25-337 Public Works APWA accreditation

39:42Resolutions. All right. We have one, two, three, four resolutions this morning. We will start with res one.

39:53Okay. If you are here from public works departments, please step up to the podium.

40:05Can I hand you this this paper?

40:10You can get it after. I'll bring it down to you.

40:18We got a few folks.

40:21Yeah, the whole road. So that's

40:25Mm.

40:33All right, I'll go ahead and read the resolution. Resolution number twenty five-three three seven, a resolution by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, recognizing the Pasco County Public Works Department for achieving accreditation from the American Public Works Association and commending its staff for their dedication and to excellence. in service delivery. Whereas the American Public Works Association

41:00is a prestigious recognition awarded to public work agencies demonstrating full compliance with rigorous management practices that promote excellence in operations programs and service to the community. And whereas the Pasco County Public Works Department underwent a comprehensive three-year process from June 21, 2022 to July 23rd, 2025, which included a detailed evaluation of 15 chapters and 215 practice areas and required a minimum compliance rate of 95 percent. And whereas

41:30the Pasco County Public Works Department achieved an outstanding ninety-nine percent compliance rate. Congratulations. Surpassing national standards and demonstrating its commitment to the best practices, continuous improvement, and operational excellence. And whereas out of approximately 23,000 local government public works agencies in the United States, only 223 agencies have achieved APWA accreditation, placing the Pasco County Public Works Department in the

42:00top One percent nationwide. And whereas Pasco County now joins this elite group of 223 accredited agencies across the United States, becoming just one of only 40 currently accredited public works departments in the state of Florida, further highlighting the significance and rarity of this accomplishment. And RAS, the accreditation reflects the hard work, professionalism, and dedication of every team member within Pasco County Public Works Departments to uphold the highest

42:30standards of public service for the residents of Pasco County. Now therefore, be it resolved by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, that said Board hereby recognizes and congratulates the Pasco County Public Works Departments for achieving its accreditation from the American Public Works Association and commends the department's leadership and staff for their unwavering dedication and operational excellence. and service to the community, done and resolved in regular session with a quorum present and voting the sixteenth day of September twenty twenty five.

43:01Move approval.

43:02Second. All in favor.

43:04Aye.

43:05This is Commissioner

43:05Weightman's.

43:06Thank you. Well you gave me a script. Yeah, I

43:09didn't sign

43:10it. Did I sign it? Did I sign

43:12those? Yes you did.

43:15Oh, yes.

43:16Okay. You signed them.

43:17So I'm I'm obligated to r to read this and then we'll speak from the heart afterwards. Obligated? All right. So today we recognize a significant achievement by our Public Works Department, earning accreditation from the American Public Works Association. This milestone milestone marks the culmination of a three-year journey grounded in commitment to excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement. Three years ago, the department made the decision to pursue. the

43:48the American Public Works Association accreditation as a way to strengthen its internal processes and business practices. What followed was a department-wide effort. Employees at every level, from frontline staff to senior leadership, work diligently to review, refine, and document policies, procedures, and best practices. The APWA evaluation process is both rigorous and collaborative. Evaluators volunteer their time and come from a wide range of public works backgrounds, many serving as directors

44:18or senior managers in their own agencies. They bring with them a wealth of experience and insight drawn not only from their own departments, but also but many others they've assessed. At the conclusion of the evaluation, the team of the APWA evaluators selected one. procedures as a model practice.

44:41not com it an an honor that is not common commonly awarded. This particular procedure, which focuses on facilities, security, and safety, was developed through a collaborative effort between public works, facilities, and the safety team. It will now be featured on APWA's membership-only website, serving as a benchmark for other agencies across the country. That's pretty cool. Yeah.

45:08It's um To be critiqued in your role, right, can be a little bit stressful, makes you feel like you're not doing your job or you're not feeling good enough. But uh in this case, to have an outside third party come in and everybody be accepting of the process to learn and get better and take the critiques and learn what we're doing great, what we can do better, what we can improve on is a testament To your dedication and service to Pasco County and to your jobs to be able to accept the feedback and implement it into best practices.

45:39And, you know, that's just a wonderful attribute of all the public works team from Brantford and Jason all the way, all the way down the line. And it truly is, in your world, a team effort with the volume of projects you all have to tackle and face.

45:58So it's an honor to have you all here today. Thank you for your fantastic work and to be in the in the top one percent of all public works departments and receiving this accreditation is pretty cool. So congratulations to everybody here.

46:15Commissioner Oakley. Yeah. Uh well uh we'll all have a C I'm sure. Right in the

46:21administration.

46:23I um I appreciate each and every one of you for what you do each and every day because you have the biggest effect on on most of Pasco County on the ground level. Um You get praises not necessarily f from uh these good works like now, but you get praise for the people recognize the but you don't hear it. When you've got everything mowed and everything's clean and everything looks good all all around the county. But you miss mowing for a week

46:53and everybody's on on your case because it wasn't done. But There's a lot of uh work that has to be done and I know you you have a lot of work to do and sometimes not as many bodies on the ground doing that work that that you need. So I do understand that it is a trying job, but Um Ramford and Jason have a an easier job by having some of the greatest people in the county working for them under them. So the job gets done.

47:23So I certainly appreciate e each and every one of you for what you do. Um I've heard from people that are mostly naysayers that tell me a lot of times how bad our roads look to the point of when we changed our PVAS over to the paving system we have now to tell me was the best thing that the county's ever done. So you should be proud of that 'cause you're the one that's laying that groundwork for the new paved roads and there's a lot of new paved roads out there. You see 'em.

47:54Still those that are not getting their road paved are still fussing but We'll get there in time. But it takes time and it takes money to do it. But I thank each and every one of you for all that you do. Thank you.

48:08Two words. Pasco proud, you guys are amazing and We are just truly blessed to have like the best of the best working in our county. So It's a huge accomplishment, but it does not surprise me that you guys are in the top one percent. You guys are awesome and thank you for everything you do. Mr. Mariano.

48:26Thank you. Well I gave m a little m Right. I don't know how that happened to Carbella, but we're gonna talk later. Uh but literally what you guys have done since I started here back in two thousand four for the hurricanes, uh Brantford you're coming on board, bringing grish great people all around you. Um and and Jason for for you just kinda continually to process everything through, work with Barrett, Elliot, uh Tim, Jason. And uh Larry will even go in a ditch himself if need be. Uh what you guys have done, and I just want

48:56you to think about this. Holiday Hills used to flood out. Remember the first pump we put out there? Put one up above by the Veterans Center, it circled back around, found out later on. That second pump we put went down at the creek, and guess what? A few years later, they haven't flooded since. Um Tim Broaks, Jasmine Lakes, uh Arburdale, no most recent accomplishment there. Uh Ashwood Drive, something that I'll give you card credit, Carbelli. You told me this was gonna work and it's worked. Uh great fix there. Leisure Lane, Greybirch and Gnome. I

49:26mean that was a project working with especially like Joe O'Mower and and Fig were all sitting down talking, how's this gonna work? How are you gonna gravity feed that thing uphill? But you guys went deep enough and it's been working fantastic. Um I know we're gonna work on C uh Sea Pines and Green Key. We've got funding in place for one. The other's gonna work on for the state, and hopefully the state gives us the money to get this done because it's a project that Those two projects so close to sea level, tough to get it to convey to flow, but it can work. And what we've done is set up, it should go. Hopefully we'll we'll get the support. Um Barrett Creek is on the

49:56agenda today. That we're putting the money into start that part of the project too. So that's Griffin Park. Commissioner Oakley, remember way back when you were campaigning? You were over in Griffin Park? Commissioner Oakley? You were over in Griffin Park with me when you were like you were running for office? And you were over in Griffin Park. We found out the flooding, the big settlement with Bear Creek. Because you're being there, that project's now coming to fruition. Um Double Himmock Basin. I know that's one another one that's just talked about by Alan Rose, another big project coming up. So I just want to say in in all the years, what you guys

50:26have done, you should be so proud of. You have taken us out of the spotlight all the time in the news, even our Labor Day weekends where wood wood pipes out whatever. Now we got things in place that solves so many issues. You really should be proud of what you've done. The accreditation is great, which was by the way, I don't know why I didn't get to be interviewed for that either. But uh yeah sorry. I got a little chip, sorry. But uh literally what you guys have done is absolutely phenomenal. I can't tell you much I appreciate you and I know the citizens do, so thank you.

50:53Okay. And now it's my turn and um I'm not gonna name every single project. Um but just just know I know, you know, I don't think we've had water in anyone in Thousand Oaks for for quite a while. So um things have gotten much better. I I'm always happy when I see you guys out working, um and um making sure that our conveyances are working right and I know we all get a little heightened when a storm is coming and um And you guys have to put in a lot of extra

51:23hours during those times. So I'm very grateful for your service to Pasco. Um congratulations on your your recognition and um And even Commissioner, even just today I got an email thanking uh us for um some uh some roads that were paved. So I think the people are generally happy here in Pasco County. County Administrator.

51:44Thank you, ma'am. Um I think first and foremost I w I wanna thank Brantford and I were in very different jobs when I think this originally uh came came forward. So I wanna thank Brantford publicly for having the the vision. and the wherewithal to see that this team could achieve that. And that was many, many years ago. Mr. Mickle, I want to thank you too for your leadership in in in pushing this forward and getting it across the goal lines. And more importantly to the team, as Commissioner Yeager pointed out, we always knew this. It's great to have the affirmation of that and just very, very proud of everything that uh that you have done. Honestly,

52:14it's it's it amazes me. I get goosebumps by it. Uh particularly proud. I didn't know about the safety benchmark, and safety is very, very important in this organization and it's a people-centric culture. It's the number one thing that we can do to take care of our people is to provide them with a safe working environment. So the fact that that is the standard that Pasco County has set makes me doubly proud. So just thank you all for for everything that you've done and getting this where where we've gotten it today.

52:37I taped all of that. On my on my phone accidentally.

52:44We we tape it too, so that's okay.

52:47All right. Um go ahead and I'll try to be mindful of your time. Um I'll be I'll be quick. Um Ch uh Chairman, thank you very much. Um Commissioner Weightman, thank you for sponsoring this. Thanks to all the board. You you you're truly partners um with us in everything we do. We really, really appreciate your support because it it's genuine. You really do support us out there and it shows. Um Mike, thank you for the support that you've given us. You know, Brantford's gonna hate this. I know he's there he is, he's hiding back there. But um he

53:18he was the vision behind this getting off the ground in the first place. Um he's had experience with this in other places, and then thought that it was a perfect time for us here in Pasco County to do this. He put the train on the tracks for us, provided the leadership, and you know, here we are today. So I just want to um really thank him and point him out because we want to be standing here today if he wasn't initially the one to get this going. I want to thank all the branches too, because we everybody is part of this. This isn't just public works. We worked with everybody from parks and

53:48facilities to fleet and you know across across all the branches we've had to work together. Um the ABWA, we have some folks here. Um wanna thank them, the auditors who helped us, and uh a couple of name checks real quick. I know y we got we don't have so much time, but we have a couple of really key people here that that were part of the process that are no longer With us here in public works. Um I don't know if anybody remembers Alice and Ryan. He's still with the county. Laura, um, you know, we have Joseph. I don't know if he's here.

54:18Um, but then um of course I I can't forget about our own Justin here who kind of led the program for us. Uh our safety team was instrumental. Um but but the main people that I wanna point out today, and that's why they're here. are our field teams. I mean you you have a section of maintenance supervisors, labor supervisors here. Um these are the guys who make all this work. This this this award of excellence that we have for our practices, it means nothing For us in the office, really, I mean, it's these guys who make it all make

54:48it all happen. They're the ones that are fixing the roads, filling the potholes, um, helping us when we're flooding, s doing the the mowing of the ditches, everything this that was all a practice. All of that had to be brought to the table by the auditors to show that they're they're doing that um in a e extremely high level, um to the point of excellence. And as as Commissioner Weightman pointed out in his in his initial speech, ninety nine percent of our practices were initially accepted up front. Um it's it's pretty pretty

55:19pretty awesome to be part of it. I can't really take much credit 'cause they did they did everything. And I wanna make a quick joke. Um We were We were talking just before. Like, really, about developing a standard practice of excellence to deal with all the questions that we get on board meeting day. Um So we're gonna be working on that. We're gonna be putting that into practice here pretty soon. Um and and if I if I could, if we have just a second, I wanted to bring up the chair and vice chair of APWA Florida,

55:49um our West Coast uh chapter. They're both here. I think

55:53Hey, I wanted to make a joke too. Not all heroes wear capes.

55:56All right, yeah.

55:58You guys are amazing.

56:00Hi, it's great to see everybody. Um I'm the vice chair of the West Coast branch, and I also have uh I'm also the education, training, and credentialing chair at the state and uh certification commission uh at the national level. And I also want to introduce uh Christopher Alcott, he's the uh the chair of the West Coast Branch. Say anything. I just really want to introduce ourselves and to really introduce uh the APWA. The American Public Works Association is active in the United States, Puerto Rico, and

56:30Canada. And we're very involved with advocacy, with training, credentialing, with networking, and things like that. And I just wanted to be here to memorialize and to recognize this wonder achievement that you all. have made so again wonderful work and uh if there's anything that we can do for you please uh just don't hesitate to to holler at us. And just one last thing, I started off here about twenty-five years ago as an intern. And it's it's so wonderful to see how things have evolved. So thank you for your great work.

57:00Hum. Uh behind you it's just interesting that you're here today. Um we're we're it's also Manufacturing Month and we're gonna be giving out a resolution and behind you is a gentleman named um I'm talking to the you. I'm talking to you Yeah. Um sorry. His name is Tom Madano and um we have a workforce training program here at the county And we're about to take on uh training programs for four departments here at the county and three of which I think are under you guys, one's under it. Someone

57:31else. And um Tampa Bay Water, if you know Tampa Bay Water. Of course. Um I they've been trying to find a training program around the state and even started one of their own. It was unsuccessful. So we are gonna be uh entering in a training program with them. So I'd love for you to meet Tom, he's behind you somewhere when we're done with this. And um And you can uh hear hear what we do here in Pasco County.

57:54Wonderful. And again, anything we can do for you, I'd love to to work with the county.

57:58Yep. Okay, I think there's too many people for us to go

58:02Come on down, Jack.

58:09Oh I had a closing speech. No, I'm just kidding.

58:14Okay. Yeah.

58:22Oh yeah.

58:26Oh wow, this is very tall. Yeah.

58:32I did want to ask what you're doing on Decubulus in Massachusetts. I got I got the display. That's New Port Richey

58:38utilities actually.

58:41None of you guys can look that tall.

58:43This might be our

58:43biggest

58:44problem. We're the same height and we're like three feet high.

58:51He's not tall.

58:52I don't think you can. Sorry.

58:57All right. Just make sure that everybody has a window and

59:00can see me.

59:03And then ready? Oh geez.

59:08Are

59:09you ready?

59:25For you.

59:26Tom Tom is here some somewhere back there and he'll meet you in the back, right, Tom?

59:41Yeah, so I'm gonna give a second to any more water. Well let's skip to the um next one so we can talk

59:47to each other.

59:54Jacob Little.