A proclamation in recognition of Paul A. Hindman, Executive Director of Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, upon his retirement.
Thank you. Thank you. Communications. Madam Secretary, do we have any communications. Then, Mr. President? Proclamations. We have three proclamations this evening. Councilman Castro, will you please read Proclamation 804? Thank you, Mr. President. I would be honored to as proclamation number 16 dash 0804 in recognition of Paul, a Heineman executive director of Urban Drainage in flood control district upon his retirement. Whereas Paul Heineman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural engineering from Colorado State University and a master's degree in business management from the University of Colorado at Denver. As a professional engineer licensed in the state of Colorado, he has over 37 years of experience in the field of water resources, both in the private and public sector. And. WHEREAS, Mr. Heineman began his esteemed career with the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District on January seven, 1985, as a project engineer for the maintenance program. He has held a variety of positions rising through the ranks to become executive director of the district in 2008 and has decided to retire effective September 16, 2016. And. Whereas, in over his 31 years with the district, he served with dedication and his legacy will forever be remembered through the numerous projects that were completed during his time with the district, which include the Goldsmith Gulch, the Storm Sewer Pipe Material, Technical Memorandum, Lakewood Gulch and the University Mexico Storm Sewer, and where, as Mr. Heineman said, unwavering commitment to the district and the safety of every Colorado resident was witnessed firsthand in September 2013, when many counties in the metro area suffered historic flooding. These same floods also displayed the great work that has been done in Mr. Heineman this time, much of which goes underappreciated until it is needed. And. Whereas, through his leadership, responsiveness to citizens and elected officials, volunteer work within the community and dedication to improving policies, procedures and best practices for flood mitigation. Mr. Heineman has helped strengthen a culture and infrastructure that will continue to protect residents and property for decades to come. Now, therefore, let it be proclaimed by the Council of the City and County of Denver, Section one, that the Council of the City and County of Denver honors the work of Paul Heineman and expresses its sincere appreciation for his outstanding career of service to the people of the city and county of Denver, the seven counties served by the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District and the state of Colorado. Section two. That the clerk of the city and county of Denver shall attest and affixed the seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation, and that a copy be transmitted to Mr. Paul Heineman and the Urban Drainage and flood control district. Thank you. Councilman, your motion to adopt. Yes, thank you, Mr. President. And I move that proclamation. 804 be adopted. It has been moved. Let's see here. It's been moved and we get a second. I'm trying. You can see it. We got Ortega for a second. Comments by members of Council. Councilman Cashman. Thank you, Mr. President. First of all, I do want to again mention I want to thank Councilman Lopez for actually bringing this forward. And I'm sorry he's unable to attend and wish his family well. And I know he would be expressing his admiration for Mr. Hyman's work. And Councilman Lopez served as chairman of the Urban Drainage Board for a while and is a fan. I know that for sure. So for those who don't know the urban drainage and flood control district, one of the least cool names for an organization I think I've ever heard was formed in 1969 to work on essential drainage and flood control projects along the front range. The area urban drainage looks at is over 1600 square miles. Includes the city and county of Denver, the six counties that surround us. Parts of it I think 33 cities and towns and affects 2.8 million people. So when I first started on council over a year ago and then President Herndon made the appointments to various boards, I got word that I had been appointed to the board of the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, an organization that I knew nothing about. And I thought Urban drainage. What is this going to be about? And I was very unimpressed. And then I started talking with friends who have interest in that area. And universally the word came back that this was an organization, the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District, that was held in the highest esteem for the work that it does and the importance of the projects that it does in saving lives. And then as I got began serving on the board and got to know more intimately about the work the board did, it is a totally nonpolitical organization. It is one of the most efficient deliverers of service that I think I've seen in my time on council. They they look to the jurisdictions that they serve to tell them what needs to be done. And then they design and engineer the projects and go to outside sources to actually do do the construction. The work they do has literally saved lives throughout throughout our area. And as was mentioned in the proclamation, all you need to do is to look back at the flood was 1965. I think that the Platte River flooded. And you look at Boulder, the Boulder area a couple of years ago and this is serious business. And we've talked a lot about our drainage needs in this city recently. And I need to say this and this is a difficult thing to say. So I had we had a vote on a drainage issue recently, and I personally have come to have the utmost respect for Mr. Heineman in serving on the board and watching him carry himself. He is deadly serious about the work that his organization does and feels a commitment to the communities that he serves. And we ended up on opposite sides of an issue. And I had to vote in a way that Mr. Heineman was not pleased with and would have recommended against. And I was so happy that that meeting for that vote ran till about two in the morning, because I noticed about midnight that before we took our vote that that that Mr. Heineman had to leave the building. And so when it came time for me to place my vote, I didn't have to look him in the eyes. So. You know, that's the way this job goes sometimes. And it was no reflection on my opinion of my friend. So with that, I would just offer my congratulations on a wonderful career. And those are going to be very big shoes to fill. And thanks and enjoy your time with your grandkids. Thank you. Councilman Cashman, Councilman Gilmore. Thank you, President Brooks. You know, Paul, it's been an honor getting to know you. I kind of got to know a little bit about your work even before I was elected, because I was always kind of researching what we could do about the Montebello channels. And so, you know, your steady leadership and your commitment to protecting lives and property always with not enough money to really do all of these projects. And so being creative and thinking outside the box and going for different grant dollars is so important. And, you know, you're not just going to leave a, you know, small hole in this organization. I mean, for a lot of intents and purposes, you are this organization. And so I know that transference of leadership is something that you've been working really hard on, and we're going to be proud of the next leader. But no, that will be missing you and hopefully living vicariously through your adventures and your grandchildren and all of the different things I hope you get to do. So thank you for your service. Paul. Thank you. President Brooks Thank you, Councilwoman Sussman. Thank you, Mr. President. I'm so happy to be a part of this proclamation for you. I sort of felt the same way when I was assigned to urban drainage about five years ago and but came to also discover how much I didn't know about urban drainage and how much I would like to know about urban drainage. And one of the most special things that you did for us, Paul, was the lectures before the meeting began. He would give us classes in hydrology 101 before the meeting while we were eating a delicious lunch. By the way, I always would like to recommend that to all of the professors I had before. And so I got to learn all these cool words like outfall and drop structure and occlude and capillary. Not not to be confused with hilarity. And my favorites were Cone of Depression and Cone of Influence, which I often feel like describes the work of a councilwoman. But it has to do with water. And I have always been so grateful to have learned as much as I did about urban drainage. And that doesn't sound very sexy, but it's so important to our community. And the work that you done with urban drainage is something that you are going to. They are big shoes to fill and thank you very much for a wonderful experience serving on your board. Great Councilwoman and Councilman Clark. I apologize. I'm sorry. Thank you, Mr. President. Well, unlike some of my colleagues, I was very well aware of who the urban drainage and flood control district was before I got here, because I'd spent 17 years of my life working down on the South Platte River, and this is just a one of a kind organization and under your leadership has really done amazing things. So you will be sorely missed. You know, one of the things that when you when you play and you work down by the South Platte River, there are a lot of organizations who have some touch on that and have some authority and some control. And that is a hardworking river. And it serves a lot of different things. And one of the frustrations for me was always as I was trying to work on making the river fun and engaging and safe place for kids to come and learn was to run into these big organizations with a lot of resources who would say , Well, that's not the primary function of this river. This is that this river's primary function is to convey water, to get water from point A to point B or to do this or to do that. And one of the things that was just amazing to run into urban drainage and flood control was that you guys totally got it. Was that yeah, that wasn't your primary objective. And you're here to keep keep the city safe and to convey that water in a storm event. But you absolutely understood, like I would say, no other organization working down there that is governmental, that that didn't have to be exclusive, that it didn't just have to be that that's the one thing this river is going to do. And so anybody who has been down to the South Platte River and seen the $30 million worth of new improvements that have happened in the last 4 to 5 years under your leadership, none of those projects were possible without. You. And without you guys, they just weren't. And you were. You just had this amazing ability to always come to a project and say, hey, this is what we have to get done. But you know what? We can do it like this. And then look at all the benefits. Look at. Look at what can happen. And look at now. Today, all of the kids who are down there and experiencing the river and all the wildlife opportunities, that is possible because of urban drainage and because of your leadership. And so as a city, we are in your debt and you will be sorely missed. And and I would say that the river has no greater friend than you. So thank you for everything they've done. Thank you for your commitment and your work and enjoy what you're doing next. But I hope you'll continue to be a friend of the river in Denver, even in retirement. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilman. Councilwoman Ortega. Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like first to ask that my name be added to the proclamation. And then I want to also thank Paul for his years of service with urban drainage and all the important work that you've done throughout the city of Denver and neighboring jurisdictions. I had the benefit of serving on urban drainage for some time and worked with your predecessor, Scott, and your former colleague Bill DeGroot on a number of projects, some of which are on the South Platte River. But that important work would not happen without the important role of urban drainage. I wish you guys would have been the lead agency on the project that Councilman Cashman talked about just a few minutes ago. It might have been a different project, but, you know, that's water under the bridge, I guess, at this point. But I just wish you well in your retirement. And as someone said earlier, there will be some big shoes to fill and just thank you for your service. I see that some of your colleagues are here and hope that when you get a chance to speak, maybe you can just acknowledge them as well. Thanks. Thank you. Madam Secretary, roll call. Cashman I 20 start sorry. Cashman can each. I knew Ortega I Sussman. I Black. High Clark Espinosa. Flynn I Gilmore I Herndon High. Mr. President. I close voting. Announce the results just. Sorry. One moment. Yeah. Total Vice 12 Eyes Proclamation 804 Passes. Now, Councilwoman Kathryn, do you have anyone that you'd like to bring up? I like to think about it as a little room full of people. I'd like to invite Mr. Heineman to say a few words. Thank you very much. First of all, I'm glad that motion passed. And I don't want any of you to confuse me. I'm Paul, and there's a Paul, and we both have blue striped shirts on. But I work for urban drainage. And you're with Denver. You know, I've been at urban drainage and flood control district for over 30 years. And as all of you said, it is a great organization and I have just been blessed to have been a part of that and to work with the city and county of Denver on, as you've all said, numerous projects to help the citizens of Denver be protected when when a flood does happen to protect people, property and the environment. I've had the pleasure to serve with in the last eight years as executive director with four of you on my board. Councilman Cashman, Councilwoman Gilmore and Councilman Lopez, who are on the board right now, and Councilwoman Sussman, who was and Councilwoman Ortega, I do remember back when I was working in the Design Construction Maintenance Program that you were on our board as well and and did many projects in Denver. And our partnership with Denver through the years is just been amazing. We we always want it wanted to serve and do what city and county of Denver wanted us to do, not what we wanted or thought or directed to do. And that has turned out some fabulous projects on Lakewood Gulch, where Gulch, West, Harvard, South Platte, River, Cherry Creek. And I think in the proclamation of one of the ones Councilman Cashman mentioned was Goldsmith Gulch. And I was the project manager on that. And any of you who have been with city and county Denver for a while know that was a long, tedious process to get that done. But we did. And more than 150 households are now protected and are not in a hundred year flood plain because of that project. And that is probably the one in my career that I am the most proud of because that's what this is all about, is to protect people. And I again am just so grateful to have been a part of that. And I am humbled by the people that I've worked with, both with Denver and and at my organization. So thank you very much for this. This is this is the high this is the highlight of my career. Thank you very much.