Winter solstice is just around the corner potentially bringing with it inclement weather. This might have Fishers residents wondering how prepared their city is. Fortunately Fishers Department of Public Works has been preparing its strategy for the season as early as April.
“We start the conversation in April to review how we feel things went with our strategy,” Fishers DPW Director Eric Pethtel said. “We identify what went well, discuss areas we can improve and review any personnel changes in our command staff, etc. From there we have monthly meetings throughout the rest of the year implementing what we feel is needed to maintain or improve the level of service to the community.”
Pethtel said that being prepared could never be over emphasized. With unpredictable weather conditions, it’s important the DPW is well equipped to deal with severe climate.
“Understanding that no winter event is the same as the previous winter event, constant planning and conversations with all staff year round finds us with a high degree of confidence that we are ready for pretty much anything Mother Nature will throw at us,” Pethtel said. “She may get us down but with our committed staff and the resources Mayor (Scott) Fadness provides us, she won’t keep us down for long.”
Aside from an arsenal of snowplows and determined DPW employees, another resource important for winter weather maintenance is salt. In the brutal winter of 2013 to 2014, a lack of salt left many cities emptying their reserves. Fortunately, the Fishers DPW has recently expanded its salt reserves by building a new barn to house their salt supply.
“When you consider our old barn would only hold 400 to 450 tons it is critical for safety of the traveling public to make sure you have as much salt on hand as possible,” Pethtel said. “When you reflect upon the winter of 2013-14 (at one point) we had 1/8 inch of ice on top 14 inches of snow, high winds causing drifting and…no salt. That winter was so bad that all of the suppliers had emptied their reserves. With our new facility we are able to hold nearly 3000 tons, which would have come in handy during those long days in January 2014 when we had a nearly empty barn.”
Throughout the other three seasons, the DPW may seem to stay behind the scenes in keeping the city well maintained, but Pethtel said winter is when his department really excels, especially when compared to other surrounding municipalities.
“We feel the winter season is when our department takes center stage and shines for the community,” Pethtel said. “We are reminded by our peers in the public works industry and by our citizens many times each year how our level of service compares to other surrounding communities. I can promise you that is not by accident. It is because we work at it year round. The level of planning, preparation and our dedicated staff are a few reasons why we hear those compliments.”
The growth that Fishers has experienced over the past several years leaves more work for the Fishers DPW. Pethtel said that in order to account for its expanding community, the DPW focuses heavily on continuing to improve efficiency, especially when getting roads plowed.
“We strive to eliminate redundancy,” Pethtel said. “If you eliminate that you can move onto other roads that need plowed faster than you could have otherwise if you were plowing the same road more than once. We have safe guards in place to make sure one truck doesn’t plow the salt that was just placed minutes before which would be a waste of tax dollars. It makes us rethink our strategy on an annual basis to make sure all new roads in our inventory are included into our plan.”
For more on the Fishers DPW, visit fishers.in.us
