Public Works 101: Toolkit for Elected Officials and the Public

Summary:

City/county engineers and public works directors often need to explain to their newly elected officials, administrators, and the public what they do (or do not do), the programs managed and how long it takes to deliver a successful project. This project assembled a Public Works 101 Toolbox to aid both new and experienced city and county engineers. Resources include Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), a PowerPoint presentation template that can be tailored for your agency for use in public or elected official presentations, and a modifiable infographic on ‘How a Road is Built’ along with your typical maintenance schedule for the life of a road. Finally, Olmsted County had great success with their Public Works Dollar – shared with you to be modified to represent your critical investments needed to maintain safe and effective transportation system. This is a great tool to share at budget time or when seeking state or federal funding to support improvements.

Final Deliverables:

• Public Works 101 for Elected Officials and the Public - Frequently Asked Questions (Report #2025RIC04)
• Template: Maintenance schedule infographic to modify by agency (Other #2025RIC04P1)
• Template: Public Works Dollar (Other #2025RIC04P2)
• Template: Public Works Presentation (Slide Presentation #2025RIC04P3)
• Public Works 101: Toolkit for Elected Officials and the Public (Video #2025RIC04V)

Related Materials:

Related Research:

Project Personnel:

Principal Investigator:  Michael Marti

Technical Liaison:  William Manchester

Project Coordinator:  David Glyer

Panel Members: 
Aaron Kuznia - City of Chaska
Adam Nafstad - City of Albertville
Andy Brotzler - City of Prior Lake
Anthony Pirkl - Lake of the Woods County
Jeff Johnson - City of Mankato Engineer
Jenna Obernolte - 
Jeremy Gilb - Chippewa County Highway
Jessie Dehn - 
Jodi Teich - Otter Tail County Highway Department
Kevin Peterson - Washington County
Kristy Morter - Hennepin County
Mark Daly - Faribault County
Mark Maloney - City of Shoreview/ Public Works Dir.
Melvin Odens - Kandiyohi County
Michael Amborn - 
Nick Preisler - City of St. Michael - Engineer
Paul Jurek - Bollig Inc
Stephanie Malinoff - Center for Transportation Studies
Stephanie Smith - Flint Hills Resources
Steven Lang - City of Austin
Troy Nemmers - 
Virgil Hawkins - 
Wayne Sandberg - Washington County