It's just good business....

I have a passion for public works.  I truly believe that today's public works leaders work hard to protect the health and safety of their communities, be stewards of the natural environment,  and wisely allocate limited financial and manpower resources.

I want to work with consultants and vendors who share my passion for public works and team with public works leaders to develop and deliver products and services that meet the economic, regulatory, political, and cultural expectations of a community.  

A wise man once told me that "public works is the foundation for civilization."    Our public infrastructure for the most part is hidden from public view.  The pipes and pumping systems that deliver our clean drinking water and remove our wastewater are located below ground.  Water and wastewater treatment facilities and landfills and composting sites are located away from town centers or camouflaged behind office facilities or walls of greenery.  Stormwater disappears off street into drains.  For roads and bridges, the foundations of their structures are hidden below grade or unapparent to the public. 

If you want to see what life is like without functioning public works, visit Haiti, the Philippines, Pakistan, and other countries and regions struggling with issues of poverty, war, natural disasters, and government corruption.  The US, Canada, EU and other regions have stable governments, established middle classes, and the resources to properly maintain and enhance their public works infrastructure.  But, sometimes that is still hard to do. 

Despite the financial, political, and environmental challenges associated with public works management, our public works leaders find a way to move forward. 

I want to work with consultants and vendors whose services and products take into account long term sustainability — whatever that means.  For me it means looking at opportunities to contribute to protecting and improving our constructed and natural environments, including:

• improving water and air quality
  
• reducing waste and reconsidering its value as a fuel or product for re-use
• reducing fossil fuel usage
• generating and using power from renewable resources
• and recognizing and planning for future threats and opportunities including climate change impacts

If you share this enthusiasm with me, and have my optimism about how we, as consultants and vendors, can team with our public works professionals to develop and deliver infrastructure projects that respect our environment for both today and tomorrow and do so cost effectively, then please call me and we'll talk.

It's just good business.