PALMDALE – The city of Palmdale’s Public Works Department won three Building Excellence/Shaping Tomorrow (B.E.S.T.) awards, presented by the Southern California Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA).
The Southern California Chapter of the APWA, which represents Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, named Palmdale the winner of three awards in the 100,000 to 200,000 population range category for the following:
- Creative and Innovative – Domenic Massari Park Makeover Project (part of the Semester of Service Program, which won the Outstanding Project of the Year award from the High Desert Branch)
- Drainage, Water and Waste Water – 35th Street East Storm Drain Project
- Facilities – Solar Shade Structures Project
The Dominic Massari Park Makeover Project drew more than 300 volunteers and several local businesses who came together to help with fencing, landscaping, light carpentry, painting and cleaning the park.
The 35th Street East Storm Drain Project mitigated flooding along 35th Street East by extending the existing storm drain system from Palmdale Blvd. and continuing along in 35th Street East to Avenue Q. After its completion, the new system worked as planned and helped ease runoff issues in the area.
The Solar Shade Structures Project provided 976-kilowatts of solar services at Palmdale’s Civic Center, DryTown Water Park and Marie Kerr Park, generating more than 1,580 megawatt-hours of electricity per year and meeting nearly 70 percent of the electricity needs for the three sites. The system will help the city meet state mandates for renewable power generation and greenhouse gas reduction and is expected to eliminate 1,201 tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data for the region. Furthermore, the city retained all renewable energy credits from the project.
These three awards follow the city’s winning two APWA High Desert Branch awards last week for Outstanding Project of the Year and Innovative Design of the Year.
“We are truly proud to receive these recognitions from the Southern California Chapter of the APWA,” said Mike Mischel, Director of Public Works. “Usually one award in our very competitive category is cause for celebration, but this year we received three. What makes these even more special is the fact that it was a collaborative effort of many City staffers and engaged residents. It truly was a team effort.”
The American Public Works Association, Southern California Chapter, provides leadership to and serves the public works community by promoting professional excellence and public awareness through education, advocacy, and the exchange of knowledge.
For more information about the city’s award winning projects, contact Benjamin Lucha at 661-267-5300 or blucha@cityofpalmdale.org.
