Participants at the fall Maintenance Expo looked over the equipment display. Photos by Mike Travis

The 2002 fall Maintenance Expo was practically in Randy Reznicek’s backyard. Reznicek serves as maintenance superintendent at St. Cloud.

The expo was held Oct. 3-4 at the city of St. Cloud’s Public Works Facility.

But the fall expo isn’t about distance, it’s about time: time to get ready, to adjust attitudes and skills to meet the challenge of winter. Participants will soon face winter skies and the steely onslaught of snow, ice, wind and frigid temperatures.

Over 1,000 highway maintenance people per day sharpened their skills at the snowplow roadeo, checked out advances in snow and ice control equipment and practices and learned a thing or two about the ways crews from other districts, cities, counties and townships gear up for the yearly contest with winter.

There was a lot to see and learn. Both the size of the outdoor equipment display and the number of vendor booths inside increased from last year.

Brainerd's Brian Glenz (center) and Rick Pickard (right) talked to a vendor.

Reznicek said 20 of his employees participated in the expo. He said they were very interested in innovations such as a rear-mounted wing plow and advances in anti-icing techniques.

"The people who are on our research and development committee were especially interested in anti-icing because this winter we are going to be more serious about using it through towns, on bridges and along tree lines," he said.

Crews from the St. Cloud maintenance area, he said, learned more about anti-icing techniques, including temperature and moisture conditions when its use is most effective.

The quick transfer of knowledge to practical use typifies the event’s usefulness to participants.

"My guys who were there said the training break-out sessions were just great," said Dave Redig, maintenance superintendent at Rochester.

Duluth Metro’s Ray Franckowiak tried out a three-way truck controller.

Redig said Rochester employees found heavy equipment training valuable as well as learning about using water-filled crash barriers, seeing the motor graders now made by Case and checking out new winter patching materials and equipment.

"We also got to see a new three-gang mower that we previously ordered that was on display," Redig said.

Redig said some district employees purchased their own winter jackets with regulation safety reflectors so they don’t have to wear a more cumbersome combination of jacket and vest.

"The expo gives us a great opportunity to exchange ideas with folks from other districts, cities and counties," Redig said. "There is a lot of interaction between people just standing in line for lunch, in the classroom sessions and informal sessions at night," he added.

New, more advanced technologies also attracted interest.

Mitch Berger, Little Falls transportation generalist, listened to last-minute instructions from Douglas County’s Tim Kalina before tackling the roadeo course.

John Tarnowski, project manager, Maintenance Operations Research, said displays such as the latest version of the tandem-axle test bed snowplow generated many comments and questions.

"The test-bed tandem now has a rounded box to enable de-icing chemicals to slide out more easily and to provide space for saddle-mount pre-wetting tanks," he said, adding, "It also has new, separate load-sensitive controllers for the front and wing plows and the box to improve ease of control for operators."

Tarnkowski also noted the high degree of camaraderie evident among participants. So did Marlene Horsman, a Rochester District permits technician who has served on the event’s planning committee for 12 years.

"Attendance at the expo has tripled, party because the cities and counties have piggy-backed with us to take part in it," she said. "It’s very informative and a great learning experience. Once people get up there they really enjoy it."

Horsman said one indicator of the expo’s success is the growing number of vendors who participate.

"We used to have to recruit vendors; this year we had more than last year and many of them already signed up for next year so they can get the best locations," she said.

By Craig Wilkins

Jerry Hammill

Brian Bustad

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Nov. 1 marks the last day Mn/DOT will use the traditional eligibility lists to fill job vacancies within the state system. Instead, qualified candidates will be chosen through the state’s new system, which bases selection on skills and experience rather than test scores.

"This is a great opportunity for employees to identify and communicate their knowledge, skills and abilities from past job experiences. A test doesn’t always show that, but a resume can," said Rich Peterson, assistant director, Office of Human Resources.

The new system uses the Resumix software that requires employees to submit a resume in order to be considered for other positions with Mn/DOT or other state agencies. Employees may submit electronic versions of current resumes or use the Resume Builder application on Mn/DOT’s new Careers/Jobs Web site at www.dot.state.mn.us/careers.html.

"This system offers significant benefits to current employees and will help us to recruit job seekers outside of the state system. This is necessary to continue to replace Mn/DOT ’s workforce as our retirement and attrition numbers grow," said Gary Simon, recruitment coordinator, Office of Human Resources.

"The new system features user-friendly tools to view, apply and get notified about vacancies throughout the entire state or within a small functional area. It really gives employees more flexibility to manage their careers with the state," Simon added.

Resumes submitted to the new system remain active for one year. Employees choose a password that allows them to update their resume any time their skills or job information changes. Through this system, job seekers can apply directly for state jobs, set-up "job search agents" to notify them about jobs of interest and use other features to simplify their job search.

Resumes become inactive after one year in the system or if an employee is promoted or hired for a new position. After the resume expires, employees must update their skills and resubmit their resume. If the employee chooses not to resubmit a resume, it will remain in the system under inactive status until the employee logs on and resubmits it. At this point, employees’ resumes are reactivated for another year.

Employees without convenient access to the Web also can submit their resume by mail to the Department of Employee Relations, 658 Cedar Street, 2nd Floor, St. Paul, Minn. 55155-1603.

Contact your local Mn/DOT Human Resource office with any questions or comments.

By Daneeka Marshall-Oquendo

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Tony Kempenich, district materials engineer and chair of the Brainerd diversity committee, welcomes participants to the diversity celebration.

The department’s first wave of diversity activities took place at Central Office on Thursday, Oct. 3, initiating the department’s renewed effort to integrate diversity into its workplace and business practices.

Employees who attended the informational event heard from former Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg and staff about the importance of diversity in the workplace and the need to work more with a diverse population.

"Diversity in the workplace is a department priority because we’ve learned that we need to listen to our customers and recognize their needs; but more importantly, we’ve learned how we must be diverse in how we respond," said acting Commissioner Doug Weiszhaar while delivering the department’s diversity initiatives.

Jim Swanson, director, Program Delivery Group, presented the Diversity Strategic Plan that outlines the strategies and tactics Mn/DOT will use to diversify its workforce.

"This plan will give us a strong foundation to build upon, and we now have the necessary tools in place to help us move forward; it’s time for action," said Swanson.

The event also featured the "Sharing the Journey" video and a skit that dramatized the department’s commitment to diversity.

"The diversity skit was a great way to confront the different attitudes and behaviors most people have concerning diversity, the negatives as well as the positives," said skit participant Gary Pettis, Communications and Public Relations.

Several issues raised by audience members were addressed during the event’s panel discussion, including a question about how the department plans to continue these efforts with the next administration.

"A transition team has been formed to educate the new administration and staff about the department’s priorities and policies, diversity being one," said Dick Stehr, director of Program Support Group and panel member. "We will actively work with them so they know the role they need to play to continue this momentum."

Audience members were directed to the diversity Web site where Mn/DOT’s Management Team will address further questions or comments about the department’s diversity efforts.

By Daneeka Marshall-Oquendo

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Work team members at the Vulnerability Assessment Workshop review their progress in developing an assessment of key assets in the Twin Cities metro area. From left: Bill Hughes, Ramsey County Emergency Services; Joel Shilling, Minnesota Public Works Association; Phil Sauser, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Jerry Liibbe, Federal Highway Administration; and Greg Paulson, Rochester district engineer. Photo by Lucy Kender

The I-94 Dartmouth bridge in Minneapolis. The Duluth airport. The Mall of America. The Metrodome. How would a terrorist view these highly visible assets? Are they vulnerable to an attack?

How to make that determination was the topic of the Highway Vulnerability Assessment Workshop, a training session held Sept. 30-Oct. 1. One hundred Mn/DOT, emergency services, local community, law enforcement and military representatives joined together to learn how to assess Mn/DOT’s vulnerability.

The training, which was sponsored by Mn/DOT’s Security Task Force, included a scenario-based exercise which used a checklist of risk factors to determine the vulnerability of several facilities in the Twin Cities and Duluth metro areas.

"I think this training was important to emphasize to Mn/DOT staff that we’re part of a statewide perspective. We need to work with other groups to ensure our mission gets done," said Cathy Clark, acting administrative manager, Brainerd/District 3.

Mn/DOT’s workshop participants will now begin the process of completing "real-life" vulnerability assessments in their home districts.

"Our goal is to complete district assessments and develop action plans by March 2003," said Mike Sobolewski, Mn/DOT’s transportation security analyst. "We will ask districts to put together teams in their local areas that are similar to the mix of people at the workshop in order to ensure that we get a good regional perspective of risks and resources."

Working with local partners is really key to the success of this process, according to Jim Swanson, director, Program Delivery Group.

"We’re all in this together. The public expects us to make our transportation system safe," said Swanson.

"It was a good exercise to rate special hazards and risk situations," said Bill Hughes, operations and planning officer for Ramsey County Emergency Services, adding: "I plan to bring this back to my office and use it as a tool. It’s important to have a way to determine where money should be spent first, especially when dealing with infrastructure."

The vulnerability assessment training, facilitated by the Science Applications International Corporation, is the first step for Mn/DOT’s overall security plan, Sobolewski said.

"We also hope to sponsor a disaster response exercise this winter and we’re continuing to update Mn/DOT’s emergency response and disaster recovery plans," he said.

"SAIC, under the auspices of AASHTO, will conduct this training in other states as well," Sobolewski said. "We hope to learn from other DOTs’ experience with this process and continue to refine it."

By Lucy Kender

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In a sometimes heated exchange, former Transportation Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg today took on David Strom, Minnesota Taxpayers League, at an event sponsored by the Minnesota Transportation Alliance.

In addition to advocating for a statewide, multi-modal, long-term funding plan, Tinklenberg spent much of the debate correcting Strom's "loose" use of facts and figures.

For example, Strom argued that his group supports using revenue generated from the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax for roads and bridges. However, when talking about the total dollars that would mean for roads, Strom did not subtract the $132 million of the fund that is currently allocated for transit operating costs. This money was put in place to restore funding eliminated through property tax reform.

Strom also said that his group favors investing in projects based on a cost-benefit analysis and that transit projects do not meet that standard. Tinklenberg countered that there are numerous roads in the state that are critical to economic growth that wouldn't meet this standard either.

He went on to warn audience members representing Greater Minnesota that under the Taxpayer League's strategy, rural Minnesota would be left out in the cold.

Mn/DOT recently issued a news release including facts about transportation needs and funding. For a copy, go to http://www.dot.state.mn.us/information/funding2002/fundingfacts.html.

By Shannon Beaudin Klein

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Mn/DOT and the Department of Public Safety will join a national effort on Oct. 10, Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day, to achieve one full day of no traffic deaths. In Minnesota, an average of 625 people die in crashes every year.

Mn/DOT and the Department of Public Safety will join a national effort on Oct. 10, Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day, to achieve one full day of no traffic deaths by encouraging safer behavior and promoting safer roadways.

"In Minnesota, an average of 625 people die in crashes every year. Most of these crashes are the result of human error," said Kathy Swanson, director of traffic safety with DPS. "By working together, we can reduce the number of deaths."

Mn/DOT’s highway safety program includes improved lighting which can reduce night crashes by 50 percent, upgrading two-lane highways to four lanes in rural areas where 75 percent of fatal crashes occur and widening paved shoulders by six to eight feet that can reduce crashes by as much as 40 percent, said Gary Thompson, state traffic engineer.

The observance also promotes safer driving practices. For example, increasing seat belt use from the current 74 percent to 85 percent would save more than 100 lives each year. Reducing legal blood alcohol level from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent would also save 50 lives each year, Swanson said.

Officials chose October for the Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day observance because it ranks among the peak months for traffic deaths.

Mn/DOT and DPS created an initiative known as Toward Zero Deaths to work with communities statewide on traffic safety improvement. The four primary components of the initiative are education, engineering, enforcement and emergency response.

For traffic safety tips or other information on the day’s observance, see the Web site, www.brakesonfatalities.org.

By Sonia Pitt

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Mn/DOT turned the Hiawatha LRT Operations Facility's keys over to the Metropolitan Council Oct. 4. Participants included (from left): Met Council Chair Ted Mondale, Gov. Jesse Ventura, former Mn/DOT Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg and Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin. Photo by Kevin Gutknecht

Former Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg officially turned over the keys to the Light Rail Transit Operations Facility to the Metropolitan Council on Oct. 4. While mainly symbolic, the transfer marked the progress on construction of the Hiawatha Light Rail line. About 55 percent of the construction work is now done.

After Mn/DOT finishes construction, Metro Transit will operate the new light rail commuter system. The Metropolitan Council will own the line.

The ceremony took place at the system’s maintenance and storage building near Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis. Participants included Tinklenberg, Met Council Chair Ted Mondale, Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, Gov. Jesse Ventura and staff from the Hiawatha Project Office, Mn/DOT and the Metropolitan Council.

Work on the light rail line continued during the ceremony. Crews continued to install rail in downtown Minneapolis and elsewhere on the 11.6-mile route, work on stations along the route and dig tunnels at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The twin tunnels will take the line underneath airport runways to connect with two stations that will serve airport patrons.

Service will begin in the spring of 2004 on the first section of the line, which runs from the Warehouse District in downtown Minneapolis to Fort Snelling. Service to the airport and the Mall of America in Bloomington will begin in December 2004.

By Craig Wilkins

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Lisa Freese was appointed as the South Metro area manager for the Metro Division. She succeeds Lezlie Vermillion, who was named Scott County engineer.

Freese started working at Mn/DOT in 1999 and has two years' experience in the Access Management and Land Use section of the Office of Investment Management. She also has 18 months of experience in the Planning & Investment Management Office at Metro.

Before joining Mn/DOT, Freese worked at Minnesota Planning for two years where she established the Local Planning Assistance Center and provided technical assistance for a local government planning grant program.

She also brings 15 years of expertise as a local government planner, and has also worked for several city and county governments in the Kansas City and Twin Cities metropolitan areas.

Freese holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Iowa. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and an executive board member of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Planning Association.

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City and Mn/DOT officials opened a new shared maintenance facility at Appleton on Sept. 26. Photo by Dean Olson

A new maintenance facility at Appleton built by the city of Appleton and Detroit Lakes/District 4 joins the trend whereby Mn/DOT, cities and counties share buildings, sand and salt sheds and other support structures in order to cut costs and gain operating efficiencies.

City and Mn/DOT officials opened the new facility at Appleton on Sept. 26. The new building cost approximately $1 million, with Mn/DOT paying about one-fourth of the total price.

The building contains 13,220 square feet and now houses the two-person Appleton Truck Station crew and its equipment, city crews and administrative offices. It also includes a large vehicle storage area.

Jerry Miller, District 4 ADE for operations at Morris, said the building uses geothermal heat, which is economical and provides heated floors that improve working conditions and help dry snowplows wet with snow and ice. The Mn/DOT crew previously occupied a 1930s era building in poor condition.

Miller said sharing the new facility will help the crew to improve service in the growing region of Swift County.

By Craig Wilkins 

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