A proclamation designating May 19th through May 25th as “Public Works Week in Denver” and congratulating the Denver Public Works fifteen Employees of the Year for 2018
So thank you very much. Thank you, girls. Manu. All right. Seeing no other announcements, we're going to move on. There are no presentations and there are no communications. But we do have two proclamations this evening. Councilwoman Sussman, will you please read Proclamation 496? A proclamation and a public works that I bring every year. So happy to make this proclamation. Whereas, in celebrating the American Public Works Association's 2019 theme of Public Works, it starts here. We recognize that Denver Public works through its 1400 plus employees, consistently delivers safe, high quality, equitable, cost effective services to the citizens of Denver. And. Whereas, as our city grows, Denver Public Works connects more people with a strategic vision, focusing on an integrated approach to planning, designing and building infrastructure. Making Denver more sustainable, multimodal, attractive, resilient and transparent. And. Whereas, Denver Public Works employees are integral to our residents everyday lives, delivering services that include street sweeping, snow, plowing, recycling and refuse collection, pothole repairs, street paving and mobility programs supported by top notch vehicle and equipment technicians. And. Whereas, Denver Public Works enhances the quality of life in our city by managing and maintaining public infrastructure, including streets, bike lanes, alleys, drainage ways, sewers, bridges, traffic signals, street markings, signage and on street parking as well as contracting, procurement, cash sharing and permitting programs who that need to meet the needs of the public. Whereas, Denver Public Works continues to make significant contributions to our city's built environment managing the planning, design and construction of public infrastructure and new transportation options that help people get around town with greater ease. And. Whereas, Denver Public Works Focus is safety, which is the backbone to all decisions made within Denver Public Works using Vision Zero, not just as a goal, but as a mindset that every decision made will affect the lives of all those that live and visit Denver. Whereas the Council specifically recognizes and congratulates the Denver Public Works Employees of the Year for 2018 for their achievement. Sebastian Tuxedo in Accounting Services. Christina Lahey in Finance and Administration. Danny Smith in Fleet Management. Scott Whiteman in Infrastructure Projects Management. Becky Simon in program implementation and Resources. Jason Smiley in the Performance Office. Rocha Mosley. Right of way. Enforcement Permitting. Jackie Bard. A right of Way Services. Kyle Vogel. Safe Safety and Industrial Hygiene. Isaiah Garcia Solid Waste Management. Marisol Camarena Street Maintenance Operations. David de Giacomo Transportation Design. Riley Lamy Transportation and Mobility Planning. C.J. Mossman. Transportation Operations. And Paul Cox. Waste Water Management. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the Council of the City and County of Denver, that Section one. The Council hereby designates the week of May 19 through 25th 2019, as Public Works Week in Denver and congratulates the Denver Public Works 2018 Employees of the Year for their outstanding contributions to the Department and the city and Section two that the Clerk of the city and County of Denver shall attest. And a fix the seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation, and that copies be forwarded to Denver Public Works and the 15 Denver Public Works employees listed above. Thank you, Councilwoman Sussman. Your motion to adopt. I move to adopt proclamation number 19. Dashiell 496. It has been moved and seconded comments by members of Council. Councilwoman Sussman Thank you very much, Mr. President. There's no way to properly and completely thank the people up at Public Works. My goodness gracious. You are the backbone of our city. You are the people that take care of the places we live and work and play. I have been overwhelmed with your. Generous generosity with your time and your commitment to keeping our city pretty and clean and in shape and everything else. Just one of the most wonderful agencies that we have in the city and so necessary. I thank you for your service. It's been wonderful working with you. Thank you. Thank you. Councilwoman Sussman. Councilwoman Ortega. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank Councilwoman for bringing this forward and for recognizing not only the 15 names of individuals who were called out earlier. And I hope that you're all here. But to the 1400 plus employees who do this work day in and day out to make our city the attractive city that everyone is somehow attracted to. And you all have seen how we keep growing and growing. But you all really make us look good. You make the mayor look good. All the managers in the department and it's important to have good managers. I see several of them in the room here, but I just want to say congratulations to the 15, but also to the 1400 who do the heavy lift day in and day out. Thank you. Thank you. Councilman Ortega. Councilman Lopez. Thank you, Mr. President. I also just have to say thank you all. Denver Public works for your work, for your dedication. Every single day you go in and, you know, working for the city is is interesting because it depends on you know, you what you feel you find where you find your fulfillment of work. Sometimes it takes a long time to see that footed out of labor. Sometimes it's overnight, right? Sometimes it's like, hey, we're going to we're going to go in here. We're going to rebuild this street and it's going to be done right. Or we got X number of blocks done in one day and you get to kind of sit back and look at the street if you're in street maintenance. Right. And be able to see that that beautiful pavement, that fresh pavement on the ground and have that fulfillment. But sometimes it takes a while. Right. And for us as an apartment, it takes a while to see, to kind of step back and see the tapestry you literally build our city. You build cities, right? You plan it. You build it. And every time. Every time I'm out, I think. Being born and raised in this city and then getting having the joining you write in the last 12 years. You really don't see things the same thing the same way after once you join, it's like the matrix, right? You'd see nothing but the matrix and you just can't unsee it, see? You just can't unsee what you see in the city and how things are built and what it takes to pave alleys in West Denver, what it takes to plan our roadways, to actually visualize the bike lanes. Right. And what it takes to actually put that striping down. It it's a team effort and it's a heck of a tapestry. And that's our city. And you, ladies and gentlemen, build it. And I think, you know, every every year we come in and this proclamation is in front of us and we honor you there. But I think we need to do a better job. And I've tried to do my part. And when I see you out in the communities of saying thank you and making sure that our residents in Denver say thank you. Right. My grandfather and my grandmother and they're both right here and my pictures are on my my desk. I never forget their teachings. And one of them was me. How you always respect a person in uniform? It doesn't matter if that person is a police officer or a firefighter. Or if they're picking up trash. You show that person some respect. And my grandma, my grandmother's world, working for the city was like the highest honor. And now I see why after 12 years. And I could see that she's looking down and I say, you're right, Graham, because look at all these men and women that build our city. And so I have to say, I have a lot of memories, a lot of pictures, and I'm going through them nowadays. I'm like, man, that was a good day when we pave that street, right? But, you know, the best memory was being out with you all, some of y'all, and being able to pave the street. And one of the homies that was working on the street. I live on this street. Oh, so you're not messing this one up? Yeah. So. Right. So it's that kind of thing. And it's. And I just have to say I'm sorry to go off, but. But thank you. Thank you for your work. And thank you for for rebuilding our city. Yeah. I appreciate everything that you do, all of you. Thank you, Councilman Lopez. Councilman Brooks. Actually, Mr. President, I was hoping to go last because we all know by tradition here that on the public works proclamation, you go last and you get all the requests that you ask for the city councilman. But I will go in the middle and just say thank you guys for all your hard work. You know, I got a chance to probably a couple weeks ago talk to some of the newcomers who were public works employees and just really invited them to be a part of a calling and be a part of a meaningful work that that I've seen for the last eight years in the city. And and I mean it it's it's incredible what you guys do. It's incredible what you are called to. And anything that we can do on city council, we try and make it seen and let our our constituents know how much we appreciate you. I remember there were some folks who worked on York and Repave York and in in the Cole Clayton, Whittier City Park West neighborhoods. They have been praying for that street to be repaid for years. And when it got repaved, everybody came out onto the park and gave everyone seven ups and and Cokes and things like that. All the folks who were street paving because all of the hard work that they were doing in the hot sun. And so I hope you all know that our constituents love the work that you do, regardless of how they act at times. They're extremely appreciative. And I just want to give a shout out to you, Liz. You know, I think, you know, leadership matters. And I think the leadership that you've brought into public works over the last year and the organizational changes and manners, and it's made an impact. And I think people notice and people notice you don't have a car. And I think, you know, you lead by example. And I really appreciate that. So thank you all. Thank you, Dr. Sussman, for bringing this forward. And you all are the backbone of the work that we do in the city of Denver. Thank you, Councilman Brooks. Councilman Flynn. Thank you, Mr. President. Being the last to speak. Oh, I see. I see. Some other people chimed in now. Yours. So I would have been the last. I want to mention something that I've witnessed over the years I've been in Denver, and that is the dedication that the Public Works crew puts in in some of the harshest conditions we've seen in some of the worst blizzards. My first blizzard as a Denver eight was the Christmas blizzard of 82, and I remember how difficult that time was. I don't know if anybody is anybody was working there in the blizzard. Blizzard of 82, there was one. And then the Thanksgiving of 83. And some of those harsh conditions, not just the plow drivers and the street workers, but also the solid waste workers who work in some of the harshest conditions, the cold and then the extreme heat. And they're out there every day doing the job that we asked them to do. And I just want I just want them to know that the citizens of Denver appreciate it. They appreciate it very much. And I want to echo Councilman Brooks and and talk about the great leadership that we've had in this department from folks like like John Mrozek, Bill Smith, Bill Roberts, Stephanie Foote, all the way through to the current day, leading this department and constantly changing and reinventing as the times change and the demands of the of the people change. So thank you very much for everything you do. And I what is today? Today's Monday. My trash day is Wednesday. And I know that I will see. I think we're expecting snow, as a matter of fact, aren't we, that we will see our dedicated crews out there each and every day. And thank you very much. Thank, Mr.. President. Thank you. Councilman Flynn. Councilman Cashman also failed at my attempt to be last, but, hey, give it your best shot. Thank you, Mr. President. So we, my colleagues and I, we sit up here and we sit in committee rooms and in various combinations, and we make wonderful policy. We create interesting things to move our city forward. And they're complex and they're meaningful. And then we ask you guys to do it. Okay. And the one that I've been involved in over the past couple of years and this council, along with with with the mayor and his administration, agreed that that it was time that we reconstruct or complete our sidewalk system so people can move safely. Around our city. It is the right thing to do. It is much easier for us to devise the ordinance than for you folks to put concrete and stone on the ground. And in the year and a half, I've been meeting monthly with with my Byner and Nancy Koon and a bunch of people from your department. I have become painfully aware of how difficult it is to deal with trees and landscaping and all manner of obstacle. And it has to be dealt with because the goal is correct. But. There's no way to adequately thank you guys, because as has been said, it's not like every door that you knock on says, Oh, so good to see you. We understand the goal of moving people. And now it's like, What are you doing? You're ruining my life. I can't afford this. You're destroying everything. And it gets done professionally and with good spirit as as much as possible. So just want to add my thank you. And I don't know how you pick a group out of the 1400 each year to honor because I can't think of one that I've met that doesn't deserve the honor. So thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilman Cashman. Councilman. Thank you, Mr. President. Probably in my office, we get more calls about public works than any other department of the city. And the reason we get those cars is because it's all about quality of life for our citizens. They don't call too, you know, they may call to complain, but they call about the needs of the city. And I'm just so impressed of how responsive public works is to all those needs we know we can call. And they'll be they'll they'll absolutely be on top of something, whether it's street maintenance, you know, pavement our streets or our potholes or curbs or whatever the the right away issues and especially get one of those favorite areas that all our citizens love is called parking these things but also the the pedestrian safety people oh your intersection the manager the traffic lights all of those things that that again talk about the protection of our citizens and the quality of life. So I just want to say thank you very much and all our citizens appreciate it. And also the council. Appreciate the fine work that you do. Thank you. Thank you. Councilman to Councilman Espinosa. Damn you, Ortega. I was going to be last, and I was going to start with my list of things that I was going to request. But now somebody else has chimed in that said the the I don't to to Councilman Cashman's point, I don't know how you single out 15 out of so many, but I do genuinely appreciate the work that public works is doing. And I think the 15 just represents, you know, each one representing a hundred people beneath them that do essentially as good or better work. They're just the ones that get noticed the the the eye to get a lot of public works call but public works knows it's usually just two people that are doing all those calls. And once we take that out, it's actually very, very low. I see Nancy smiling. So the point is, the only thing I really want to chime in about is two things. In my short tenure here. I have seen maybe they were things that were in the works, but I have seen more movement on on sort of some of the the micro adjustments, the things that we can do to improve outcomes and to be more adaptable in a in a sort of more in a more local scale than what we were doing before . And I genuinely appreciate that effort because I think the more we can pilot things, the more we can sort of test things, the more we can move towards a different future and better outcomes. And the reason why that's important is and I'm glad there's leadership here, is that is that I as as as old as infrastructure is an important it is to the core of city and city building and civics. The you guys are also sort of on the bleeding edge of technology where we're going to be headed in the future. And so it's important for you and everybody in your employees and others, I think you embody this, the ability to recognize that what we do is deliver a certain service that has to be done. But where we're going is someplace that we don't quite know yet. And we have to be willing to test and to push those boundaries. And I don't I see a willingness to do that in this department, especially with now the structural reforms. And that leads to my little second bit of commentary. I have been clear that I hope that this ballot measure that comes up in November comes with an ask a financial asks to the city, the citizens of Denver, because I don't want you guys doing it on the budget you already have. I want you to have an expanded budget so that you want to do more than what you've with what you've got today. So if and when you get to that point where you've decided there's a budget component to this, consider me an advocate for that ask. So thank you all for the work that you're doing. Appreciate you public works. Thank you, Councilman Espinosa. Councilwoman Ortega. Well. I actually have a request and this is not for public works, it's actually for the public. So when you see our city workers installing sidewalks, putting in new asphalt, whatever it is they're doing, please adhere to their safety. It's so important to make sure that you're not in such a such a haste to get to where you're going, that you're going to go around the barricades or whatever, to put our workers at risk. And I just want to say that I think that's very important to ensure that we all pay attention. Slow down. You've seen those signs all around the city that say, slow down. But I thank you for your work. Once again, thank you for the partnership. Use your department with city council. I know we have tried to lead based on what we hear from the public, but many of the projects that you all are working on are based on what we hear people screaming and hollering that they want in our city. And we've worked in collaboration to make these things happen. And as they're being installed, we want to make sure that our workers are all safe. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Ortega. I will just. And since apparently it's a good night to be president, because I do get to go last, Jasmine Brooks keeps trying to sneak in there. I will do that. Thank you to Councilwoman Sussman for bringing this forward. Thank you to our entire public works team. I'll echo what my colleagues said and then say congratulations to the employees of the year. That is not a small accomplishment in a big department. To rise to the top and be seen and be recognized for what you're doing, that is above and beyond. So congratulations. Thank you for your excellent work. And with that, Madam Secretary, Raquel Sussman. Black Brooks. Hi. Espinosa. Hi, Flynn. Hi. Gilmore Cashman. Hi. Lopez. I knew Ortega. Mr. President, I remember. Secretary, please close voting and thus results. 11 Eyes 11 eyes proclamation 496 has been adopted. We have 5 minutes for a proclamation acceptance. Councilman Sussman, would you like to bring somebody up? I certainly would. I'd like to call up the director of Euless quickly. Of whom we have spoken. Good evening, Counsel and Council President. Thank you very much, Council Members Susman and Distinguished Council members. I'm very proud and happy to accept this proclamation on behalf of the 1400 employees that we have in our department. In fact, we have not only the recipients of the Employee of the Year award, we have a couple of other folks and I'd like them to stand so you can see their faces. So all the public works folks in the chamber, can you guys stand? In the families, too. We have some family folks here. So I would like to give. Them a round of applause. And I would say it's very heartwarming to hear all of the comments from each one of you. We're really working very hard to develop a really strong culture in our department. Ever since I've been there, we've kind of done a revisioning. Making sure that we're trying to strive every single day to be an ideal public works department, which is really striving for perfection. Perfection is very difficult. But what we embody as a leadership team all the way down through all our employees, is that every single day understand what your mission is and your mission is servitude. And so you're a special person when you come into the department. You're not here necessarily to make money. What you're here to do is serve the public. We are first responders, so when people have an issue, they call us. We need to understand that. We need to respond effectively. So we take that to heart. And I truly appreciate the focus on safety. We are a department that as our number one priority, we really want to embody a safety culture. So we try to invest in our people by investing in our people and having good staff. We can deliver the services in a project that the people that live and work and play here in Denver expect. But it starts with our set, our staff first in terms of limiting their risk to safety and making sure that they're operating every single day so they can go home to their families because they get up every day and sacrifice. And so we want to be the leader in that space for our department, as a leader in the safety space that the general public can follow. So thank you very much on that. And I would echo the fact that when you do see our staff out, please thank them. We only get probably one or two days where we get this type of accolades. So I appreciate it very much. And we are striving to make sure your constituencies receive the best projects and services. So thank you very much. And I'm happy to accept this proclamation of out of the department. Thank you. Thank you. Classic. All right. We're going to move on to our second proclamation of the evening. Councilman Espinosa, will you please read Proclamation 500?