What exactly is the Public Works and Engineering Department of the City of Kissimmee? This department is made up of the seven divisions and during this week’s City of Kissimmee School of Government class, the Public Works and Engineering Department explained each division and provided a closer look into how the department is managed.
The mission statement of the Public Works and Engineering Department is to provide essential services to the citizens of Kissimmee. Public Works & Engineering has dedicated employees to serve the citizens in a prompt, safe, respectful, and cost-effective manner to meet the needs of a growing, cross-cultural and diverse city. Public Works & Engineering’s goal is to have an efficient infrastructure that will plan, design, build and maintain our city in a way that respects the environment and the people in it. This also provides the ability to govern adequately to preserve the City of Kissimmee for future generations to come.
In order for the Public Works and Engineering Department to run smoothly, the divisions within the department must work together. Here is a short break down of each division:
Sanitation Division– managing the City’s solid waste collection services this division oversees eight fully automated refuse routes, two fully automated yard trash routes, and three bulk waste routes providing collection to more than 14,000 customers. Students were allowed an up-close look into the newest machine that collects trash throughout the city, the Nord.
Engineering Division – includes a staff of engineers, designers, construction plan reviewers, construction inspectors, and office staff. The Engineering Design team is currently working on projects, such as the Oak Street Widening Project, Shingle Creek Trail Projects, and John Young Parkway at Oak Widening Project. The Engineering Division also provides Flood Zone Information within City limits which includes the current and proposed FEMA FIRM map.
Stormwater Division – maintains man-made structures designed to collect, convey, hold, divert, or discharge stormwater. This includes sewers, canals, ditches, culverts, detention structures, and retention structures. The Stormwater Division is divided into three separate groups; Ditch and Pond Maintenance, Pipe Maintenance and Repair, and Mowing & Spraying.
Streets Division – maintains the City’s roads and right-of-ways to achieve its maximum design life. This division also ensures the continuation of efficient and safe transportation on all City streets and pedestrian ways consisting of a general maintenance team, sidewalk team, and streetscape team.
Traffic Division – this division has many functions and areas in which the staff have the responsibility of managing including maintenance on existing traffic signals and street signs, setting out and collecting data of traffic counters for engineering studies and maintaining sign records program through Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) just to name a few.
Central Services Division – is the supporting arm of the City of Kissimmee and its employees. The division is responsible for Warehousing, Fleet Maintenance, and Printing Operations. This division provides premium service and repairs to vehicles and equipment belonging to the City of Kissimmee, Kissimmee Police Department, Kissimmee Fire Department, and Toho Water Authority.
Welding Division – this highly trained group of individuals provide services that are beyond most local repair shops. There is a complete machine shop operation that allows the Welding Division to do repairs but also fabricate parts that are needed for repair. The weld shop provides repair work for other government agencies and non-profit organizations. This division was made possible by becoming an enterprise account division of the City and is not funded by tax dollars but by generating revenue to cover weld shop expenses.
This week’s class was extremely interesting and packed full of information. Thank you to the City of Kissimmee for giving a behind-the-scenes tour of the Public Works and Engineering Department.
