| contributed by Chad Voigt |  |
| photos by | Steven Hertzog |
Chad Voigt
What is Douglas County Public Works’ most important commodity or service?
In contrast to a city public works department, which might be responsible for streets, sidewalks, sewers, traffic lights or solid waste collection, our county Public Works department is primarily responsible for higher-speed rural roadways, including the many bridges that carry those roads. We also maintain all county-owned vehicles, including sheriff department vehicles.
What is Public Works most important priority?
Road safety is our top priority. Pavement condition, bridge capacities, proper signage, roadside mowing, storm drainage and snow removal are all important to maintaining safe roadways. We also have an aggressive capital improvement plan to rebuild and improve roads and bridges.
What have been some of the most important aspects of your success?
Road maintenance typically receives strong public support. Our county commission has been committed for many years to providing funding for maintenance and improvements. Stable funding in our capital improvement plan has made it possible to respond quickly to evolving needs.
How many people do you work with, serve, interact with on a daily basis and are responsible to? Or for?
I manage 56 full-time employees and report directly to the county administrator. I interact with dozens of other agencies on a regular basis. I interact with landowners and residents daily.
How do you and your department make a positive impact on the Lawrence community?
We always seek to provide great service to Lawrence residents, businesses and agencies, and we’re proud to have been a part of Lawrence for over 100 years.
What do you see as your personal responsibility and the department’s responsibility to the community?
We’re always concerned that we’re spending funds responsibly and efficiently. We work very hard to target our work to the most critical needs and to find the most cost-effective solutions to problems.
What inspires you personally? Is there a specific thing, person or incident?
I was lucky to work for George Williams for several years at the City of Lawrence. George was kind, responsible, practical and so many other qualities that made him an amazing leader. He’s been an inspiration to me and many others.
What is the biggest challenge you feel your department is facing now?
We’ve fallen behind on several important projects recently as a result of the 2019 tornado, several flood events and COVID-19. We’re working to restore schedules and get those projects moving.
What do you foresee as being the biggest challenge for the future for your department? And how are you addressing or preparing for it?
The county has a large number of bridges that are 50 to 80 years old, which raises the concern that we may see a wave of replacement projects in a future year. To avoid that, we’ve been working to replace one or two of the most critical bridges each year.
You may have heard of ASCE’s (American Society of Civil Engineers) national infrastructure report card, which lists bridges as Grade C or D in most communities. Douglas County’s 157 bridges would rate much higher than average, and we hope to sustain that for the next generation.
How has the COVID-19 crisis affected the Public Works staff, and how are you accommodating them?
Our field personnel are all essential staff, as they must be available to maintain roadways and provide support to emergency services. We’ve modified operations to keep everyone as safe as possible. Many of our office staff have been able to work from home at times.
