PALMDALE – The City of Palmdale’s public works department received three awards presented by the High Desert Branch of the American Public Works Association (APWA) at its annual holiday dinner held on Dec. 2 in Palmdale.
Palmdale won the award for Outstanding Public Works Employee of the Year, which was presented to the City’s Associate Engineer Mike Livingston. Livingston was nominated for outstanding management of three specific projects: the recycled waterline to Palmdale’s east side parks, Palmdale City Hall’s turf replacement, and the Tierra Subida Ave. corridor improvement project.
“We’re all very proud of Mike’s achievement and for the outstanding projects he’s played a major role in,” said Palmdale’s Director of Public Works Mike Mischel. “He’s been instrumental in so many of our projects, which often require complex interfacing with organizations like CalTrans and the federal funding process.”
Livingston has served the City as associate engineer for over five years.
The City won a second award for Best Improvement for Public Safety.
“This award was given for improvements and the positive impact on public safety addressing any aspect of Public Works, including but not limited to traffic safety, mass transportation, public facilities, or protection of the environment,” explained Administrative Analyst Ben Lucha. Palmdale was presented the award for its Tierra Subida Ave. corridor improvement project.
“We made significant public safety and usability improvements on Tierra Subida, a major arterial street, earlier this year,” said Mischel. “The construction itself included paving, concrete structures, streetlights, traffic signals and drainage facilities, encompassing a 114-foot ultimate street right-of-way width that includes a six-lane roadway, a 14-foot median, and two five-foot wide Class 2 bike lanes.”
Palmdale also took home the Best Environmental Project award for its turf replacement project around City Hall.
“We removed 27,100 square feet of existing greenbelts throughout City facilities and replaced it with synthetic turf,” said Palmdale Assistant Director of Public Works/City Engineer Chuck Heffernan. “This will save the City 2.5 acre-feet of potable water per year, and reduce the overall maintenance, irrigation, fertilization and water the City of Palmdale consumes by $7,800 per year.”
In the twelve years that the High Desert Branch awards program has existed, the City has received 25 awards for its public works projects and programs.
APWA is the professional association of public works leaders throughout the United States and Canada. The High Desert Branch is a branch of the Southern California Chapter of the American Public Works Association specifically serving the high desert regions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, including the Santa Clarita, Antelope and Victor Valleys.
For more information, please call the Public Works Department at 661-267-5300.
(Information via press release from the City of Palmdale)
