City of Quinte West

RECREATION AND PARKS MONTH STAFF HIGHLIGHT🌳 Hi, I’m Deidre. I’m a parks and open spaces equipment operator. I am a part of the maintenance team which is responsible for anything from event setup, tree cutting/trimming, general park maintenance, playground maintenance, installation of docks, and so much more. In the winter months my role remains the same for the majority of the time unless there is a weather event. You will then see me behind the wheel of a plow truck maintaining parking lots and our trail systems. I am also a certified playground inspector. I'm responsible for monthly inspections and maintenance of the playgrounds throughout Quinte West. I have obtained many different certifications and courses throughout my career. I am a certified splash pad practitioner, and I also have a class A driver's licence, which has been heavily used throughout many other departments within public works and outdoor operations. I am very fortunate to be a part of such a versatile team and have so many individuals to look up to and learn from as I advance in my career.

APPLY TO JOIN THE QUINTE WEST OPP DETACHMENT BOARD Do you want to make a positive impact on your community? Are you passionate about public safety and community service? Join the Quinte West OPP Detachment Board! As a board member, you’ll have the opportunity to enhance community-police relations and contribute to a safer and stronger Quinte West. 🗓️ Apply by June 21 🌐 For more information and to apply, visit: quintewest.ca/committees

JOIN OUR TEAM The City of Quinte West is hiring a: 🏠 Housing Action Plan coordinator ⛸️ Booking and administrative coordinator 🚧 Executive Assistant (Public Works and Environmental Services) 🧰 Mechanic Learn more about available job opportunities and apply at quintewest.ca/jobs.

RED SHIRT DAY Today, members of the City of Quinte West's Accessibility Advisory Committee are wearing red for the Red Shirt Day of Action for Accessibility and Inclusion. Red Shirt Day takes place annually on the Wednesday of AccessAbility Week (May 26 to June 1). ➡ Learn more about Red Shirt Day: https://redshirtday.org/ ➡ Learn more about the City's Accessibility Advisory Committee and the work they do to prevent and reduce barriers to ensure equal opportunity and access for all persons, regardless of needs, to participate as fully as possible in all aspects of our community: quintewest.ca/committees

PUBLIC WORKS WEEK HIGHLIGHT 🌳 Our next Public Works Week highlight comes from the Quinte West Operations Centre! Hi, I'm Keeley, Supervisor of Parks and Open Spaces and along with my very dedicated team of 32 staff, that consists of 4 full time parks staff, 5 shared full time roads/park staff, 16 seasonals and 7 students, our department performs maintenance of city owned property, including garbage collection, tree planting, trimming and removal, and grass cutting. We maintain sports fields and associated city facilities to provide a fully functional environment and meet various user needs. This includes ball diamonds, soccer pitches, splash pads, outdoor play structures and equipment and skate parks. Currently parks and open spaces are responsible for; 8 ball diamonds, 20 soccer pitches, 3 tennis courts, 6 trail systems, 2 skate parks, 2 splash pads, 43 playgrounds, 198 cut locations, 124 garbage receptacles locations, 55 winter maintenance locations, boat launches, and dog parks. We also care for city floral displays, maintenance, weeding, watering of 144 flower beds, 200 hanging baskets, 48 bridge/planters and more than 3,840 flowers planted seasonally. Along with monthly and weekly inspections, the department also supports the delivery, set-up, tear down and maintenance of more than 40 plus events per year while working alongside the special events team. Parks and recreation have three values that make them essential services to communities and the quality of life for our residents: -Economic value - Health and environmental benefits - Social importance Just as water, sewer, and public safety are considered essential public services, parks are vitally important to establishing and maintaining the quality of life in a community, ensuring the health of families and youth, and contributing to the economic and environmental well-being of a community and a region. Parks are a tangible reflection of the quality of life in a community. They provide identity for citizens and are a major factor in the perception of quality of life in a given community. Parks and recreation services are often cited as one of the most important factors in surveys of how livable communities are. Parks provide gathering places for families and social groups, as well as for individuals of all ages and economic status, regardless of their ability to pay for access. Thanks for following along and learning more about our dedicated team of Public Works staff during National Public Works Week!

PUBLIC WORKS WEEK HIGHLIGHT 🚧 Our next Public Works Week highlight comes from City Hall! Hi, I’m Reilly Sheil, Project Manager of Capital Works. As the Project Manager I oversee the construction and contract administration of City-run capital projects such as road resurfacing/reconstruction, water, sanitary and storm replacements as well as new municipal road construction throughout the City of Quinte West. Our projects aim to improve the quality of life for our residents by improving traffic movement, creating safer roads for motorists and pedestrians, improving our service quality and even upgrading or building new recreational facilities such as trails, parks and gathering places for residents to enjoy. Seeing these projects improve our City and enhance residents' daily lives is the most rewarding part of this job. It is a great feeling to be able to physically see all of the hard work of our staff and how these projects can improve people's daily lives. Our team does a lot of work behind the scenes, before, during and after construction projects. Once Council approves the list of annual projects, we get started on surveying the sites involved, having background studies such as geotechnical/environmental, traffic or safety studies done and starting the in-house design process. When our design is finalized we can move on to the tendering and bidding process where we compile or tender and contract based on our design and post it for contractors to bid on. After we award the contract to an appropriate contractor we can move on to the construction process where we are in constant contact with the contractor through our inspectors in the field or our design team helping to remedy any situations that may come up during the construction process. Our whole team being involved in all of these steps allows us to provide the best product possible for the residents of Quinte West whether that be a newly paved road, upgraded water and sanitary servicing, or improving drainage in the road corridor. Stay tuned for the rest of our highlights this week! 🚧💧

PUBLIC WORKS WEEK HIGHLIGHT 💧 Our next Public Works Week highlight comes from the Quinte West Wastewater Treatment Plant! Hi, I’m Brad Purchase. My position with the City of Quinte West is the Superintendent of Wastewater Treatment. The primary responsibility of this role is to oversee the operation of all vertical wastewater infrastructure. My team of 8 licensed operations staff operate and maintain 5 wastewater treatment facilities and 19 sewage lift stations. As environmental professionals, my team and I ensure that the sanitary waste stream from residential and industrial customers is conveyed safely to our wastewater treatment plants. Once received at our treatment facilities it is biologically and chemically treated to remove contaminants that could adversely affect our environment. The water that is discharged to our local water bodies is rigorously tested to ensure it is safe and clean for aquatic life and downstream users. The biological materials removed from the waste stream are digested and thickened into a nutrient rich biosolid that is used as fertilizer for local agriculture. Stay tuned for the rest of our highlights this week! 💧🚧

QUINTE WEST'S FIRST-EVER BUDGET BOOK WINS GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION AWARD⭐ The City of Quinte West’s 2024 Budget Book has won a Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Award recognizing the quality of the City’s first-ever budget book as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide and source of important public information. Winning a GFOA award represents a significant achievement for the City. The award reflects the City’s commitment to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting and meeting nationally recognized guidelines for effectively communicating the City’s budget information to the public. As an award recipient, the City of Quinte’s 2024 Budget Book is recognized as an example for other governments’ budget presentations throughout North America. Read the City’s digital 2024 Budget Book and get involved with the City’s 2025 Budget planning process at quintewest.ca/budget.

PUBLIC WORKS WEEK HIGHLIGHT 💧 Our next Public Works Week highlight comes from the Quinte West Water Treatment Plant! Hi, I’m Amy Russell. My role is to oversee a team of operators responsible for the operation and maintenance of all water treatment facilities and remote substations in the city of Quinte West. The Water Treatment Division of Water and Wastewater Services provides a fundamental service to the city of Quinte West. Water is not only a resource, but is a life source. My team shares the responsibility to ensure a healthy, secure and sustainable water supply is supplied to our community. This field of work is so rewarding. Each day is different. One day you could be focused on doing lab work to investigate the operation of your water treatment plant, the next day you could be maintaining equipment, and on another you could be reviewing engineering plans for new systems to be constructed. There is something for everyone in this field of work. I strongly encourage all young graduates to take a close look at obtaining operator licencing and certification. Stay tuned for the rest of our highlights this week! 💧🚧

PUBLIC WORKS WEEK HIGHLIGHT 🚧 For our next highlight, we bring you our Urban and Rural Supervisors of Roads, from the Quinte West Operations Centre! 👋🏽 Hi, I am Ron Hogan, Urban Supervisor of Roads. We have a team of 24 that looks after the City of Trenton with a night shift made up of five people and a day shift of 19 people. In the winter months, our teams look after the winter maintenance on both shifts, including plowing and salting roads, sidewalks, parking lots and picking up snow when needed. In the summer months we have a locate person for the street light wires and fiber optics Our team has crews that: - Look after traffic lights, digital speed signs and message boards. - Pick up road debris - Look after 85 kilometers of curbs and sidewalks - Look after road cuts in the city and repairing and install catch basins - Remove dead trees and brushing in overgrown areas in the City with a bucket truck and chipper - Repair damaged and faded signs and sign posts - Patch pot holes in town 👋🏽 Hello, I am Scott Hutchinson, Rural Roads Supervisor. The Rural team consists of approximately 30 full-time employees. We also hire seasonal and summer students to get hands-on experience in the working world. We have a total of approximately 100 employees in the summer months and 75 employees in the winter months in the Roads department. We maintain 1600 lane kilometers of roads throughout the city of Quinte West. Our summer months consist of cleaning, maintaining ditches, installation and repair of culverts, sign repairs and new sign installs, roadside mowing, brushing, repairing guide rails and cables, patching potholes, sweeping of streets and a surface treatment program, which consists of resurfacing rural roads with tar-chip. Our winter months consist of snow removal and sanding/salting of all roads to ensure safe travel on all Quinte West roads, along with brushing and tree removal when needed. We have crews available 24/7 during the winter/summer months for snow removal, sanding/salting, and assisting OPP and Fire and Emergency Services with emergency road closures. Stay tuned for the rest of our highlights this week! 💧🚧