The Cascadia Rising 2016 Exercise- the Pacific Northwest’s largest, multistate functional exercise- explored the risks associated with a full rupture of the Cascadia Subduction Zone; risks that could include a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami. The outcomes of this exercise were documented in the Cascadia Rising 2016 Exercise Joint Multi-State-After-Action Report, prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The City of Bellevue was one of the participants in the Cascadia Rising and had been involved in the 24-month-long planning effort leading up to the event. During this period the city responded to several smaller emergencies in their jurisdictions. As a result of these experiences, the Bellevue Transportation Department decided to review its current disaster preparedness program. The goal of this work was to identify the actions necessary to improve the department’s ability to keep the city’s transportation system, community, and economy resilient and safe before, during, and after a disaster.

• Discuss the findings of the Cascadia Rising 2016 Exercise Joint Multi-State After-Action Report.
• Examine the steps the City of Bellevue is taking to identify the actions needed to improve public works' ability to keep the transportation system resilient in case of disaster.
• Determine if there are steps that you can replicate for your agency and community based on the lessons learned by the City of Bellevue.

The transition to electric propulsion and autonomous connected vehicles creates an unprecedented opportunity to reinvent our roads, trails and sidewalks. Infrastructure designed yesterday for private cars, bicycles and pedestrians never anticipated today’s--let alone tomorrow’s broadening mobility spectrum. How can “Complete Streets” be optimized to accommodate small battery-powered “micromobility” vehicles like e-bikes, electric scooters, powered skateboards and motorized unicycles as well as larger vehicles, especially considering shared mobility’s increasing need for curb space access? This interactive session will explore how to reinvent the public right-of-way to accommodate multi-modal mobility, addressing issues such as virtual and adaptive vehicle lanes, replacement of on-street parking with pick-up and drop-off for ride hailing, compatibility of increasing volumes of human and battery-powered vehicle modes that operate at different speeds.

• Consider how public works practitioners predict the unpredictable for uses/modes that have unique needs
• Determine how public works agencies can best accommodate new modes/uses within the public right-of-way
• Evaluate the best policy and engineering levers to implement changes

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) has completed two projects using lining as a method for rehabilitating old pipelines. Less roadway restoration is a primary benefit. However, to make it work, there are other things that need to be considered: the installation of temporary watermains, traffic impacts, noise, and scheduling. All are a factor in overall project success. SPU will share their unforeseen challenges and lessons learned.

• Evaluate whether watermain relining is appropriate for different specific applications.
• Include the considerations discussed in this presentation into the design and construction contract documents.
• Prepare operations and maintenance staff on the implications for new taps and repairs of a lined watermain.

Land, water, power and people: these are among Spokane’s greatest assets. While leading the Intermountain West in these primary resources, the City recognizes that the future lies in the ability to capture and create the green economy. By rethinking the entire waste stream in terms of sustainable materials, there is no garbage, only secondary resources as feedstocks which fuel the local economy. Over the last 25 years, they have quietly and efficiently disposed of solid waste while generating enough renewable electricity to power 13,000 homes per year. Waste to Energy (WTE) is not only a key strategy for renewable energy and low greenhouse gas emissions, it also creates opportunities for metals recovery, heat and electricity from steam, and reuse of the resulting ash. China’s rejection of the US’s recycling stream, while disruptive, is an opportunity. A privately-operated Materials Recovery Facility was wisely co-located adjacent to the City’s WTE facility, further enhancing the feedstock resources available on site. The city, county, and private businesses partner with the solid waste system, as well as the joint County-City Public Development Authority to attract businesses with an interest in participating in industrial symbiosis. In addition to traditional solid waste streams, holistic materials management includes wastewater, food waste, and biosolids—which in turn, can be re-worked as Renewable Natural Gas.

• Identify opportunities to repurpose waste into a resource stream for reuse benefit and economic development.
• Respond to changes in the recycling commodities market to reevaluate and deploy enhanced recycling diversion programs,
• Educate elected officials, administrators and the public on the benefits and application of a circular economy.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service, Water and Environmental Programs (WEP) finances water and wastewater infrastructure in rural America where many systems struggle to meet standards or are nearing the end of their useful life. Like all infrastructure, these facilities are vulnerable to natural disasters. WEP is developing policies to ensure that funded projects have built-in resilience to flood, high winds, fire, earthquake, and drought. This workshop will describe the numerous WEP funding programs that primarily fund water and sewer projects but can also fund solid waste and stormwater projects. The online tools for applying for funds and electronic report submittal will be demonstrated, encouraging eligible communities to apply for these capital improvement funding sources. We’ll feature examples from projects in various states where funding from federal, state, and local sources were combined to stretch budgets and help replace aging infrastructure. In a typical year, WEP provides about $1.5 billion in infrastructure funding to rural communities. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about the important resources offered by USDA for small cities and rural communities infrastructure needs.

• Take advantage of the innovative technologies available for applying and participating in USDA's WEP funding program.
• Identify the vulnerabilities to small cities and rural infrastructure and the resources available to ensure that facilities to have built-in resilience to natural disasters, cyberattacks, etc.
• Evaluate partnership opportunities to help expand project funding for replacing aging infrastructure in rural areas.

2019 Jennings Randolph International Presentations:

The American Public Works Association (APWA), in association with the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College (EI), is pleased to introduce three Jennings Randolph International Fellows who participated in this unique international study and professional exchange opportunity to promote collaboration and the sharing of public works best practices.

Special Presentation Jennings Randolph: Finland's Smart Mobility Menu

Nora Daley-Peng, Senior Transportation Planner, City of Shoreline, WA will discuss how Finland is shifting away from auto-dependency by offering a diverse menu of mobility options that are so economical, convenient and enjoyable that people will naturally choose them rather than driving their personal vehicles.

Special Presentation Jennings Randolph: Want More Innovation? Value Creativity

Joanee Zhang, Civil Engineer and Liaison to the Los Angeles City Council and Board of Public Works for the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering is eager to share the stories and lessons learned during her international exchange tour with agencies in Australia. She discovered that innovation starts with an agency's values and its attitude towards supporting innovative behavior and creative thinking among staff.

Special Presentation Jennings Randolph: 2018 Sweden Bridge Study Tour Observations

Helena Sullivan, Construction Engineer III for McHenry County, Illinois, will share the details from her bridge study trip to Sweden in September 2018. She will describe bridge construction methods and maintenance practices in Sweden and compare those to the practices and approaches used in McHenry County. Enjoy this discussion of how establishing effective preventative maintenance programs will extend bridge life and provide less costly maintenance options.

In this fast-paced session, five local government leaders will each share 12 ideas that are driving innovation and creativity in local governments across the country. Attendees will learn 60 practical ideas that are creating more sustainable and resilient organizations. Ideas will cover financial modeling; long range infrastructure planning; communicating project success; diversity, equity, and inclusion in local government workplaces; and preparing the next generation to lead cities and counties.

• Take away actionable ideas that can be implemented on the first day home from the conference.
• Adopt new ways of thinking about finance, staffing, engagement, and diversity resiliency to create 21st century workspaces.
• Engage in honest and authentic idea sharing about equity and inclusion topics. While at times could be uncomfortable topics, they are critical as local government becomes more diverse.

Surveying by unmanned aerial vehicles (known as UAVs or drones) adds additional complexity to your workflow. Discover how Virtual Surveyor software helps bridge the gap between drone data and computer-aided design (CAD) by helping you create lines, breaklines, select points, triangulate contours, and more. You can fly around and look from different angles to make sure that your survey is accurate. It’s like being in the field yourself.

• Work with large UAV datasets in your CAD platform of choice.
• Complete projects quicker and cheaper.
• Take your data capture to the office!

In early 2017, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works identified qualified engineers to interview with Los Angeles County Fire Department to become Structures Specialists on the FEMA USA-Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue Team. Four registered civil engineers were chosen. Within six months, the USA-TF 2 USAR team was deployed to respond to the Mexico City Earthquake. The USAR Team was deployed again in January 2018 to respond to the horrific mudflows in Santa Barbara County. The relationship between the two County Departments has strengthened their partnership—not only during deployment of the USAR team, but also in understanding the resources and expertise of each discipline. This project has allowed for greater collaboration on working out details to ensure the partnership is a success. The presenters will focus on the initial tasks to make this a reality, including the fiscal impacts and lessons learned from each deployment.

• Promote the benefits of partnering with first responder agencies to use public works engineers to fill positions on a super elite Urban Search and Rescue Team.
• Collaborate with first responder agencies to create teams that train together and respond to catastrophic disasters within the United States and internationally.
• Demonstrate the value of partnering with first responder agencies to identify the expertise that public works brings to incident response.

The City of Coral Gables has embraced principles of sustainability at all levels of its government, including its many operational departments. While the City had enacted multiple successful initiatives, there was no formalized standardization for infusion of sustainability principles at the individual infrastructure project level. In an effort to identify possible frameworks to fill this need, the City’s Department of Public Works used the Envision sustainable infrastructure system to help guide the upgrade and replacement of a pump station and force main that serves a coastal residential neighborhood. Working through the Envision framework, they found that it helped amass siloed City practices and helped strengthen communication with both internal and external stakeholders. The City has since adopted the use of Envision on all projects and plans to enact a resolution stating this adoption as another means to demonstrate their commitment to the principles of sustainability.

• Employ sustainability principles through demonstrated use of the Envision sustainable infrastructure framework.
• Discuss how Envision strengthens projects through a more robust evaluation process.
• Justify how Envision and sustainability principles provide measurable benefit at the programmatic and project levels.