Waco Takes Three Awards
in Road-E-O
By Megan Miller, Program Coordinator, Solid Waste Services
Not content to rest upon their laurels from last year, Solid
Waste Services made another impressive showing at the Solid
Waste Truck Road-E-O on June 21 in Houston.
Nathan Palm took first place in the Rear-load competition,
and Joseph Lee received a first place in the Landfill Mechanic
category. Both will move on to the International competition
which will be held in Kentucky in August.
But wait – there’s more: Guy Beauchamp rounded up a third place
in the Roll-Off event, bringing Waco’s total wins this year
to three.
The Road-E-O is sponsored each year by the Texas Chapter of
the Solid Waste Association of North America. We are proud of
Nathan, Joseph and Guy and offer them our congratulations.
New Employees
The Waco Convention Center welcomes Susan Morton, tourism
sales manager.
Finance welcomes Sheri Daniels, part time accounting
technician.
Promotions/Transfers
Officer Charlotte Matthews was recently promoted to
Detective-Special Crimes.
Cynthia Gilmore, Solid Waste Services, has transferred
to Finance as an accounting technician.
Marcos Lozano, Fire Department, was promoted to fire
equipment engineer on June 27.
Gary Johnson, Human Resources, has been promoted to
the position of Department Director. He began working for the
City of Waco in 1970 as a summer youth worker and began his
full time career in 1979 after graduating from Baylor University.
Gary Johnson, new Director of Human Resources, has coordinated
the annual Employee Awards program for the past three years,
and the Employee United Way campaign for the past six years.
Congratulations
Water Utility Services selected Richard Zettler as the
April Collection and Distribution Employee of the Month, and
Oscar Lopez was selected as the May Collection and Distribution
Employee of the Month.
Christina Mendiola, Waco Convention Center recently
received her certification from the Public Assembly Facility
Management School sponsored by the International Association
of Assembly Managers, Inc. Mendiola is the fifth staff member
of the Waco Convention & Visitors Bureau to have completed the
certification.
Street Services selected Terry Reneau, equipment operator,
as their employee of the month for May.
Clint Peters, Planning Department, was listed in the
Downtown Extra edition of Waco Today as one of ten young professionals
who the magazine considers the new movers and shakers in the
effort to revitalize Waco’s central business district. Clint
is a Senior Urban Planner and has worked with downtown developers
as a member of the City’s Design Review Committee and is involved
in the development of strategies to address critical issues
such as parking, pedestrian circulation, and mixed use development.
The Father’s Day (June 12, 2008) issue of USA Today named the
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum one of 10 great
Halls of Fame in the United States. The article is a short list
of recommendations of the favorites picked by author Dave Blevins
in his forthcoming book “Halls of Fame: An International Directory.”
The other Halls of Fame include lesser known institutions from
worlds of sports, space exploration, hobbies, transportation
and music.
Gary Lee received an award for his work with the Waco ISD
Partners in Education program. He has worked with students at
J.H. Hines, Doris Miller, West Avenue and Meadowbrook Elementary
Schools.
Wellness Rooms
Looking for a place to workout? Don’t forget about Dewey and
Bledsoe-Miller Recreation Centers wellness rooms.
They are open from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday – Thursday,
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The
cost is $20 for 30 card punches or $1 a day. You must be 18
or older to workout.
If you'd like to submit information for the City Talk Newsletter,
you can send an email to: marlenen@ci.waco.tx.us
or call 750-5638.
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City Departments Moving to
New Operations Center this August
Several City Departments will be relocating to the new Operations
Center located at the corner of 4th Street and Tennessee (Photo
by Mark Randolph)
After much anticipation, planning, and construction work, the first
phase of the renovation of the new City of Waco Operations Center
is nearing completion.
The City departments and services that will be moving this fall
include Purchasing, Facilities offices, Records and the warehouse.
“With the support of our City Council and current management leadership,
this project will finally be a reality,” said Gina Eckhardt, Director
of General Services. “The catalyst, the future expansion of the
Riverside Water Treatment plant, really placed this initiative on
the front burner. But I am proud to say that we will finally be
able to have the space and facilities to better serve the maintenance
needs of our internal department customers.
” The bids for the second phase will be opened in mid-July with
an anticipated completion date in Spring of 2009.
The second phase will involve relocating the Park Operations division,
the Facilities shops, the Traffic shop, Employee Health, Risk Management
and the Employee Training Room.
The new Operations Center is located at the corner of 4th Street
and Tennessee. It was previously used by the FabKnit company, which
manufactured sports apparel under the label of Reebok.
“The new building incorporates the latest designs in energy efficiency,”
said Vincent Tobola, Facilities Manager. “This includes spray foam
insulation, natural lighting, and more efficient heating and cooling
systems. In addition, the space is more tailored to the needs of
the various functions.”
Records will have double the storage space. In the past, the City
has leased additional storage space after maxing out the current
location at 1211 Washington.
“I’m elated about this move! “ said Sandie Polk, Records Manager.
“It will be more cost effective for the City to have all the records
stored in one location, and as for a Records Management stand point;
retrieval time will be much faster which makes customers very happy.”
Purchasing will now have two meeting rooms for pre-bid conferences
and meetings including a larger room capable of seating up to 30
people.
The new warehouse includes three loading docks, 10,000 square feet
of storage space featuring 24 foot ceilings, almost double the height
of the existing storage areas.
Once the existing buildings are vacant, several of the older buildings
will be demolished for parking lots. The former Traffic shop building
will be used by Fleet Services while Engineering Soils Lab will
continue to operate from their area in the building.
Waco Fire Department
Retirement Ceremony
A ceremony was held on June 27 at Waco Fire Station
#2 to honor Waco firefighters who retired in 2007.
Pictured from left to right: Jared Pankonien,
firefighter who accepted the honor posthumously for his father Jerry
Pankonien, 28 years of service; retired Deputy Fire Chief Harold
Ferguson, 26 years of service; Lt. Steve Tull, treasurer for Waco
Fire Association; retired Engineer Joe Singer, former president
of Waco Fire Association; Lt. Mike Lenart, first vice present for
Waco Fire Association. Not pictured: retired Captain Neal Gibson,
38 years of service; and George Paulk, III; 34 years of service.
Chief John Johnston presents Lt. Al Urbanovsky, Jr.
with the Jimmy Fox Memorial Firefighter of the Year Award on June
27 during a ceremony at Fire Station #2.
The award was named in honor of Jimmie Fox, a 21 year-old
firefighter who was killed in the line of duty on April 7, 1969.
Fox was battling a fire in a sawdust silo at Love Wood Products,
2420 Jackson. Each year, the winner of the Firefighter of the Year
Award is chosen by his peers.
Dive-In Movie at Waco Water Park
Waco Water Park will show “Over the Hedge” at its
Dive-In Movie on Monday, July 21. More movies will be shown on the
first and third Mondays in August. Twilight admission rates apply
and the gates will open at 8:30 p.m.
Cameron Park Playground Complete
As a result of the bond election, Cameron Park will see many renovations
in the coming months.
The first completed project, a new playground at Pecan Bottoms,
will open to the public in July. The playground, which includes
swings, walkways and climb rocks, is located next to the spray park.
Fishing at Buena Vista
Kids can enjoy a fun-filled morning of fishing and
grilled hot dogs at this year’s final fishing event on Saturday,
July 12 at Buena Vista Park. The cost is $5 with fishing poles and
bait provided. The event is open to kids ages 10 and older. For
more information, please call 750-8684.
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