widening project to improve dangerous stretch of road
Focus on Public Safety: Fort Walton Beach elected officials become firefighters for a day
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Streets, Highways & Bridges: Goshen crafts walkable downtown after assuming control of Main Street
Municipal Management: Homeless get new lease on life by taking out the trash in Amarillo
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Badger: Racine invests in driverless technology
Technology: Keep it down: Knoxville tests noisemonitoring camera
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ON THE COVER Given the number of fasteners available on the market, it can be a challenge to find the ones you need. SIMIFAST simplifies the process. For over 40 years, SIMIFAST has offered quality fasteners paired with exceptional service and a series of design innovations. Learn more about how SIMIFAST can make your next fastener order simpler on page 10.
PUBLIC SAFETY
INSIDE: Communities deal with increasing EMS calls Elected officials become firefighters for a day www.themunicipal.com
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Departments
Meet our Staff publisher RON BAUMGARTNER rbaumgartner@the-papers.com
8 Editor’s Note: Keep the information flowing
editor-in-chief DEB PATTERSON dpatterson@the-papers.com
editor SARAH WRIGHT swright@the-papers.com
10 From the Cover: SIMIFAST makes
finding the right traffic sign fastener a breeze
12 On the Road Again: Museum of Clean Pocatello, Idaho
14 What’s in a Name: Fostoria and publication manager CHRIS SMITH chris@themunicipal.com
senior account executive REES WOODCOCK rees@themunicipal.com
graphic designer MARY LESTER mlester@the-papers.com
Dublin, Ohio
38 Personality Profile: Fire in his soul: Mason Fire Chief Bryan Brumagen comes by his career honestly
60 Conference Calendar 61 Product Spotlights 62 Company Profile: EZBannerz makes displaying banners easier and better
66 Top 10: Be glad you’re there: Best business manager CARRIE GORALCZYK cgoralczyk@the-papers.com
director of marketing STEVE MEADOWS smeadows@the-papers.com
cities for a layover
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Advertiser Index
mail manager KHOEUN KHOEUTH kkhoeuth@the-papers.com
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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
Keep the information flowing Sarah Wright | Editor
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veryone wants to live in a safe community, where they can live their lives peacefully and know safeguards are in place should they need them. Ensuring those safeguards are available can prove challenging for municipalities because of staffing shortages and the costs associated with operating fire, EMS and law enforcement agencies. The cost can raise eyebrows not only for elected officials but taxpayers — and with ongoing pandemic supply challenges and now the threat of global conflict, the costs aren’t about to go down. Education and highlighting benefits are vital for making the costs associated with public safety agencies a less bitter pill for elected officials and taxpayers to swallow. There will always be those who baulk at an increase of spending, but through proper communications, more will respond favorably, knowing specifically how they and their community will benefit. This is well known by the Fort Walton Beach Fire Department in Florida. In this issue, writer Michelle Blount shares the department’s “firefighters for a day” program, which occurs every few years to ensure newly elected officials experience what their firefighters do and understand the equipment they use and why. It builds a working understanding between the department and officials and helps firefighters voice their needs. Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Fort Atkinson finds itself on a similar mission of education, as it goes before voters this April seeking an additional $769,000 each year on the tax levy to support 14 new full-time positions — thus enabling it to launch its own EMS service versus solely using a third-party EMS service provider. Prior to the April 5 referendum, the
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city held public listening sessions while taking steps to ensure misinformation about the referendum didn’t spread on social media by countering untrue claims. More departments are eyeing bringing EMS services in-house as their communities’ needs soar to the point private services are struggling to keep up. Writer Denise Fedorow shares more about this move to in-house services and spotlights Fort Atkinson’s and Sturgis, Mich.’s, experiences. On the mission to better serve communities, Beth Anne Brink-Cox shares the state of Maine’s traffic incident management training, which builds strong communications between different public safety agencies within the state. Through this training, all agencies who participate are improving the safety of motorists by ensuring accident scenes are managed using best practices where everyone knows their role. In this issue, we are also featuring the growing popularity of public safety centers versus each department having their own buildings and police departments’ embrace of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Now more than ever, it is important to bridge gaps and keep residents informed and educated.
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From The Cover
SIMIFAST makes finding the right traffic sign fastener a breeze By SARAH WRIGHT | The Municipal
(All photos provided) 10 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
Fasteners can be a complicated subject, especially when wading through the various styles, sizes, materials and plating. However, getting the right fastener doesn’t have to be complicated, especially with SIMIFAST. With over 40 years of continued business, SIMIFAST offers top-quality fasteners, exceptional service and design innovation at the most competitive prices.
Go to www.simifast.com for info on Fastener U.
“While our competitors carry a limited amount of specialty items, traffic sign hardware is our main business,” Jamey Hall, SIMIFAST president, said. “No other company can match our depth of inventory or product knowledge. With our many years of experience, we know your needs better than any other traffic sign hardware supplier and can offer alternatives you may be unaware of. Our expertise has led to the introduction of many new fastener hardware options, meeting the industry’s unique requirements.” Bill Whitmore founded SIMIFAST in late 1982, and the still family-owned and operated business has expanded both its personnel, space and part numbers while maintaining its personal service-oriented touch since that start. Since about 1990, SIMIFAST has focused on the traffic sign industry, expanding its product line by sourcing existing products, improving on others such as the drive rivets and designing from scratch many new traffic sign fasteners. Currently, SIMIFAST stocks more than 10,000 part numbers. “I was hired by Bill Whitmore in 1991 when I was discharged from the Navy. I’ve now been here for 31 years and have owned the company since Bill passed about eight years ago,” Hall said, noting his time with the company has allowed him to cultivate great relationships within the industry while furthering his knowledge of the industry. “I’ve used my military background as well and have applied that knowledge to this company.” Hall did serve another 24 years in the Naval Reserves and retired after 30 years of service. Whether seeking rivets, anchors, assemblies, bolts, brackets, clips, clamps, nuts or washers, SIMIFAST carries a wide range of stock, which can be SIMIFAST specializes in tamper resistant hardware.
browsed on its website. Street and highway pros have a one-stop shop with SIMIFAST, saving time and energy. Another element that sets SIMIFAST apart from its competitors is its efforts to educate customers on the fastener industry, empowering them. A unique service that SIMIFAST offers is its Fastener University. Hall said that the traffic world has to stock so many different inventory items that the fastener stock could be a small percentage of their stock but a very critical portion, especially if you don’t understand it or it is intimidating. He created a section on the website where you can go to watch videos on how to measure a nut, bolt or washer, learn the differVCR221 USA-made ence between a screw and bolt or drive rivet. determine what plating is best for particular applications. SIMIFAST will even do a one-on-one Zoom meeting with you to give a personalized education of the fastener world. Fastener University can be done at your pace. Each section features videos and documents designed to instruct and educate on all aspects of fastener technology. SIMIFAST also continues to expand its university’s resources, providing great value for those in the industry. “We would like to thank all of our customers and vendors for over 30 years of loyalty and support,” Hall said. “We are positioned for growth, both in volume and product range, and look forward to your inquiries for our existing products, products that we don’t currently supply and parts that do not yet exist!” For more information, visit www.simifast.com or call (800) 959-8256.
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On The Road Again
Museum of Clean Pocatello, Idaho The six-story, 74,000-squarefoot Museum of Clean takes up an entire city block in Pocatello, Idaho. (Karen Foley/Shutterstock.com)
By RAY BALOGH | The Municipal
D The 20-foot fiberglass likeness of a young Don Aslett was made in the 1960s and is housed in its own corner of the museum. (Provided by Museum of Clean)
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on Aslett is all about clean, in every perspective and nuance of the word: being clean, doing clean, the history of clean, environmental cleanliness, the science and technology of clean, clean as a paradigm and lifestyle, clean humor and clean personal hygiene. The Idaho farm-boyturned-millionaire-entrepreneur, now known as the “King of Clean,” has also parlayed some of the profits from his highly successful Varsity House Cleaning Company into a six-story, 74,000-square-foot museum highlighting the multifaceted concept of “clean” in Pocatello, Idaho. According to its website, www.museumofclean.com, “The ultimate mission and vision of the Museum of Clean is to sell the idea and value of clean, to put clean into the minds of all who visit. We want to expand the scope of clean into areas like clean homes, clean minds, clean language, clean community and a clean world.” Aslett has authored 40 books and conducted — nationally and internationally — more
than 6,000 seminars, workshops and television shows on the subject. Still spry at 87, he still hasn’t run out of words to say about clean as he greets visitors to his family-friendly museum and escorts them around the exhibits. Tours take 45 to 60 minutes and guests are then left to explore on their own and engage in interactive learning and photo-taking. Art and history lovers can expect to spend three or four hours absorbing the displays. The experience is designed, in Aslett’s words, for people to “come interested, leave inspired.” Aslett first entertained the idea of opening a museum devoted to his life’s passion in 1984 but didn’t acquire a significant inventory for display until 2006, when he purchased a private collection of several hundred vacuum cleaners and associated items such as attachments, original patents, brochures and other paraphernalia. The museum is divided into several sections, each with its own unique character, combining education and entertainment.
The library has an extensive inventory of books on the history of cleaning and comfortable accommodations for visitors to enjoy their reading. (Provided by Museum of Clean)
The museum’s Garden of Clean contains more than 20 plants and trees that take harmful toxins out of household air. (Provided by Museum of Clean)
Some of the museum’s many vintage vacuums are available for visitors to attempt using. Some of the machines require strong arms and a sturdy back to operate. (Provided by Museum of Clean)
Vacuum collection Aslett’s collection is arguably the largest on the planet and includes the world’s first — and, in fact, only one still in existence — vacuum cleaner, the Daniel Hess Carpet Sweeper dating from 1860. The collection, numbering 500-plus machines, also contains the world’s first motor-powered vacuum, built in Great Britain in 1902. The large, unwieldy machine was horse drawn and its operators would park the cart outside a building, fire up a gas-powered exterior engine to create suction and clean the building’s interior with a long hose. Art gallery The gallery, housed in its own room, contains more than 200 rare pieces of art, sculpture, photos, jewelry, artifacts and handwritten recipes for cleaning products, all related to a central theme of cleaning. Some of the items are more than 2,000 years old. Garden of Clean The garden has more than 20 plants that clean the air of common household toxins like formaldehyde, xylene and benzene. Some of the plants and trees possess medicinal properties as well. Kid Planet The globe-shaped area for kids is “filled with serious and fun activities that teach children how to clean through activities like the power of suction, recycling, washing windows, bed making and sweeping,” Aslett said. “All these teach how to make cleaning a positive experience.” Library of Clean The library offers hundreds of educational books and videos for visitors to learn the history of clean. Aslett’s books are available for purchase, and he’ll gladly autograph a copy when he’s in the building. Orchestra of Clean Just outside the art gallery is an assemblage of sculptures playing instruments made from cleaning equipment. The maestro conducts the music with a squeegee for a baton. Big Don statue The 20-foot statue, a la the kitschy 1960s advertising monoliths known as Muffler Men, features a young likeness of Aslett bedecked in white
The front foyer of the museum houses the world’s oldest vacuum cleaner, the only one of its kind in existence. (Provided by Museum of Clean)
janitorial garb and holding a mop. Other displays feature brooms, mops, cleaning chemicals and other supplies, some centuries old. The exhibits and displays are all intended to transcend the stagnant presentation of sterile facts found in some other museums. To Aslett, teaching about the history, technology and indispensability of clean is more than a curiosity or part-time avocation; it is a vital clarion call for a better world, one personal commitment at a time. “Clean will solve most of our personal problems, hence most of the world’s problems,” Aslett says on the museum’s Facebook page. “Clean creates harmony, peace, safety and security. Clean speaks with a clear voice that all is well and in control. “Nothing will change your life faster than when you throw away your junk. You have more time, you have more space, you feel better, you’re healthier.” Aslett vows to continue his crusade until his last breath, because of the importance of his quest. “Anything that’s clean has value. Probably next to fire, soap is the biggest cultural achievement of man.” The museum has welcomed more than 90,000 visitors since its opening in 2012. The Museum of Clean is located at 711 S. 2nd Ave., Pocatello, Idaho, and is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for children 3-15 and $20 for a family of two adults and three children. For more information, call (208) 236-6906 or visit www.museumofclean.com. APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 13
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What’s In A Name
Fostoria and Dublin, Ohio By RAY BALOGH | The Municipal Sometimes the names bestowed upon municipalities reflect gratiBy RAY BALOGH | The Municipal tude or warm memories. Such is the case with the Ohio cities of Sometimes the names bestowed upon municipalities reflect gratiFostoria and Dublin. tude or warm memories. Such is the case with the Ohio cities of Fostoria and Dublin.
A stunning dusk view captures the upscale nature of Dublin — preserved by city planners through building codes and development projects — as it overlooks the Scioto River. (Provided by Ohio.org)
The sign for Fostoria hails its two most historically significant industries, railroads and glassmaking. (Provided by Ohio.org)
FOSTORIA The city of Fostoria, about 40 miles south of Toledo and 90 miles north of Columbus, was created in 1854, though the groundwork was laid two decades earlier. In August 1832 David Risdon, on behalf of Roswell Crocker, platted a half of a quarter of a section across the swamp from his namesake town. The two towns, Rome and Risdon, grew simultaneously. Their geographical connection was achieved when the swamp separating them was filled in and developed. The two small communities had challenges maintaining their respective Methodist churches until a wealthy local merchant, Charles W. Foster, donated a plot of land between the two villages for construction of a Methodist church to accommodate all the faithful in one location. Foster donated his land in 1852, the church was built in 1854 and the townsfolk decided that merging their two settlements would serve their collective interests. Neither Rome nor Risdon, however, relented to adopt the other community’s name. The citizens of both villages decided to name the new municipality after the benefactor and dubbed the town Fostoria. Foster’s son, Charles Foster II, later became the governor of Ohio. Two industries launched the commercial success of Fostoria early on — railroads and glassmaking. Even today, the town is known for its railways on which more than 100 trains pass a day. The city is visited every year by thousands of railfans from around the world, and in 2013 Fostoria opened a railroad park, complete with a viewing platform, to accommodate devotees of the iron horses. The glass industry was driven by the abundance of natural gas, particularly in the 1880s with the northwest Ohio gas boom. By the end of that century, more than a dozen glass factories flourished in Fostoria. When the gas supply, once thought to be inexhaustible, depleted, Fostoria’s glassmaking industry suffered extinction. Today, the city of 13,194 residents subsists on other industrial production, including, most notably, the Autolite company, whose presence since 1936 has earned Fostoria the title of “Spark Plug Capital of the World.” For more information, visit www.fostoriaohio.gov.
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DUBLIN The countryside that would become Dublin was first inhabited by Native Americans of the Hopewell, Delaware, Shawnee and Wyandot nations. The Wyandots figured most significantly in the settlement of Dublin’s location along the Scioto River just north of Columbus. The tribe migrated to Ohio after being ravaged by disease and suffering a calamitous defeat in a war with the Five Nations of the Iroquois. They were again defeated by General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, and they surrendered most of their Ohio land in the Treaty of Greenville, signed the following year. After the Revolutionary War, the U.S. government compensated Lt. James Holt for his service with 2,000 acres of land along the Scioto River. In 1802 Peter and Benjamin Sells, settlers from Pennsylvania, scouted Holt’s holdings and purchased the 400 riverside acres at the highest elevation for their brother, John. John Sells and his family arrived in 1808 with their partner, a surveyor named John Shields, who they allowed to name the platted settlement. Shields wrote, “If I have the honor conferred upon me to name your village, with the brightness of the morn, and the beaming of the sun on the hills and dales surrounding this beautiful valley, it would give me great pleasure to name your new town after my birthplace, Dublin, Ireland.” The town, incorporated in 1881, remained small for nearly a century, sporting a population in 1970 of only 681 residents. That changed with the construction of Interstate 270, which sparked a population boom aided by the arrival of corporate entities such as Ashland Inc. and Wendy’s International. Dublin was officially declared a city in August 1987 after reaching a population of 5,000. It has since grown to 50,366 residents. Dublin hosts to several major companies, including Cardinal Health, Stanley Steemer, Nationwide Insurance and CenturyLink, and serves as a bedroom community for nearby Columbus, helping to render the city an upscale community that has received awards for its livability. Dublin still honors it Irish heritage, hosting the annual three-day Dublin Irish Festival. One of the largest in the country, it attracts more than 110,000 attendees a year. The city is also noted for its prodigious roster of native sons and daughters who have their marks as athletes in professional football, baseball, basketball, hockey, golf, soccer and rugby. For more information, visit www.dublinohiousa.gov.
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APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 15
2/21/22 2:06 PM
Bozeman, Mont., is close to realizing the completion of its 95,000-square-foot public safety center.
Read more about this center on page 30.
$35,000 The rough cost of a cardiac monitor defibrillator. Through its “firefighters for a day” program, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Fire Department educates city officials on its operations and the cost of its equipment. Read how Fort Walton Beach Fire Department develops understanding with elected officials on page 34.
focus on:
$43.5 million
Public Safety $769,000
Fort Atkinson, Wis., is asking taxpayers to approve an additional $769,000 via referendum to help it establish an EMS service.
Learn about two communities’ efforts to launch their own EMS services on page 18.
60 days 2019 Since 2019, Marietta Police Department in Georgia has required all new recruits to receive training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
The time it takes Louisiana-based Arcadian Ambulance to train and place an EMT recruit on an ambulance through a new fast-track course put in place to address the nationwide EMT shortage. Source: https://www.foxnews.com/health/ louisiana-ambulance-company-ems-labor-crisis
See why police departments across the country are embracing BJJ on page 22.
12 2 Number of minor injuries sustained in a fire in a Walmart in Carlisle, Pa., after a fire broke out in February. The fire was quickly contained, but a number of customers remained close by to record the incident instead of leaving the area.
Source: https://www.fireengineering.com/fire-prevention-protection/pa-fire-chief-customers-didnt-flee-fire-in-walmart-took-videos/
Amid a nationwide shortage of police recruits, The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, polled 39 Eastern Iowan law enforcement agencies to find out how many had at least one officer who spoke Spanish. Only 12 did, and several of those who responded only had a single bilingual officer. Source: https://www.police1.com/police-recruiting/articles/iowa-police-struggling-tokeep-up-with-bilingual-officer-demand-1rGMfBHbBYPCOI7C/
APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 17
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Communities deal with increasing EMS calls
By DENISE FEDOROW | The Municipal
Many communities across the nation are seeing an increase in emergency medical services calls, requiring changes to ensure residents receive this critical service. Many are moving toward municipal-run services. There are several reasons for the increasing demand, including an aging population. Fort Atkinson, Wis., Fire Chief Daryl Rausch noted a couple of things are factoring into this growing problem. “Yes, we do have an aging population,” Rausch said, adding he was at the tail end of the baby boomers himself — those born between 1946-1964 now ranging in age between 58 to 76. “So we expect a steadily increasing need until 2035.” By 2050, there could be a leveling off of calls. “Another element is our community has become more used to calling 911,” he said. He gave the example of when he was a boy. If he fell, his mom would wash him up and 18 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
send him back out to play. “Now we’re more in tune to having to take the kids somewhere to get checked out.” Rausch said they’ve also seen people’s ability to get medical care “somewhat degraded because of the economy and companies severely restricting insurance. People tend to use 911 transports thinking they’ll be seen quicker, and those without quality health care tend to delay getting health care until it becomes critical.” Also, in Fort Atkinson specifically, “we have a large number of managed care facilities, nursing homes, assisted living and group homes, and those types of things bring a heightened amount of calls.”
ABOVE: Call volume has increased in Fort Atkinson, Wis., and its private provider has struggled to keep up. A referendum in April aims to support their effort by adding Fire/ EMS service to the city’s fire department. (Photo provided by Fort Atkinson, Wis.)
Fort Atkinson is a volunteer fire department with four full-time firefighters — including the chief and three deputy chiefs — and 39 volunteers. Right now, the city has a third-party contractor for 911 EMS service. In 2021, they had 537 calls for service, including both fire and EMS. City Manager Rebecca Housman LeMire said there’s been a 108% increase over the number of calls in 2010. Rausch noted a large part of that increase has been in EMS calls. “The EMS provider is overwhelmed,” Rausch said. “They’ve provided one dedicated 911 ambulance and another that could be used for 911, and when those units are busy, they call the fire department to take the overflow.”
The Fort Atkinson, Wis., Fire Department responds to a 911 call. The department is in the process of becoming a full-time fire/EMS service by the end of this year. (Photo provided by Fort Atkinson, Wis.)
Fort Atkinson, Wis., completed a $5.5 million fire station last year with sleeping rooms and three additional bays to support the move from a volunteer to a full-time fire/EMS department. (Photo provided by Fort Atkinson, Wis.)
Fort Atkinson has always had a third-tier private provider. At one time, the funeral home ran the ambulance. Rausch said the city has been through several providers over the last 40 years and at one time had a national provider. “They left the city with very short notice,” he said. “The current provider has been with the city for about 19 years.” However, LeMire said, “We have non-renewed our contract effective Jan. 1, 2023, in order to set up our own municipal service.” The plan is to hire six full-time firefighter-paramedics and six fulltime firefighter-emergency medical technicians. LeMire said, “We’ll still be relying on our volunteers quite a bit, but we’ll have full-time staff in the fire station at all times.” The total population coverage area for EMS is 18,500, and for fire, it’s almost 18,000. Rausch said the city will match those up so it is covering the same area for both fire and EMS. Implementing the move to full time When asked how the city will pay for this move to fully staffing a fire and EMS service, LeMire responded, “The cost is why we’re asking
for a referendum, and it will be a true public safety referendum as we’re looking to hire 12 full-time firefighter/EMS and two police officer positions.” She said the referendum occurs April 5. “We’re asking for votes for an additional $769,000 more each year on the tax levy to support 14 new full-time positions.” That’s a net amount because there is revenue involved in providing 911 service, and the city has taken into account that revenue will lessen the burden. LeMire said the city also received funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and solicited grants from a local community foundation for start-up costs, which included the purchase of an ambulance and provided training for firefighters. There were $500,000 in start-up costs, and the city received $250,000 from ARPA and $250,000 from the grant. LeMire did not include that amount in the referendum — just operating costs moving forward. The chief was asked if he was concerned about being able to hire firefighter-paramedics, a task many communities are struggling with. “We’re taking an entirely different approach,” he responded. “Rather than hire outside, we’re going to train our current volunteers up to the level they need. We expect nine of the 12 positions will come from volunteers, and we’ll likely hire a few paramedics from outside.” Rausch said it’s possible those hires may come from the current vendor, as a few have expressed interest. “We’re specifically looking for internal hires as these people are invested in the community and are much more likely to stay,” he said. Fort Atkinson is prepared for its new hires as it just completed a $5.5 million construction project late last year. Rausch said the new station was built with future EMS in mind; it has sleeping rooms, administrative offices and three additional bays for apparatus. “The old building only had room for a few people,” Rausch said. “This one was built so 15 people would be able to live here in mind.” Both the Rausch and LeMire are confident they’ll be ready to go when the current contract ends. “A lot of the work has been ongoing — policy development has already been happening,” said Rausch. “Most of the equipment is APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 19
continued from page 19
A Sturgis, Mich., fire truck poses in front of the Sturgis Police and Fire Station. The department will assume ambulance service this spring. (Photo provided by Sturgis, Mich.)
already in place as we’ve had basic life support for four years; additional equipment that needs to be purchased can be done fairly quickly. The hiring plan is in place for early fall so we’ll have people on board and ready to go.” LeMire added, “Our current volunteer firefighters are taking the advanced EMT classes so they can be certified and ready to go when we are.” Public support When asked how supportive the public has been, LeMire responded the city council put the question on the ballot in mid-January so it only had about a month to get and evaluate the response. A website was specifically created for the referendum, and email addresses were posted so residents could ask questions. Recently, a mailer was sent out to inform the public. The city has seen supportive and unsupportive posts on Facebook, and where it sees rumors and misinformation being peddled, it reaches out and tries to direct people to correct information. “We’re trying to provide information for residents and voters so they understand what they’ll be getting,” LeMire said. “At the end of the day, it’s about choice — it is the voter’s choice, and if they don’t support it, they can vote ‘no’ on April 5.” However, she said the city has seen very positive posts on social media, including from their volunteers and their families. LeMire, Rausch and the police chief will hold public listening sessions and visit service clubs and the chamber. “We’ll continue to get out information to all voters so they can make an informed decision,” she said. The city council has been “extremely supportive” of this public safety proposal and plan to take off their council members’ hats and put on their private citizen hats to advocate on behalf of the referendum. 20 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
If the referendum fails, LeMire said the city may look at another referendum in November. The city has already non-renewed with its current provider so it may have to send out requests for proposals to solicit from different ambulance services or it may see drastic department cuts in other areas. With the referendum, the city is focusing on the service it’ll be able to provide and increased response time for fire calls. She said the private EMS service responds in 90 seconds, “but their capacity is lower than what ours will be. For fires, when we rely on volunteers to answer a call, it takes about seven minutes for them to get to the station to get a truck. Having full-time staff at the station reduces response time to a 90-second rollout.” She added, “The reason a referendum is our only option for funding is due to the structure of revenue for local government in Wisconsin. We have two options — state shared revenue and property taxes.” Wisconsin has one of the highest property taxes in the Midwest due to its inability to have other revenue streams, and the state has imposed levy limits. “Fort Atkinson’s general fund is $8 million annually, and the levy limit only allows $18,000 additional revenue to run the municipal operations for the entire year. We were able to make it work by renegotiating insurance contracts, but it’s not a sustainable way moving forward — even with the general operating fund much less with the ability to provide much needed public safety services for our residents,” LeMire said, pointing out the consumer price index has gone up 5.2%, the city’s contracts are going up 5.2%, but it’s only allowed .349% increase in the levy. That’s making it very difficult to be competitive and keep qualified employees. LeMire said, “We’re strangled by levy limits and reduced state shared revenues — at the same time the state has a budget surplus. It’d be great if the state could share that with local government.”
community can be proud of and deserves to have,” he said. “While it is costing us more, we think it’s money well spent to make sure the service is available.” Banaszak said the city commissioner are “very supportive of where we are in terms of EMS coverage and how best to move forward to make sure there’s adequate coverage as we decided to move to a fire-based EMS system here as being best for our community.” He said this is something we’ll be seeing more of as other places are “going to similar models to best utilize their human capital — especially in the environment we’re in now.”
A new city of Sturgis ambulances is shown. The fire department will take over EMS calls from a private contractor this spring as staffing has created issues with keeping up with calls. (Photo provided by Sturgis, Mich.)
Sturgis, Mich. In Sturgis, Mich., Director of Public Safety Ryan Banaszak said the community isn’t really seeing a large increase in call volume, rather lack of staffing has been the major cause of its problems. “COVID really added to that lack of available staffing and longer response times,” Banaszak said. Staff being out for COVID illness or quarantines were a part of that, but he’s also seen a significant drop in EMS personnel as “some use it as an entry into the health care profession as a whole so they leave to become a nurse, and in the last three years, I’ve seen a decrease in the number of people entering the EMS field.” So last fall the city worked with their private EMS provider to create a safety net. “They were struggling with staffing and having ambulance availability and response time so we partnered with them and housed an ambulance here, so if they didn’t have staff or an ambulance or if there’d be significant response time, we could help.” Banaszak said it was basically a “stopgap to address the issue of staffing and taking care of our community while we explored long-term options.” He said since the city of around 11,000 was not currently running its own service, it was a way of helping its community members have a way to get to the hospital in a timely fashion if needed. But starting May 1, the city will run full transport service out of the fire department. It purchased two ambulances and the current contract with the private EMS service is up April 30. The city recently hired three paramedics so the department now has four paramedic-firefighters and 10 EMT-firefighters. Banaszak said one thing the city looked at when looking at the cost is how EMS agencies are paid — generally through Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance carriers. The rates at which EMS services get paid have not gone up since the 1990s, according to Banaszak, but equipment and operation costs are higher. “So running an EMS service is not a money maker for us, but it’s about how to best serve our community and how do we provide a service the
Evaluate and act Fort Atkinson’s Fire Chief Rausch advised, “Don’t wait until the system is broken before you put a plan in place to fix it. If you wait until the volunteer system collapses, it’s virtually impossible to rebuild.” Rausch has worked in four departments in his 42-year career and worked with hundreds of departments as an instructor on the state and federal government level, and he said once a volunteer system collapses and those volunteers walk away in frustration, it’s hard to get them back. He said Fort Atkinson’s fortunate in that many of its volunteers are city employees so daytime coverage is pretty good, but the day he spoke to The Municipal, three ambulance calls occurred at the same time. “Once you’re over 500 calls, it’s not sustainable,” he said. He shared that he always tells people if you want to know how it’s going, ask the volunteer’s family and employer — time away from the family and the job creates stress. Supportive employers want to support the fire department but can’t continue to let employees be gone on calls so much, especially in this current labor shortage when they don’t have the staff they used to have. Rausch said it’s a combination of a tighter workforce and the number of times volunteers are being asked to leave on calls. He said it’s hard for any community to handle three or four calls at one time so the city’s plan is to have two staffed ambulances for the community backed up by volunteer staff and by mutual-aid agreements with communities looking at the same level of service. “That will give us much more depth of service than what we currently have — it’ll double our capacity having in-house EMS,” he said. LeMire said there will be a few nearby communities planning on adding full-time staff this fall, and when that happens, Fort Atkinson will look at adding mutual-aid agreements with them as well. Rausch added, “It’s important to point out and take into account the revenue capital that is currently going to the provider that will be going to the city as well as the contract cost that won’t be spent.” LeMire said she was “confident we’ll get the support we need to move forward.” Meanwhile, in Sturgis, Banaszak said each town and community is so different that each has to “take stock of what the community expects for service and what’s feasible with the staff you have.” “Be creative and think outside the box. This decision was the last stop on the track for us — we looked at a variety of options. If you think ‘community first,’ you’ll be successful. Know that it is a challenge and different for every community. Look at the impact on your local hospital,” he said. “Each community will take an individualized approach — there’s no one answer that can solve the issue for every town.”
APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 21
M Focus on: Public Safety
Many officers from the Marietta Police Department in Marietta, Ga., participate in ongoing regular training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu at a local gym to keep their skills sharp. In 2019, the department became possibly the first in the nation to require all new recruits to receive Brazilian jiu-jitsu training. (Photo provided by Marietta Police Department)
Brazilian jiu-jitsu shows promise in reducing injury and excessive force By KEVIN KILBANE | The Municipal
If your community is considering whether to join the many others across the country that have embraced Brazilian jiu-jitsu training for law enforcement officers, you won’t find much data on whether the training will reduce officer and suspect injuries and result in fewer excessive use of force incidents. However, experts and anecdotal information suggest regular training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, or BJJ, can improve outcomes of officer interactions with the public. “It is just a tool I feel every officer needs in their toolbox for the safety of the officer and the public,” said Jeremy Butler, an assistant professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at Judson University in Elgin, Ill. A former police officer in central Illinois, Butler has been researching police training in BJJ and
22 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
defensive tactics and how that affects officers’ perceptions of their performance when encountering a person who acts violently or resists arrest. The U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice recommends law enforcement officers “use only the amount of force necessary to mitigate an incident, make an arrest, or protect themselves and others from harm,” it said on its website, nij.ojp.gov. Interactions with possible suspects should start with conversation in hopes of gaining voluntary compliance, Butler said. If that fails,
Professor Pete Blair, Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas
Professor Jeremy Butler, Judson University in Elgin, Ill.
police likely will have to physically control the person, which often ends up on the ground. Jiu-jitsu has been described as a “gentle art” because it strives to control an opponent without striking or injuring him or her. BJJ has been popular in law enforcement work because it focuses on taking an opponent to the ground, where he or she can be controlled or handcuffed. BJJ’s use of leverage and other skills allows a smaller person to control a larger person, Butler said. BJJ also gives police offensive options if the officer ends up on his or her back during a scuffle or if a person reaches for the officer’s gun. Some police officers have taken BJJ training for many years, Butler said. In 2019, the Marietta Police Department in Marietta, Ga., became possibly the first in the country to require all new recruits to receive training in BJJ, according to Officer Chuck McPhilamy, the department’s public information officer. That move came after an attempted arrest of an inebriated man turned into a violent struggle that went viral. New officers’ positive feedback about BJJ training led the department to offer it to all officers the next year, McPhilamy said. Marietta Police Department officials believe BJJ training produces results. Officers working the 3-11 p.m. shift typically had the highest rate of injuries in the department, McPhilamy said. After BJJ training started, the rate of officer injuries on that shift dropped, and none of the injuries involved officers who participated in BJJ training regularly. Data from Marietta Police Department shows officers trained in BJJ don’t act more aggressively during encounters with the public, but the data doesn’t provide conclusive information about reducing injuries or use of force incidents, according to Pete Blair, a professor of criminal justice at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. Blair also is the executive director of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State, which conducts
Lauren Bonds, legal director for the National Police Accountability Project
research and offers training on a variety of police issues, including use of force and active-shooter response. ALERRT compiles data from Marietta PD, but the department didn’t set up its data gathering as a research study with officers who received BJJ training and a control group who didn’t, Blair said. The data also doesn’t take into account other factors that could contribute to fewer injuries and use-of-force incidents, Blair noted, such as the COVID pandemic, the death of George Floyd, the limited number of use-of-force incidents in Marietta and whether an officer works a desk job or patrols the streets. ALERRT hopes to set up a research study with a large police department that deals with more use-of-force situations and has some officers trained in BJJ and others who aren’t, Blair said. However, Blair said Marietta officers who take BJJ training regularly told him it gives them more confidence, improves their physical fitness and increases camaraderie within the department. Butler’s research, which is in preparation for peer review, yielded similar findings: Preliminary results from a survey of more than 300 police officers who train actively in BJJ show officers believe their training positively impacted their ability to perform under stress. Officers felt more confident during interactions with resisting suspects and felt knowing BJJ helped them succeed in controlling those individuals. Similarly, Butler’s doctoral dissertation, which was written in 2020, surveyed 182 Illinois police recruits before and after their police academy training. Officers reported improved confidence as a result of their control tactics training, which included techniques from BJJ. Butler, Blair and McPhilamy said officers are far more likely to need hand-to-hand tactics to control a suspect rather than a gun. However, many officers receive only brief training in hand-to-hand tactics during their initial police academy training. Successful use of BJJ or other hand-to-hand tactics requires regular, ongoing training against live resistance from another trainee or instructor to build skills and to prepare officers to apply the techniques instinctively and effectively when needed with a suspect, they said. APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 23
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Marietta officers receive compensation time for BJJ training, McPhilamy said. The department also hired a local gym to train officers so they learn from experts and have a range of open hours when they can attend training. Law enforcement agencies also can reduce excessive use-of-force incidents by thinking about public safety more broadly, said Lauren Bonds, legal director for the National Police Accountability Project, which works to protect civilians and to hold law enforcement accountable if it breaks the law. “There are situations where armed police officers are the appropriate response,” Bonds said. Other situations may not require police. For example, she said, instead of sending police when a person experiences a mental-health crisis, send a mental-health crisis team. Instead of sending police to deal with a homeless person, send a person trained to work with the homeless. Bonds also worries police officers may not have enough training initially to use BJJ correctly, which could result in injury to a suspect or leave the officer inadequately prepared to protect himself or herself. Communities should do what they can to prevent any situation that results in the injury or death of civilians or police officers, Butler said. “It only takes one call,” he noted, “and that potential subject’s or officer’s life can be taken or things can go really badly.”
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Officials with the Marietta Police Department in Marietta, Ga., believe training officers in Brazilian jiu-jitsu results in better outcomes during officers’ encounters with the public and reduces the number of officer injuries during those situations. (Photo provided by Marietta Police Department)
M Focus on: Public Safety
Traffic incident management improves cooperation in Maine
By BETH ANNE BRINK-COX | The Municipal
Drivers don’t always observe the Move Over Law, which is mandatory everywhere except for Washington, D.C. It was determined in Maine that one quarter of all traffic fatalities result from secondary crashes caused by such factors as distracted driving. Maine State Police decided enough was enough, and set in motion a program that many other states use: traffic incident management. In no time at all, it was apparent that disobeying the Move Over Law was just a part of the problem. Lt. Bruce Scott of the MSP Traffic Safety Unit Scott’s department got involved in 2011. explained the T.I.M. program is not just a “We sent people out of state for training, Maine project. It was designed by the Federal thinking it was a good idea, and when we Highway Administration Program, funded by did that, we learned that there was a good Congress and launched in 2005 to increase model to follow and a shift away from the responder safety. traditional thinking. In the past, if there was “We look at it as a team sport, complete with an accident, we would immediately begin to a game plan,” said Scott, “and the real goal investigate and usually shut down the road is to reduce first responder injuries. Three until everything was managed. But when personal injury crashes occur every minute traffic is backing up, and drivers down the across the country, and that puts many others road, out of sight of the accident perhaps, in potential harm’s way from responding to don’t know it’s backing up, we have to mitisecondary incidents, as well.” gate that situation as quickly and safely as Scott elaborated, “Any accident that ties possible by opening up lanes and letting up or otherwise blocks the lanes of traffic will other traffic pass through. We understand resolve itself in ways you are not happy with, that the whole investigation is very imporbecause it affects roadway reliability as well tant, but we now do a quick assessment to see as other vehicles on those roads.” if we can open those other lanes, get people moving and work the scene the best we can.” 26 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
Another thing that has changed thanks to the training is that such incidents are now seen as multi-jurisdictional. “There is no one person in charge, and the training includes scenarios for leaders on scene, allowing us to see through different eyes and experiences. We all have a function there, but now we know how to do them all at the same time, which cuts down on all forms of response time, while still respecting the inspection that is equally important,” said Scott. “We build relationships, learn what other agencies do and share what we do, as well. Prior to this, no one could really work in a unified system. No one knew what the other departments were doing. We think of it as a game plan now. In the shutdown days, there was the chain of, say, firefighters to law enforcement to the department of transportation, and that all takes time. For every minute of obstruction, it takes four minutes to recover; therefore, an hour of closed traffic can take four hours to clear up and get it all running smoothly again, which cuts down on road rage and secondary crashes,” explained Scott. Training across the state and the country became very important, and taking an active
Workers monitor highway traffic in Maine. (Photo provided)
role to make the training available as much as possible — and at no cost — is equally important. “We work together. This training isn’t mandatory but certainly encouraged. However, our state police do require it, and it has become part of the basic training new officers receive right from the beginning,” Scott explained. While the T.I.M. training is often during the daytime “office hours,” it can also happen during off times upon request. Federal highway sponsors often fund the instructors when needed. T.I.M. classes are now being held across the United States, with the goal to provide training in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The classes take about four hours, and there is never enough time to cover every single thing the instructors would like. There are quarterly meetings and annual meetings, as well as correction reviews every quarter, “to determine what we learned, what can we do better next time? Wherever we felt frustrated or bothered by shortcomings, we would look at the big picture to determine what to do so it wouldn’t happen again. This is something that goes from leadership on down to the crew, say, that wasn’t a good place to park your cruiser or pumper, and here’s why, and what would you do next time?” Scott explained. It has resulted in not just changes to how first responders perform their work but also in how equipment is carried. It has even resulted in changes to their vehicles. “All MSP cars now have push bumpers,” Scott said, “and they can push a car off the road, even if it’s on its side or on the roof, which
With the fire trucks off the roads, traffic begins moving more quickly than in previous days, thanks to T.I.M. training. MSP strongly encourages every department everywhere to avail themselves of this free, lifesaving training. (Photo provided) APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 27
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clears the road much sooner than if we waited for a wrecker as we used to do. We keep this focus in mind: If we can get a vehicle into the ditch, we can concentrate on what else we need to do immediately. Speed is important, but so is safety. I know we’ve prevented many accidents this way, but you can’t really prove a negative, can you?” “But say a car breaks down on a bridge, shutting down traffic from both directions. We can tell them, look, we’re going to push you safely off this bridge. Before, we would sit with lights on as warnings, and that could and did cause more crashes. Now we’ve worked at determining the right amount of lighting; is it too much or not enough? We don’t want to blind the drivers, and too much lighting is too much stimuli, adding to the stress of the situation. This carries over into every facet of our work, because the public has, and should have, the expectation of reliability.” And there are so many other obstacles first responders can face — tractor trailers that flip over or trees down in the road. Scott said, “The department of transportation has to be called in sometimes and so does the Environmental Protection Agency because we’ve seen planes crash on the highway, necessitating HAZMAT protection and precautions. Sometimes a funeral home has to be called. With this new focus, we just get those roads open first, if we can, and then deal with the other parts of the job.” As for violators of the Move Over Law, Scott said, “Well, there is a fine, currently up to $355 plus fees and costs. This doesn’t increase with repeat offenses, but the problem with that is that you can’t leave a scene if someone cuts so close that your hat blows off your head! So now, at every scene, we have an officer whose sole duty is to deal with these, and there are often so many they can’t keep up. And if you can’t get them stopped for a ticket, the driver could potentially think, ‘Well, it must not be that important; they didn’t come after me.’ Sometimes they may not think of vehicles as part of the Move Over Law, but utility vehicles, tow trucks and all stationary emergency vehicles are there for a reason, and we want our people safe when they’re working.” Scott said this program is strongly encouraged everywhere. “And the networking involved has even gone so far as to mend relationships — always a good thing when you’re working together. You want the best relationships possible. Networking has removed barriers we didn’t think of before when all the training we had was just for our own departments. Sharing frustrations about what we’ve learned helps us all.” He added, “We do scenarios in this training, like, okay, here’s where you parked your fire truck or ambulance, what problems might that cause? What would be a better situation? Or here’s the ambulance. Tell us what you’ll do with it. This has so improved since I came on board in 1998, because in those days, I would have to call and request help that might take two hours to get. Now with the MSP and the DOT working together, I don’t have to ask because they’re listening on the radios, and they head out and show up on scene ready to help. I’ll be driving to a situation and see the lights before I get there. Since they’ve all taken this training, they can take an active role.” One of the more unusual things shared in the T.I.M. program is a video from a few years ago taken at the scene of a multi-vehicle crash, where the fire chief was arrested. It all started because of where the fire trucks were parked. “Yes, that really happened, and in the classes, you’ll hear gasps and ‘No way!’ and so on, and we have to say that it did happen. Not a good 28 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
T.I.M. practices encourage reopening traffic lanes quickly but safely. (Photo provided)
T.I.M. practices encourage strong communications between agencies, helping secure scenes and keep all parties safe. (Photo provided)
way to deal with things — that fire chief sued and won! We always want to be able to work together for the good of our community. That’s what we’re sworn to do: serve and protect. Law enforcement has two forms of contact — hard contact when the situation demands enforced behavior and consequences. Everything else we do is soft contact, and it’s like saving money in the bank, building trust and goodwill — credit, if you will — and if we have to withdraw some of that for certain situations, well, then we’ll need to earn it back again,” said Scott earnestly. “Because what it comes down to is that managing traffic and incidents is really managing people, and the last thing I want is for anyone to see us not working cooperatively together when we’re there to save your life.” T.I.M. has given the MSP and other departments the life skills they might never have earned any other way, skills that serve them well not only on the job, but in every other aspect of life. And isn’t that what we all want?
M Focus on: Public Safety
Cities embrace public safety centers By BETH ANNE BRINK-COX | The Municipal
The public is used to thinking of firehouses, police departments and other city agencies as separate entities that serve and protect them through countless needs and issues. That’s the way it’s always been, but that doesn’t mean it must always be so. What if they only had to call one building for an emergency? In more and more cities, that’s the case. Shared spaces that house multiple public safety agencies are a growing trend. What’s the reasoning behind it? It’s really quite simple: EMS, firefighters and police routinely work together at crime scenes and during 30 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
emergencies, but they don’t currently train together. With shared spaces, they can, and that can only benefit those who call for help no matter what the problem is.
ABOVE: Pictured is an architect’s rendering of the Bozeman Public Safety Center, looking very approachable. (Photo provided by the city of Bozeman)
Auburn, N.Y, chose to renovate an existing, empty building with the help of grants from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Climate Start Communities Program and further funds granted from the New York Department of State. This enabled the city to fully renovate a 17,800-square-foot vacant urban strip mall, adding a newly constructed apparatus bay to house the city’s fire department apparatus,
safety equipment, training and medical supplies and modern decontamination areas for firefighters. Meanwhile, in Ohio, the Cleveland City Council bought South High School with plans to turn the building into a joint training academy for Cleveland police, fire and EMS. While most of the building will be used for training exercises, a few classrooms will be leased back to the school district with the intent of public safety programs in the hope of getting more kids interested in becoming police, firefighters and EMTs. But sometimes it’s easier to build from the ground up, getting exactly what you want from the start. Kyle, Texas, is building a public safety center meant to provide an emergency operations center. When completed, this new building will establish a central command, allowing for collaboration during critical times, like weather-related natural disasters, security threats such as school shootings, major traffic accidents and pandemics. The plans also include such things as a canine unit and community-based programs and mental health services. And in Sand Springs, Okla., the Billie A. Hall Public Safety Center opened in 2019, receiving a Shared Facilities Bronze Award in 2021 Firehouse Station Design Awards. The finished building gave space for many outgrown needs, eliminating the practice of training and testing in an alley. In Bozeman, Mont., Assistant City Manager Chuck Winn spoke at length about the 95,000-square-foot, $43.5 million Bozeman Public Safety Center currently under construction. “Since 2008, our growing city and our public safety agencies have been stressed to provide service. Aging rooms were too small. Police and sheriff’s department (buildings), as well as district courts, became
Work is well underway on the Bozeman Public Safety Center. The center is expected to be completed in June with move-in following in July. (Photo provided by the city of Bozeman)
inadequate a couple of years ago. There simply wasn’t enough space. When we tested the waters and realized we couldn’t get countywide support, we asked voters for city support. They overwhelmingly approved this project. We had tried once before in 2014, but it didn’t pass then. We were planning the building for courts and the police department, and since we also had a need for fire facilities, we added Fire Station No. 1 to the proposed plan. This delayed the need for an additional station and saved taxpayers $1.2 million annually in operation costs. The sale of the old (fire station) would also help offset the cost of the new building. That’s the kind of planning it took, and it passed this time with a good margin. The location we chose was geographically situated to take advantage of shorter response times, which made sense from the FD perspective. For the PD, their office is their vehicle.” The BPSC is rising on the site of the old Montana Department of Transportation maintenance yard. The existing 12 buildings had to be removed and — as much as possible — recycled and repurposed, echoing the reuse of important property already belonging to the city. For example, all the concrete and asphalt from the demolition site was crushed and reused as the base of the building and for parking lot pads. The development team worked with all municipal stakeholders to finalize design and save costs wherever possible. APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 31
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“We sat down with our architects, a blank piece of paper and everyone on board,” said Winn. “Working so well together, we got everything we wanted. We took advantage of shared spaces that made good design sense and also planned individual spaces where those were needed. Having the municipal courts and victim services in the same building meant we needed to be mindful that there are individuals entering on the worst day of their lives, already traumatized. They don’t need to be further hurt, and so we are careful that paths don’t cross. Their physical and emotional safety are very important to us, and with this design, no one sees someone they shouldn’t — potential jurors or witnesses are kept separate from those accused. In the current space, somebody in custody can walk past a jury member, they can walk past a victim (and) they can walk past a judge all in the same hallways.” The BPSC is big, and it needs to be — one-third of the city’s workforce will work there. It was financed from three sources — the sale of the previously existing buildings, the general operations fund and capital equipment and replacement fund. “But because the project began pre-COVID, the bids and alternate bids gave us pretty much everything we wanted,” Winn explained. “Materials cost less than (they would) now, and there was no shortage of workers. Even now, we are still on budget and only two months behind where we thought we’d be, and that’s pretty good when you look at the big picture here. A common mistake with government building projects is to reduce costs in an effort to gain support, and then there isn’t enough space — the new buildings are often full before they can open. We knew what we needed, and we asked for it. I think we struck the proper balance. And we were careful to plan for future growth. We have furnishings that can be reconfigured to create more space, and we’ve also got spaces that will allow future building as needed.” The public response has been very positive, Winn said. “We did a huge initiative on educating our voters as to what they would get if they said yes to this project. They asked all the questions that were important to them, and what’s most important now is that we meet and fulfill those expectations and promises.” Completion is expected in June, with occupancy in July. “This has taken about two years,” Winn explained. “Bozeman is the fastest growing city; we are no longer considered a micropolitan area any longer. We are an outdoor mecca, with ski resorts, fly-fishing and the gateway to Yellowstone Park. We have the busiest airport. ‘A River Runs Through It’ was shot here in Bozeman, and that’s what started the fly-fishing trend.” The increase in residents and tourists further highlighted the need for more efficient public services to be easily available. The new building is designed to withstand seismic events and still function, using backup heat and generators. This guarantees that business can go on as much as possible when there is weather or other emergencies. The BPSC has more space overall, more storage space, more workspace, even larger locker rooms and something they haven’t had before — a separate room for processing vehicles in the search for evidence. So it seems that the trend of sharing such space with multiple agencies and departments is here to stay — and is growing swiftly, especially in large and urban areas. It can be a major boon to the community.
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This incomplete space will soon become Court Room A in the Bozeman Public Safety Center. The new space will enable the accused, witnesses, jurors and crime victims to be kept separate, something not always possible in the existing space. (Photo provided by the city of Bozeman)
Workers get to work in one of the BPSC’s future courtrooms. (Photo provided by the city of Bozeman)
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M Focus on: Public Safety
Fort Walton Beach elected officials become firefighters for a day By MICHELLE BLOUNT | The Municipal
In Florida, the Fort Walton Beach Fire Department invited the city’s elected officials and the media to be “firefighters for a day.” Every two to four years, the department will host this type of event, with the first having been held in 2013. COVID derailed the next session that the department had prepared to do; however, last November proved to be the charm, and the department held its third program in the past 10 years. According to Fort Walton Beach Fire Chief Ken Perkins, the department has decided to hold the event every few years because of the change in elected city council members and other city staff; he also stressed the importance of keeping community leaders up to date on emerging life-saving technologies. “As a fire chief, I believe most people have a general understanding of the role fire departments play in their community,” Perkins noted. “However, when you take the time to truly explain and share hands-on examples of all the diverse services provided, especially the tools, equipment and required training to provide those services, it never fails to produce a ‘wow moment’ for the city resident or business owner.” According to Perkins, the event provides participants a small glimpse of what firefighters do every day, with lectures and hands-on drills. Participants learn how to wear firefighting gear, conduct searches in buildings for
LEFT: Fort Walton Beach firefighters run a burning building exercise with a city council member. (Photo provided)
34 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
Councilman Mike Holmes gets “geared up” in firefighters’ bunker gear. (Photo provided)
Fort Walton Beach City Clerk Kim Barnes wears the “hood,” which protects a firefighter’s head, neck and ears from getting burned. (Photo provided)
victims, deploy and operate hose lines and nozzles, get to work with hydraulic extrication equipment on junk cars and provide emergency medical care on full-body simulators, all “in a safe, controlled environment,” Perkins stressed. Perkins said the fire department has always received a tremendous amount of praise from those in attendance. “Most people know what we do,” he stated. “We respond to medical calls and fires, but they don’t understand the tools and equipment, the training and everything that goes into it. We touch on a lot of that during the hands-on day.” The FWBFD has a training facility it uses to give elected officials a better understanding of what they do daily. Firefighters teach those in attendance how to put on all the firefighting gear, including air packs. They use fake smoke to “fog up” certain areas of the training building and send in the participants with a firefighting crew to search for victims in full gear. They’re shown how to “pull lines off the truck and how to advance them, and the different types of nozzles used,” Perkins stated. Perkins mentioned that the department has full-sized medical mannequins for the participants to practice live-saving medical procedures that firefighters sometimes have to do. “It’s really neat to show them the difference between basic life support and what you can do versus what you can do with advanced life support,” he stated, noting there are paramedics on all fire trucks, and while FWBFD does advance life support, it does not transport. Those in attendance are shown how to intubate, how the cardiac monitors work and how to defibrillate. Perkins discussed how the department runs a cardiac arrest exercise for the participants. As they run through the activity, the firefighters for a day are told what the various equipment costs. “This piece of machinery you see here, this cardiac monitor defibrillator, that’s worth $35,000,” Perkins said. Perkins points out that fire protection is expensive, from the required personnel, facilities, training, tools, equipment and fire apparatus are significant investments in the community. “I believe it is my responsibility to ensure that when I step to the podium at a city council meeting and I request funding for resources,
Councilman David Schmidt puts on a face mask, which connects to the self-contained breathing apparatus. (Photo provided)
Local radio personality Scott Mallory participates in the “firefighters for a day” program. (Photo provided)
Mayor Dick Rynearson and his wife Janie learn about firefighters’ life-saving techniques, which they perform daily in their jobs. (Photo provided)
I am not asking those council members to make a blind decision. Hopefully, the fire department has previously educated them on the operation and cost of what’s being requested and the importance of the resource to the fire department’s mission.” While the event takes considerable amounts of planning, Perkins noted the benefits are well worth the time and effort, but that it’s not about promoting additional funding. “Our elected officials come away with a much better understanding of what we do and what it takes to do it,” he stressed. “I believe we have benefited financially from having a better-informed council that understands our needs, and the importance of those needs.” Perkins emphasized what a great learning experience and public relations event firefighters for a day is, but that it’s also a day filled with fun because “who wouldn’t want to put on the boots and be a firefighter for the day!” APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 35
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APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 37
M
Personality Profile
Fire in his soul: Mason Fire Chief Bryan Brumagen comes by his career honestly By JULIE YOUNG | The Municipal
Mason, Ohio, Fire Chief Bryan Brumagen said firefighting is in his blood. Besides growing up in a fire department family with a fire chief living in his house, he also has an uncle and several cousins who are in the fire/rescue/EMT field. Throughout his childhood, he hung around various fire stations, and as a teenager, he spent his summers painting fire hydrants. So, when it came time to pick a career path, Brumagen knew there was only one choice. “I started work as a firefighter/EMT when I was 19,” he said. “While I worked, I attended The Ohio State University, where I earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree. As part of my graduate program, I had the opportunity to intern with the Phoenix, Ariz., Fire Department — a highly functioning and positive organization. Upon graduation, I completed paramedic training at the University of Cincinnati, where I continued to work as a firefighter/paramedic with the LovelandSymmes Fire Department.” Brumagen came to Mason in 2008, was promoted to lieutenant in 2012 and was named deputy chief in 2014. He was named acting fire chief in December 2017 and appointed to the permanent position in March 2018. “I like the challenge of finding ways to continually be better. As a city, we are always searching for a better way to deliver service to the community. It is something that is ingrained in our culture, and it is what makes every day interesting and challenging,” he said. The city of Mason, in southwestern Warren County, is located approximately 22 miles from downtown Cincinnati and known for music concerts, such as the Red Rhythm and Boom each July; the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament every August; and is home to King’s Island, one of the premier amusement parks in the Midwest. Brumagen said these events and attractions not only provide worldwide attention for Mason and help drive the city’s economic development initiatives, but they also promote the city’s culture of wellness that further enhances the quality of life for its residents. So it is important that the Mason Fire Department develop 38 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
Mason, Ohio, Fire Chief Jason Brumagen
Chief Brumagen catches up with a future firefighter at the end of an emergency call. (Photo provided by Mason, Ohio, Fire Department)
successful private-public partnerships with organizers to help these events run smoothly. “In the safety services world, we manage emergency events through the Incident Command System,” he said. “This system provides a flexible framework that allows responders to share the work necessary to stabilize an incident and bring it to a successful conclusion. Having these systems and partnerships in place makes everyone’s job easier and contributes to positive outcomes for our citizens and visitors.” Naturally, there are challenges Brumagen faces, and one of the most common threats that all fire/EMS agencies face is a challenging labor environment. While Mason has been fortunate over the years, the department is constantly looking for ways in which to find people who are interested in the field, recruit and retain them. He said the department’s long-term stability will depend on how successful it is in those efforts, and with Mason continuing to grow as a community, he expects labor to remain a challenge for the rest of his career. “Another significant challenge is staying current with technological changes and staying prepared to combat emergency issues involving new technologies, such as the rescue and fire response of electric vehicles,” he said. Having grown up with the organization, Brumagen has watched the Mason Fire Department undergo significant changes over the past 15 years. He said these changes were led by very competent leaders, and because he has served in each position of the department, he’s been able to understand and be a part of those changes as they occurred. Because of that experience, Brumagen does not see the need to make any drastic and immediate changes in the department. What he would like to do is to continue to focus on the future, maintain the department’s positive trajectory, protect their resources and manage growth responsibly. “It is my job to provide support and guidance to our staff and the city so that we can continue to provide a high level of safety services to our community,” he said. “I look forward to adding to the work that has already been done and continue the positive change that has taken place over the past 15 years.”
Mason firefighters gather following the retirement ceremony for a fellow firefighter. (Photo provided by Mason, Ohio, Fire Department)
Mason firefighters train for confined space rescue operations. (Photo provided by Mason, Ohio, Fire Department)
As for right now, he is enjoying his position and working to keep up the culture of excellence that is a hallmark of his department as well as the larger community. “The staff and the leadership are incredible,” he said. “Everyone knows how to play their position and contribute to the team. The city’s unique culture encourages cross-pollination of city departments and leads to incredible relationships and a broader understanding of how we provide and can continue to improve customer service, both internally and externally.” APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 39
M
Municipal Management
Homeless get new lease on life by taking out the trash in Amarillo By NICHOLETTE CARLSON | The Municipal
Three years ago, Amarillo, Texas, implemented a new program called Coming Home to address the increasing homeless population. Using a point in time count, city-coordinated volunteers sought out individuals living in locations not meant for human habitation during a 24-hour period. In January 2019, the count identified 774 individuals struggling with homelessness. When the coming home program initially began, the goal was to serve 25 individuals identified as “chronically homeless,” according to Jason Riddlespurger, Amarillo’s community development director. Since then, Coming Home has served more than 130 homeless individuals and 100 households. Now the program is expanding its services through the new the Peer Reintegration Employment Partnership Academy. “It was our desire to create a work program that mirrored the Coming Home program, particularly the role of the peer support specialist,” Riddlespurger explained. While Coming Home provides temporary emergency assistance for homeless individuals and case managers who help these individuals navigate assistance programs and provide transportation, it also provides peer support services. Clients are provided with mentors to support them and share their own path out of homelessness. “The peer support specialist is committed to teaching and modeling independent living skills, proper housekeeping, job readiness and sound decision making,” he described.
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Using this model, Riddlespurger stated: “We believed many of our previously homeless clients were experiencing barriers to maintaining a job. They struggled to be considered due to gaps in work history, criminal history, etc. To overcome these barriers, we wanted to create an atmosphere in which peer support specialists work alongside the clients so they could mentor and teach the characteristics of a successful employee.” The PREP Academy, as part of the Coming Home program, utilizes the same peer support specialists. Those who participate in the academy are given jobs working for the city itself. “To make the PREP Academy possible, we met with our assistant city managers, chief financial officer, human resources director and the parks and recreation director,” Riddlespurger said. “We brainstormed the idea, and everyone worked through the obstacles together.” The idea involved the human resource department creating new policies to help clients in the new program if they struggled along the way. The city shows grace and forgiveness as clients work
LEFT and ABOVE: The new Peer Reintegration Employment Partnership Academy program in Amarillo, Texas, part of the Coming Home program, assists the city’s homeless by taking those who have successfully participated in the Coming Home program and putting them to work cleaning the city’s parks. (Photos provided by city of Amarillo)
through their individual obstacles and encourages participants to use any setbacks as learning experiences. The city council allocated funding through the American Rescue Plan, giving $250,000 to conduct the pilot program. “It is our hope that the program is successful,” Riddlespurger said, “and that we will be able to move funding from the parks and recreation department to my department and continue providing the service.” The initial clients chosen for the pilot program are all Coming Home program participants who have been in supportive housing, been successful in their transition to housing and expressed interest in returning to the workforce. Parks and recreation jobs were specified for PREP Academy participants in part because, he explained, “historically, the parks and recreation department has had a difficult time filling positions to effectively clean and maintain the city parks.” Full trash bins and refuse thrown on the ground are common complaints of Amarillo citizens who frequent the parks. It is the goal that the areas serviced by the employees will become clean and a source of pride for the city of Amarillo. Participants in the PREP Academy have taken on three large park areas thus far — Thompson Park, Elwood Park and Rails to Trails. Clients pick up trash, empty the trash bins, sanitize bathrooms and equipment and even shovel snow when the weather presents the need. Each week the PREP Academy averages over 12.9 tons of trash removed from the parks. The work they do also allows other parks and recreation department employees to focus on previously neglected tasks. Partners for the PREP Academy include the Hillside Christian Church North Grand Campus, Amarillo National Bank, Workforce Solutions Panhandle and Goodwill. Hillside has provided a large
In starting the PREP Academy, the community development department, led by Jason Riddlespurger, met with assistant city managers, the chief financial officer, the human resource director and the parks and recreation director. (Photo provided by city of Amarillo)
amount of support for the Coming Home program over the years, including providing space for participants to engage in educational classes and offering them daily lunch. The bank provided a free savings account to clients as well as financial literacy training. Between six and eight weeks of payroll and uniforms for the first 15 clients were provided through Workforce Solutions Panhandle, allowing the community development department to start the program and work through the challenges involved in starting a new program. Goodwill, the newest partner, will provide free training for participants. Not all original pilot program participants are still with the program. While 11 participants started, only six remain. Some of the challenges seen with those who are no longer with the program include the tediousness of picking up trash and the physical difficulty of it for some individuals. Some participants were older or had medical issues that prevented them from succeeding at given tasks, while others struggled with sobriety and the city’s drug testing policy. However, the city offered counseling and a second chance policy to those who failed. One participant who left the program successfully completed a rehabilitation program, has remained clean for 40 days and has been able to return to participate in the PREP Academy. Once a participant leaves the program, they are replaced with the next person in line. The city partners with the Guyon Saunders Resource Center, the local low-barrier day shelter, to give interested individuals the chance to participate in the program. Those interested in participating in PREP are given the option to volunteer in keeping the center clean during the week to show each individual’s level of interest and dedication in being a prime candidate. APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 41
continued from page 41
Recently, the city has started an effort to expand the pool of participants. Other agencies and individuals have also reached out to ask how they can participate in the program. As the city receives the funding to increase the team, they will use this list of interested individuals. “Depending on the success of the program,” Riddlespurger noted, “we will look to expand by adding more peer support supervisors, more participants and take on a larger number of parks.” If another city is interested in using a similar program to help their homeless population, Riddlespurger has a few suggestions. “The leading entity for this type of program must be empathetic to the overall goal and must look at this program through the eyes of the participant and with an attitude of ‘How can we make this work?’” He also mentioned looking for areas in the city where there is an availability to put people to work. While Amarillo’s strongest need was in the parks department, the city is also looking at other areas that could be included, such as custodial work. “We believe it is imperative that you have peer support specialists involved in this work,” he stressed. “They have been through the hardships of homelessness, addiction or mental health challenges. They have learned how to overcome these challenges and are passionate about helping others to do the same. “When you are planning, it’s easy to find plenty of roadblocks and reasons you should plan for everything that could happen. I believe we
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When one participant leaves the PREP Academy, he or she is replaced by the next candidate in line. The city partners with the local low-barrier day shelter to find interested participants in the academy. (Photo provided by city of Amarillo)
would still be in the planning stages if we didn’t just make the decision to start the program and work through the challenges as they present. I have described it to my team that we are building an airplane while we are in the air. But for the most part, the difficulties have been minimal.”
M
Fleet Services & Maintenance
The Racine Badger relies on light detecting and ranging sensors to move forward, backward and sideways in addition to camera vision and GPS coordinates to map routes and detect obstacles. (Photo provided)
Meet the Racine Badger: Racine invests in driverless technology By MARY JANE BOGLE | The Municipal
Living up to a “smart city” designation is no small feat. It requires a continual investment in developing, deploying and promoting technology in order to solve urban challenges, and it’s something the city of Racine, Wis., takes very seriously. Consider the city’s nine new electric buses, for example, currently in the testing and training phases. The addition of these buses brings the city of Racine the unique distinction of owning and implementing the largest fleet of electric vehicles in the state. But perhaps even more exciting is the city’s continued exploration in the field of driverless technology. Enter the Racine Badger, an autonomous, zero-emission electric shuttle. In a partnership with Gateway Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Perrone Robotics (a Virginia-based software firm), the city has begun testing this autonomous vehicle for public use. 44 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
“Our ambition is to make the city itself a laboratory for experimentation on this emerging technology around mobility and transit,” said Racine Mayor Cory Mason. How it works The Racine Badger relies on light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) sensors to control forward, backward and sideways movement. The Racine Badger also relies on camera vision and GPS coordinates to map routes and detect obstacles in its path.
Understanding how the Badger works in real-life situations is key to a safe and effective deployment for public use. “We need to understand where the sensors are looking to gain information about the surrounding environment, along with how far those sensors can see,” said Professor David Noyce, director of the University of WisconsinMadison’s Traffic Operations and Safety Lab. “All the sensors on this vehicle create a giant data set every time it runs. We have to learn how the data looks and how to process it to gain a better understanding of how to move to implementation,” he said. “We can understand the underlying technology related to autonomous vehicles from almost anywhere,” said Noyce, “but putting it into practice in the field is the key. We already know 95% of what we need to understand. It’s the remaining 5% that needs additional research and thought before these types of vehicles can become a routine part of our transportation system.” Noyce added, “We’re already learning some helpful information with the little bit of sampling we’ve done so far.” Take a snow bank covering the corner of an intersection, for example, or ice covering a sensor on the pavement. Testing these scenarios in a safe, low-speed environment can lead to greater safety. A collaborative effort That’s why Noyce is so grateful to be partnering with Gateway Technical College, where he and his research team can conduct experiments and explore the technology in a safe environment. Not only is Gateway Technical College providing a home for the Racine Badger, it is also adding a workforce development component to the project. “Part of the electric, connected transportation system involves understanding how the technology interacts across systems,” said Noyce. “Through the Racine Badger project, students at Gateway Technical College can be involved in data collection and analysis. So when they get into their chosen professions, they’ll already have a background to support the technology they’ll be implementing.” The city of Racine’s investment Of course, the project wouldn’t have been possible without the forward-thinking mindset of Racine’s leadership team. Not only did the city put forth the funding to acquire the Badger, but it also took the lead in advancing autonomous technology. “We’re extremely thankful to Mayor Mason to step forward as the first city to take a risk and begin developing this technology for municipal applications,” said Noyce. “Now, other communities are coming forward, looking to do something similar. Without Racine taking that first step, I doubt we’d be this far in our research.” For his part, Mayor Mason couldn’t be happier with the partnership. “I am delighted to take the next steps in bringing autonomous public transit options to the city of Racine,” he said. “Through our partnership with UW-Madison and Gateway Technical College, Racine has been able to think outside the box on how to bring smart transportation options to our residents. Now, with the help of Perrone Robotics, we will begin to test our ideas, not just in the real world, but in an urban environment and on city streets. It’s very exciting.” Future implications Moving automated vehicle technology forward is a topic of great interest to Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson. “We know connected automated technology is here,” he
From the left, Dr. David Noyce, Mayor Cory Mason, Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson and Gateway President Dr. Bryan Albrecht pose with the Racine Badger. (Photo provided)
City and state officials take a test run in the Racine Badger, a zero-emission autonomous shuttle undergoing testing and development through a partnership with the city of Racine, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Gateway Technical College. (Photo provided) said. “This kind of testing of an autonomous vehicle in a controlled environment is important as we look at safety issues moving forward.” Citing existing connective vehicle technology, such as adaptive cruise control, Thompson hopes that autonomous vehicle technology will result in safer roads and dramatically fewer traffic deaths. “The idea is that autonomous vehicles could eventually reduce the number of traffic deaths to near zero,” he said, “since the autonomous vehicles can sense other vehicles or pedestrians and automatically stop.” According to Thompson, projects such as the Racine Badger provide an ideal way to strengthen the relationships with cities, universities and the state government. “Combining the resources of city, state and academia to develop proof of concepts goes a long way toward moving this technology into the next step in urban implementation. We can really save a lot of lives.” For now, the city of Racine remains committed to supporting the kind of testing necessary to make that vision a reality, further enhancing its designation as a truly “smart city.”
APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 45
M
Waste & Recycling
Community education program combats recycling contamination Recyclable items are ready to be sorted at Republic Services Recycling Facility in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Photo provided)
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By LAUREN CAGGIANO | The Municipal
Everyone wins when residents learn to execute a recycling plan correctly. That’s why the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, is trying to reach people through a new initiative called Recycle Clean, launched early in 2022. David Lehfeldt, director of solid waste services, explained how any lack of compliance with a community recycling plan comes with a quantifiable cost. “The problem is that we pay an extra half a million dollars a year to sort out the trash from the recyclable items,” he said. “That’s a very high cost. If we were more careful upfront, we wouldn’t have to pay it. The trash we sort out then still ends up in the landfill. So, we haven’t gained anything there.” One metric in particular shifted the city’s public education work into high gear. “When our contamination rate hit about 43%, we knew we had a problem,” he said. Lehfeldt attributes the noncompliance to a mix of factors: Some residents simply don’t care, while others need more education — although there’s also a “high-performing” group that does a good job with compliance, he said. That leaves a messy middle that needed to be reached. According to Lehfeldt, outreach to those individuals began last summer. A lot of the work was done with a goal of building trust with the city. “A lot of people were concerned that we were going to be looking in their recycling bins and were going to issue fines,” he said. “So, we had to work hard to reassure everybody that we weren’t going to be fining everybody, that our goal was not to make a lot of money. In fact, we’d rather not issue fines at all — just purely educate people.” A community partners program has been launched to work with schools and businesses, including the city’s recycling contractor. “We’re opening the recycling facility up for more tours, too, to help people be more informed and educated about what’s recyclable.” Two new recycling outreach coordinators have been hired. Lehfeldt said now that COVID-19 numbers are dropping, he hopes they can be more engaged with the community. It was a slow start to execute the Recycle Clean program on the ground level due to supply chain issues, Lehfeldt said, but it’s now in full swing. The city has four team members flipping the lids and looking inside the recycling containers. They grade the bins and place one of three different types of tags that communicate the level, or lack thereof, of contamination for educational purposes. The data helps to frame Corpus Christi’s story. For context and comparison, Lehfeldt cites figures from the Solid Waste Association of North America, which indicates that 25% to 30% of residential recycling bins nationwide are what he refers to as “really serious contamination concerns.” In the first month and a half of the program, Recycle Clean only had about 7% or 8% of residents receiving a violation tag for repeated serious, almost careless contamination. “It’s a much lower percentage than what we were led to believe we would have, which is heartening.”
Mike Reeves, municipal sales manager for Republic Services in the Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend and South Texas region, gives a presentation on recycling for National Recycling Day. (Photo provided)
Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo speaks during a tour of the Republic Services Recycling Facility in honor of National Recycling Day, Nov. 15. (Photo provided)
Lehfeldt notes there’s also a percentage of what he calls “wishful recyclers” who have good intentions but need more information so they can comply. He said that cohort represents about 34% of local recyclers. In his words, “about a third of the people are getting the ‘attaboys,’ which is a good number. But about 60% are getting some kind of tag, which tells us that we’ve got a long way to go when it comes to education.” “If we can target that 60%, that’s pretty close to compliance, and move them up, that gives us a good chance of getting our contamination rate, way, way, way down,” he said. The city doesn’t have a lot of data yet to determine the success of the Recycle Clean program. As far as goals, he said they’d like to get contamination down to the 18-20% range in the next few years. “But we’ve got a long way to go to get there,” Lehfeldt said. “That’s cutting it by more than half. That’s a lot of contamination to remove from the system.”
APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 47
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Streets, Highways & Bridges
The foundation for a retaining wall takes shape along Yale Avenue between 81st and 91st streets in Tulsa, Okla. This street widening project will expand the two-lane stretch of road to six lanes, flatten and straighten the hilly, twisty segment that has been the site of 177 collisions between 20042012. (Photo provided by city of Tulsa)
Go with the flow: Tulsa street-widening project to improve dangerous stretch of road By JULIE YOUNG | The Municipal
With so many communities embarking on “road diets” to calm traffic and increase the safety of everyone who uses them, it can be controversial when a city opts to widen a road to accomplish the same thing. However, that is the goal of the $29 million Yale Avenue street-widening project that the city of Tulsa, Okla., began last fall. The project, which is the most expensive street project in the city’s history, will widen, straighten, flatten and reinforce the twisting, hilly stretch of Yale Avenue between 81st and 91st streets that is considered one of the most dangerous in the city. It serves approximately 31,300 vehicles per day (2017) plus about 17,000 vehicles per day near the turnpike located 1 mile south of the segment. It has seen 177 collisions 50 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
between 2004 and 2012, and officials say there have been countless near misses. In fact, most locals think twice before driving along the two-lane road just after a light rain or during heavy traffic, and the defenses that are currently in place are no longer adequate. According to Tulsa city engineer Paul Zachary, this road segment is the only portion of the corridor connecting the Creek Turnpike
Piers form the base of the retaining wall. (Photo provided by city of Tulsa)
(State Highway 364) to I-44 that has not been improved and expanded to six lanes, so it was not a radical idea to make this decision. It was a practical one. “It was its turn,” he said.
Drilling along Yale Avenue will provide for expansive improveA comprehensive plan ments that will make the road segment safer for travelers. (Photo Zachary said Tulsa first considered this project back in 1997, but it provided by city of Tulsa) took a while to bring it to fruition. City officials needed to discuss the overall road system and intersections that needed to be improved, roadway profile. The point will be dropped approximately 12 feet as then determine which elements should be prioritized. “The allocations for widening in a funding package are usually lim- part of the effort to flatten curves to give drivers a longer view of the ited to approximately three road segments and some intersection street. This will allow them to assess traffic conditions and adjust their work,” he said. “With the increased focus on transportation along with navigation accordingly. The project is on track to be completed in increased funding put forth by the elected officials (and approved by fall 2023. voters in 2008, 2014 and 2019), we have been able to perform some long-needed improvements including: street conditions, congestion, Public benefit reconstruction, widening, multimodal and ADA (updates.)” Zachary said once the street is widened and improved, he expects to To accomplish the Herculean task, Tulsa had to coordinate with see an increase in vehicular activity along Yale Avenue. The curves, private utility owners so that they could relocate infrastructure in low speeds, and sight distances have deterred many from driving advance of the project. The exception to this was the Public Service along the one-mile stretch. Company of Oklahoma, whose situation required a phased relocation “With the new lanes and safer road section, increased traffic volin tandem with the project’s progress. The city also plans to install a umes can be accommodated without adversely impacting the new 12-inch water main with 8-inch laterals into neighborhoods as adjacent neighborhoods,” he said. “Now multimodal transportation well as two new storm sewer systems on the north and south slopes can occur through this mile-segment versus being an obstacle to it.” designed to convey the one percent chance of a flood. Construction manager Elliott Stiles said since work began on the As for the cosmetic changes, Zachary said medians, sidewalks and project, he’s heard mostly positive comments from citizens who live landscaping, and a complex system of retaining walls was devised, and do business in the corridor. which allowed for connection of large elevation differentials with“I have received multiple comments alluding to the high level of out invasive grass slopes. Finally, 85th Street will be relocated several professionalism from our contractor and staff working on site,” he said. lots to the south while a retaining wall will replace its original posi- “Many have expressed excitement about the various improvements tion. That location also represents the greatest vertical change in the and are eager to see the finished product.” APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 51
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Technology
Keep it down: Knoxville tests noise-monitoring camera
To catch noise ordinance violators, Knoxville is testing the 24 Acoustics “smart” camera, which has a sound level meter with a couple of high-resolution cameras attached to it. (Shutterstock.com)
By JULIE YOUNG | The Municipal
In the novel “1984,” George Orwell introduced the concept of a “Big Brother” watching everything you do. However, in Knoxville, Tenn., he’s more likely to hear you: if, that is, your car is disturbing the peace. To address complaints leveled by those who have grown frustrated by noisy motorists with modified mufflers and drivers who rev their engines at all hours, the city has installed a mobile camera that captures data associated with distinct noise ordinance violations. “Right now, the city is limited to anecdotal complaints and what patrol officers witness,” Carter Hall, Knoxville policy and business innovation manager, said in a press release. “This camera, on loan from 24 Acoustics Ltd., is a promising new tool that can help cities address noise as a quality-of-life issue. We want to conduct a short-term demonstration project to track the frequency and source of the worst noise issues.” Demanding action The impetus for the new initiative came in October 2020 when the leaders of several homeowner’s associations in the downtown 52 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
Knoxville area reached out to Mayor Indya Kincannon and asked her to do something about vehicles with illegally modified exhaust systems and loud sound systems that make dinner conversation, Zoom meetings and sleep difficult. “Excessive noise is more than an inconvenience. It keeps residents awake and disrupts workers, and chronic noise pollution creates a risk of negative health effects, both physical and mental,” Deputy to the Mayor Erin Gill, the city’s chief policy officer, said in a press release. While there’s a $50 fine for each infraction, catching violators in the act is easier said than done, which is why the 24 Acoustics smart camera is worth a test run. According to Dave Coles, director at Intelligent Instruments Ltd., and a senior consultant at 24 Acoustics, the noise system he helped to develop is a patented, Class 1-accuracy Intelligent Noise Monitor that includes a sound level meter with a couple of high-resolution cameras attached to it.
“The noise camera system works by detecting noisy vehicles and capturing video, audio and precision noise levels of the event to enable someone to review it and determine whether the noise is excessive,” he said. Collect and delete The 24 Acoustics unit, which ordinarily costs $25,000, was tried successfully in Kensington, United Kingdom, in November 2020 then adopted by the UK police force before making its way across the pond to New York City. Philadelphia has also introduced a proposal to bring similar technology to the community. Coles said it’s important for people to understand that although the system is constantly monitoring the noise on the street, it also deletes data that is more than a few seconds old. It only saves content that meets a certain decibel threshold. It’s not able to pick up a conversation, no matter how loud that conversation may be. “A voice wouldn’t really be loud enough (to trigger a saved recording) … because it’s not generating the frequencies that we’d be looking for,” he told local media. City ordinance mandates that vehicles have a muffler in good working order, and it bans muffler cutouts or bypasses. On streets with a speed limit of 35 mph or lower, the maximum noise allowed for most vehicles is 82 dBA. The dBA scale factors in sensitivity of the human ear to various sound frequencies. Examples of noises at the 80 dBA level that sometimes are cited by noise experts include a garbage disposal or a food blender, or, according to OSHA, standing 100 feet away from a moving freight train. A 100 dBA measurement denotes a noise level comparable, according to OSHA, with being on a construction site. Other sources say a 100 dBA measurement denotes noise comparable to a jackhammer. “Although the demonstration project will focus on downtown, testing this tool as a strategy for enforcement will benefit other neighborhoods as well,” Gill said. Once the noise camera demonstration project ends, the city will evaluate the camera’s performance and the data generated before deciding whether such a too could be beneficial to effective enforcement of its noise-restriction ordinance going forward. The 24 Acoustics camera records two-directional video, which captures the license plate number of unusually loud vehicles. However, the noise-monitoring camera is different than red-light traffic enforcement cameras that are currently in use at 19 Knoxville intersections. Residents applaud the initiative and hope that the installation, along with the accompanying signage makes a difference to those living near the intersection of Gay Street and Clinch Avenue. On a television news show last year, Gerald Witt, a homeowners association president in the area, said: “I think it’s important for folks to understand that folks live and work down here and that if you’re being disruptive, it’s no different than someone coming to your workplace or your home and doing the same thing right outside your door.”
The downtown Knoxville, Tenn., community asked Mayor Indya Kincannon to do something about vehicles with illegally modified exhaust systems and loud sound systems that make dinner conversation, Zoom meetings and sleep difficult or next-to-impossible. (Shutterstock.com)
Noise pollution can be a problem in any city, leading some to experiment with ways to reduce noise ordinance violation. (Shutterstock.com)
Sources: www.wate.com/news/local-news/ noise-camera-company-explains-tech-ahead-of-knoxville-test/ www.wbir.com/article/life/city-of-knoxville-considering-new-technology-to-help-enforce-city-noise-ordinance-noise-cameras-downtown/51-0eecbe4f-e06d-4376-a2b503049b9559d8 www.knoxvilletn.gov/news/2022noise-_monitoring_camera_being_tested_downtown
APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 53
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Streets, Highways & Bridges
Goshen crafts walkable downtown after assuming control of Main Street By SARAH WRIGHT | The Municipal
The rerouting of designated state routes can sometimes open the door to new exciting possibilities. The city of Goshen, Ind., discovered this after it assumed control of its Main Street, formerly State Road 15, between Madison and Pike streets in April 2019. This transfer came with the designation of U.S. 33 moving to a new overpass and State Road 15 being rerouted to Third Street. “The city, spanning a couple administrations, saw the benefit of removing the designated state routes from Main Street,” Goshen Director of Public Works Dustin Sailor explained. “The city and the Economic Improvement District are centrally focused on maintaining a strong central city core that in turn supports the rest of the community.” Mayor Jeremy Stutsman added, “The transfer of Main Street from the state of Indiana to the city allowed us to pursue
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several physical improvements that would not have been possible prior to the transfer.” Many improvements were geared toward making Main Street and, by extension, downtown Goshen more pedestrian friendly. Since Main Street had served as a major state route, it experienced heavy truck traffic that ran counter to that mission while also serving as a deterrent for pedestrians in a downtown that has grown to offer unique businesses and restaurants while hosting major events like First Fridays. For
ABOVE: Goshen, Ind., bagged traffic signal lights at intersections along Main Street as it switched to four-way stop signs, crafting a more pedestrian-friendly downtown. Workers will remove the signal mast arms this year. (Photo provided by the city of Goshen)
the city and the EID, it was key to remove that truck traffic to strengthen Main Street’s charm. “Once the transfer of the corridor was complete, there was a short period of relief in having a long-term goal accomplished. Quickly following the transfer to local control, city staff worked to finalize plans to restore Main Street’s pavement and sidewalks. Although there was a desire to make significant changes, utilizing the community’s funds in a smart way is always a focused goal,” Sailor said. Stutsman noted, “We developed conceptual plans to show businesses and
property owners in the downtown what changes were being proposed. Fortunately, Main Street was a continuation of streetscaping improvements that have been happening in the downtown for years. Improvements like angle parking, intersection bump-outs and landscaping planters have been well received in the past by downtown stakeholders and have become part of Goshen’s identity.” Goshen held several public meetings with various stakeholders and the public; these provided a general sense of what was most important to the community. “From the early meeting responses and surveys, there was a strong desire for more parking spaces, dedicated ADA-accessible parking and slightly more favorable support for angle parking as opposed to the status quo parallel parking option that had been in downtown Goshen for many decades,” Sailor said. Taking this information, Goshen’s engineering department evaluated the angle parking option, including reverse angle parking; however, Sailor noted, “Respondents who reviewed the preliminary design concepts voiced their opposition to this type of parking. Conventional angle parking was ultimately selected. To support safer vehicle maneuvering in and out of the parking stalls, the corridor’s speed limit was reduced to 25 miles per hour.” Another change that Stutsman shared was the conversion of Main Street from four lanes to two. “By reducing the number of lanes, we were able to convert Main Street to angle parking. This added many new on-street parking spaces for downtown customers and visitors,” he said. Still, some people voiced concerns about the new angled parking and expected failure. Sailor said, “Being engineers and not
Pictured is a rendering of the city of Goshen’s proposed north and south entryway arches. The project goes to bid this year. (Photo provided by the city of Goshen) fortunetellers, a parking stall escape option was designed using paint, flexible pylons and planters, as opposed to installing concrete and other permanent features. If the public totally rejected the angle parking option, the only loss would be paint and some plastic pylons. Fortunately, the public opinion has been overwhelmingly favorable for angled parking.” In addition to improving parking, the city has strove to make downtown more pedestrian and business friendly. To do this, it eyed its stoplights, which controlled the flow of traffic along Main Street. “Main Street Goshen was once a highly sought-after cruising destination with lighted stops at every intersection,” Sailor said. “Cruising ultimately came to a forced end, and the signal timing was refined to the point a traveler could start at one end of Main Street and time the lights so they wouldn’t even have to stop. This quick pace of traffic flow did nothing for the businesses and made pedestrians feel unsafe.” Naturally, with the designated state highways diverted around Main Street, traffic counts dropped, allowing the city to remove signals from all intersections, excluding those shared with two state highways and at Lincoln Avenue. In their place, the city installed four-way stops; these paired with the slower vehicle speeds have proven to be appreciated by pedestrians. Another pedestrianfriendly feature added was designated crosswalks at both APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 57
continued from page 57
signed intersections and mid-blocks. Currently, these are just painted on the asphalt, but Goshen plans to replace them with decorative thermoplastic brick crosswalks in 2022. Sailor noted street department workers will be trained to do the thermoplastic brick, so they can reapply them as necessary in the future. “In addition to the new pavement surface, nonessential signage was removed, essential signage was replaced with black decorative posts and sidewalk panels that were deteriorated or posed a trip hazard were replaced,” Sailor said. In repairing sidewalk, Goshen faced an interesting challenging: a series of building vaults, which serve as extensions of downtown buildings’ basements. These vaults go into the right-of-ways and made it so some poor sidewalk couldn’t be replaced. “With funding assistance from the Goshen Redevelopment Commission, many downtown businesses have been able to fill in their vaults,” Sailor said. “For those vaults remaining, the redevelopment commission is offering one more year of assistance in 2022. When the vaults are removed, the structural roof deck bridging the void returns to a standard unreinforced concrete panel supported underneath by earth.” Numerous beautification efforts have also been poured into downtown. To maintain an early-1900s historic feel, downtown fire hydrants are painted black with pewter accents, a color scheme only found in the community in downtown Goshen. Businesses have also added outdoor seating, and the EID put in planters and plantings. “Mr. Pottinger and the EID took charge of this aspect of the improvement,” Sailor said of the planters, “and really added another important facet to the downtown experience.” At its start, construction cost opinions suggested the city would need just over $1 million per block to rebuild Main Street. Sailor noted, “With a constant need of road repairs and other improvements throughout the community, coming up with $5 (million) to $6 million to rebuild Main Street was not feasible.” To reduce costs, the design for bidding was performed in-house. Additionally, the road surface made of concrete and asphalt was not completely removed, but milled down into the solid sub-base and then paired with a geofabric bridge material and new pavement. “Niblock Excavating was hired to perform the hardscape improvements, and city staff were utilized to install the signs, remove the signals and paint the fire hydrants,” Sailor said. “Goshen is fortunate to have a skilled group of staff that work cooperatively for the common good of the community.” Funding for the Main Street improvements came from the Goshen Redevelopment Commission, which generates funding from established economic improvement districts. For the cost beyond the commission’s funding limit, monies were pulled from Goshen’s economic development income tax fund. Work isn’t done yet, with more planned improvements coming down the pipeline. Sailor expects the decorative thermoplastic brick crosswalks to go in this year. The old signal mast arms at intersections will come down in 2022. Bids will also open this spring for new north and south entryway arches, with construction of the arches being budget dependent. Then in 2023, there will be a full reconstruction of Jefferson Street between Main and Third streets and resurfacing of Clinton Street between Main and Fifth streets.
58 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
Ample seating makes downtown Goshen a destination to enjoy. Its black decorative posts add to its charm. (Photo by Sarah Wright)
Crosswalks at signed intersections and mid-blocks will receive a face-lift with decorative thermoplastic probably this year. (Photo by Sarah Wright) Stutsman noted, “Also, we will be adding more public art in the downtown.” Overall, Sailor said, “The response has been very positive, and there is a strong desire to keep forward momentum moving on various downtown improvements.” Stutsman concurred. “Fortunately, we have found the improvements have exceeded our expectations. Today, our downtown is more vibrant than ever. Traffic is moving smoothly, parking is highly accessible and the aesthetic improvements are quite popular.”
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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.
APRIL April 6-8 TCFA Spring Conference Park Vista, Gatlinburg, Tenn. https://www.tnfirechiefs.com/ conferences April 6-7 32nd Annual National Fire & Emergency Services Symposium & Dinner Washington, D.C. https://www.cfsi.org/2022dinner/ April 6-8 Washington Association of Sewer & Water Districts’ Spring Conference & Trade Show Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, Wash. https://www.waswd.org/ general/page/workshopsconferences-and-trade-shows April 7-8 LMCA 61st Annual Spring Conference Doubletree Hotel, Lafayette, La. https://www.lma.org/ April 10-13 North American Snow Conference 2022 David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburg, Penn. https://snow.apwa.net/ April 10-13 No-Dig Show Minneapolis, Minn. https://www.nodigshow.com/ April 11-14 Indiana Section AWWA Annual Conference Marriott Downtown, Indianapolis, Ind. https://www.inawwa.org/ April 12-14 AZ Water 95th Annual Conference & Exhibit Phoenix Convention Center, South Bldg., Phoenix, Ariz. https://www.azwater. org/members/group. aspx?code=annualconference
Apri 13-15 Colorado City & County Management Association Annual Conference Hotel Colorado, Glenwood Springs, Colo. https://coloradoccma.org/ annual-conference April 13-15 WRPA Conference & Trade Show Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, Wash. https://www.wrpatoday. org/2022-conference-about April 19-21 South Dakota Joint Chiefs & Sheriffs Spring Conference Deadwood, S. D. https://www. southdakotasheriffs.org/ conferences/upcoming.html April 19-22 AASHTO GIS-T Symposium North Charleston, S.C. https://gis-t.transportation.org/ April 20-22 ORWA 52nd Annual Technical Conference Norman, Okla. https://orwa.org/annualconference/ April 22-23 145th Annual MSFDA Conference & Fire School Willmar, Minn. https://www.msfda.org/annualconference April 24-26 Fire Department Training Network Live-Fire Training Camp Indianapolis, Ind. https://fdtraining.com/training/ courses
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M AY April 24-27 Florida Water Resources Conference Ocean Center & Hilton, Daytona Beach, Fla. https://fwrc.org/ April 25-30 FDIC International Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Ind. https://www.fdic.com/ April 26-28 City Vision Annual Conference Wilmington, N.C. https://www.nclm.org/eventstraining/CityVision April 27-28 MSAWWA & MWEA 2022 Joint Conference Heritage Inn, Great Falls, Mont. https://www.montanawater. org/joint-conference/2022joint-conference
M AY May 1-4 AWW & WEA Conference Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, Hot Springs, Ark. https://awwwea.org/
May 11 NAPO’s Legislative Update Breakfast & Annual Lobby Day Washington, D.C. https://www.napo.org/events/ upcoming-events/ May 18-21 California Association of Recreation & Park Districts Conference Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel, Lake Tahoe, Calif. https://caparkdistricts. org/2022-carpd-conference May 23-25 New York Rural Water Association Annual Technical Training Workshop & Exhibition Turning Stone Resort and Conference Center, Verona, N.Y. www.nyruralwater.org May 23-25 PowerGen International Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, Dallas, Texas https://www.powergen.com/ event-info/event-schedule
JUNE
May 2-5 Maryland Rural Water Association’s 30th Annual Conference Clarion Resort Hotel, Ocean City, Md. www.md-rwa.org
June 3-6 90th Annual Meeting US Conference of Mayors Reno, Nev. https://www.usmayors.org/ meetings/
May 4-6 Labor Relations Institute Yakima, Wash. https://wacities.org/eventseducation/conferences
June 5-8 68th Annual EUFMC Williamsburg Lodge & Conference Center, Williamsburg, Va. https://eufmc.com
May 9-12 AASHTO Spring Meeting New Orleans, La. https://meetings.transportation. org/overview/
June 6-9 NFPAConference & Expo 2022 Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston, Mass. https://www.nfpa.org/ conference
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Company Profile
A banner idea:
EZBannerz makes displaying banners easier and better By CAL PETERS | CEO EZBannerz
It’s the quintessential “There has to be a better way …” story. Working for a number of years in a typical mid-sized Midwestern city downtown area, it was impossible not to notice a series of light pole banners that appeared at approximately the same time every year promoting a series of annual events at the local convention center. After my initial, more casual observations, I started paying more attention, and it quickly became clear that “banner duty” for the guys in the bucket trucks was not a fun job. So I sat down, designed and patented a complete solution to their problems. EZBannerz is safer, faster, easier, cheaper and more sustainable than any other banner system on the planet. Plus, our system is patented and made in the USA. Let’s explore what makes our product stand out.
Banners allow communities to show their personalities, spotlight events or add to beautification efforts. EZBannerz strives to make their installation a breeze. (All photos provided by EZBannerz)
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Safety Whenever you put people above grade, you invite all kinds of safety risks, often requiring specialized training. Still, industry statistics tell us that there were about 250 fatalities in bucket trucks over the last five years. That’s an average of one per state per year! I’ve heard multiple accounts where bucket trucks have been hit by 18-wheelers, including as recently as last fall in Paw Paw, Mich.! Our customers have expressed their gratitude at the prospect that they can get their people out of harm’s way when they change their banners, and we’re more than happy to oblige. With EZBannerz, there is no need for traffic control or the resulting bottlenecks, which create safety issues while impeding the traveling public. If you’re in a hurricane-prone area, you’ll almost always have enough advance warning of a storm so that you can go out and quickly remove all the EZBannerz, which saves your banners and banner hardware from damage. This also eliminates the wind forces on the light poles due to the banners, increasing your utility system’s survivability. After the storm, you just go back out with the extension pole and put the banners back up, which is convenient because at that point the bucket trucks are likely going to be pretty busy! As a bonus, our hardware is rated and tested to 100 mph wind force. Bear with me on this one. I happened to travel to Houston a couple years ago, and from my 15th-story downtown hotel room window,
I could see a fair amount of “naked” banner hardware on the light poles. Then I noticed a white-ish “stripe” on the sidewalk directly beneath the banner rods. It appeared that birds were using the banner rods as a perch, thus putting unsuspecting pedestrians “in danger” from above … if you catch my drift. With EZBannerz, you wouldn’t leave the hardware on the pole when it’s not being used, thus making pedestrian traffic inherently “safer.” For the aforementioned reasons, it makes sense for an EZBannerz municipality to approach its liability insurance carrier to get a discount on its coverage and get EZBannerz “spec’d in” as a best practice for municipal banner displays. Faster In the video on our EZBannerz.com home page, you’ll see the banner on the pole swapped out with its replacement in one “trip” up and down the pole in less than a minute. No Photoshop. You can see and get trained on the process of reprovisioning the tool with a new banner on our EZBannerz YouTube channel, which takes two to three minutes, tops. With a little practice, you should be able to do a banner every three minutes or 20 per hour. Or you can do 15 banners an hour and take a 15-minute coffee break every hour. With a bucket truck, a good crew and no breakdowns, you can do maybe 25 banners per day! Easier The extension pole with a set of brackets attached weighs a total of 12 pounds. If you pay close attention to the video, the extension pole rests on the ground for the most part and is only briefly lifted when pushing the brackets up and off or locating and installing the top bracket. Almost anyone can do it! I trained a high school junior girl in 10 minutes and made a short video of her installing and removing a banner, which I uploaded to our YouTube channel as proof!
EZBannerz can be quickly removed if there is advance notice of a massive weather event, such as a hurricane.
EZBannerz can be installed from the ground, removing bucket trucks from the equation. This improves safety while also reducing emissions.
Cheaper If you do “true” accounting, most of the time, bucket trucks cost more than the banners themselves on a per banner basis. So we save you half your current costs for your banner displays. And there’s no need for specialized labor or night shift premium wages. EZBannerz thus opens up affordable opportunities for raising revenue by selling sponsorships on your banners, or using them to promote and help local businesses with advertising. We also offer discounted banner printing. Sustainability No bucket trucks, no bucket truck emission. We hired a consultant to calculate the emissions from a typical day of banner duty with a medium-duty diesel truck using EPA emission factors. Turns out it’s almost 200 pounds of CO2 alone that’s reduced … not to mention the NOx, SOx, VOC and PM10 emitted every time you change the banners. All eliminated. EZBannerz yields direct credits for those emissions versus the “offsets” you get from wind and solar, both of which require massive capital expenses and ongoing maintenance expenses. Contact us today! Let’s put EZBannerz to work helping to make your city a better and more attractive place to live. For more information, visit ezbannerz.com.
With EZBANNERZ, replacing banners can be a single trip and a trained crew could do 15 banners an hour.
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TOP 10 Be glad you’re there: Best cities for a layover Even on domestic jaunts, flight layovers are often inevitable. But several hours of living in limbo between where you started and where you’re going is tediously boring, and at the same time, anxiety-inducing. (Because, after all that waiting, you don’t want to miss your connecting flight!) If your layover is long or your connection delayed, the blog Lawn Love suggests it’s sometimes invigorating to explore the city that lies outside the terminal window. They looked at 56 of the country’s largest cities — their ease of navigation, number of fun attractions, restaurants and walking paths — and crossed that information with their airports’ rates of delayed and canceled flights, as well as how far the airport is from the city center. The result is a ranking of the best and worst cities to venture out in if your flight doesn’t leave for at least a few hours. If you’d like to make the most of your next layover, consider booking through these cities:
1. Portland, Ore. 2. Boise, Idaho 3. Anchorage, Alaska 4. New York, N.Y. 5. Honolulu, Hawaii 6. Miami, Fla. 7. Los Angeles, Calif. 8. Atlanta, Ga. 9. Sacramento, Calif. 10. San Antonio, Texas Source: https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-worst-cities-layovers/ 66 THE MUNICIPAL | APRIL 2022
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Exclusively manufactured by: Fluid Control Services, Inc. | 1.800.683.5189 1155 Allgood Road • Suite 15 Marietta, Georgia 30062 | Fax: 770.509.5832
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Advertiser Index A
L
Air Netix LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Land Pride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
All Access Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Leonardo Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36-37
Alumitank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 American Shoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 APWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
M Minimizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Monroe Truck Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
B BendPak Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Bonnell Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BACK Bucher Municipal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Buyers Products Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
N National Construction Rentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
S Sensible Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
C
SIMIFAST Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover, 10-11
Calhoun Superstructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Streamlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
CleanFix North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Sourcewell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Curbtender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Strongwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Clearspan Fabric Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Swarco Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
D
Switch-N-Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
das Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
T
E
Tech Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
EZBannerz, Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62-63
Trinity Highway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
F
U
Fluid Control Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Unique Paving Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
G
W
Greystone Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Waytec Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
I
Westnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
ICOM America Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Winter Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
International Code Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Wisconsin Surplus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
This index is provided courtesy of the publisher, who assumes no liability for errors or omissions. APRIL 2022 | THE MUNICIPAL 69
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