Platte County Public Works serves the community in many ways.
This vital maintenance operation is responsible for approximately 400 lane miles of asphalt and gravel roadways. The department services approximately 30 bridges in the unincorporated portion of the county.
“Daily duties include, but are not limited to: blading and surfacing gravel roads, repair of cracks/pot holes in asphalt surfaces, snow removal, vegetation management, right-of-way management, drainage management within the road right-of-way, permitting of new driveway installations and utility installations within County right-of-way, culvert maintenance, bridge maintenance of structures under our jurisdiction, and support of the County Emergency Management office in time of a catastrophic event,” Bob Heim, Director of Platte County Public Works said.
Platte County Public Works has 16 employees onboard and were recently looking to hire up to an additional four individuals for the field crew.
One of the most time consuming and challenging operations for the staff this time of year is snow removal.
“Especially during the nighttime, snow removal is high on the list as crews must work long hours (12-hour shifts) under adverse conditions, drive in low visibility conditions, manage operations around moving traffic and navigate around static vehicles parked on the road edges, etc.,” Heim said.
The Public Works’ Platte County Clean Up is an event that has become very popular and successful over the last 20 years. The program is staged once each year in the fall.
The clean up event is conducted at the public works facility located in the City of Tracy adjacent to the Platte County Fairgrounds.
Heim said it’s so popular that typically they begin receiving phone inquiries from eager residents about the timing of the event and what is accepted at the clean up as early as late June and early July.
Almost any items can be dropped off at the event except for hazardous waste, paint and chemicals. Items are accepted only on the specified event days. The program is restricted to household waste/bulky items.
At the most recent clean up the public works staff processed approximately 102 tons of trash.
“If the resident is unsure about acceptability, it is advisable for them to call the public works office prior to coming to the facility,” Heim said.
Public works staff are always surprised at some of the items that are dropped off. Some of the more interesting items received include a small tractor, a mid-size organ and a boat.
Heim has been with Platte County Public Works since 2008 when he began as a project manager.
“In January of 2017, I stepped in as interim director and was then officially appointed as director in March of 2017,” Heim said.
The yearly clean up has turned out to be a good way for local residents to dispose of items they no longer want or need in an easy and environmentally safe way.
“The participation we have each year, which ranges from 350 to 500 residents, speaks to how well it is received by the public,” Heim said. “They find our location convenient and they greatly appreciate our crew for unloading the items from their vehicles. An effort is made to recycle as much as we can in order to be environmentally conscious.
Items that we target specifically are tires, metal, oil, vehicle batteries, bikes, televisions, and appliances, all of which greatly reduce the amount of waste going in to area landfills.”
Public works serves the community in so many ways that staff members often feel a sense of satisfaction and pride in what they do.
“It may be a cliché, but for me it ‘truly is’ about serving the residents of Platte County,” Heim said.
Positive changes to public works’ operations continue, but in regard to the clean up, Heim said changes will be minor.
“After 20 years of conducting this event we pretty much have it dialed in,” Heim said. “On the maintenance and operations side, things are always evolving. Annually we see new technologies, materials, equipment and labor-saving ideas introduced in to the public works arena across the country. We review these new ideas and implement those that we think will help to better serve our customers.”
He believes that Platte County residents take great pride in doing their part to help keep the roadsides of the county as clean as possible.
“Giving them an opportunity to bring items to the public works facility in the fall, reduces the vast majority of bulky items such as tires, appliances, furniture, plumbing fixtures etc. being dumped in the county rights-of-ways,” Heim said. “The residents also have embraced our vegetation management program as it helps to improve lines of sight, lets sunshine on to the roadway in the winter months, improves visibility of wildlife along the roadway and keeps the county looking beautiful.”
When asked what he enjoyed the most about seeing so many people participating in the recent clean up, he said the answer was in the question – people.
“It’s nice to see familiar faces each year and make new acquaintances,” he said. “Each year several residents passing through the line express their appreciation for the county conducting the event and helping to keep Platte County clean.”