1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,160 When it comes to the City of Fargo Engineering Department, we really touch all the infrastructure 2 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:18,160 our residents and businesses rely on every single day. 3 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,400 And so whether that's getting up in the morning brushing your teeth, we're part of the water 4 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:24,600 system that gets that water to your door. 5 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,880 Flushing your toilet or doing your laundry, whatever it might be, and then going off to 6 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:32,160 work or school, you're relying on the streets that we are overseeing, improving. 7 00:00:32,160 --> 00:00:37,540 Simply as I can describe it is we're responsible for the preventive maintenance and preservation 8 00:00:37,540 --> 00:00:41,440 of all of our infrastructure as well as the improvement of it, and then also overseeing 9 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:43,960 any work that's taking place within the public right away. 10 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,840 When you look at our water system, our sanitary sewer, storm sewer, street lights, traffic 11 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,880 signals, pavement, all those things, it's billions of dollars of assets that we're 12 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:53,000 responsible for. 13 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,040 It's really important that our inspectors are watching the work that the contractors 14 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:57,040 do. 15 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,400 This infrastructure will last as long as possible. 16 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,360 A road that lasts 30 years versus 50 years is a big deal. 17 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:06,840 And the longer we can extend our infrastructure and the life of our infrastructure, the cheaper 18 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:08,720 it ultimately is for our residents. 19 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:14,880 Gratifying knowing that the work we do today should last many decades, with the PVC pipe 20 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:19,040 that we have today, hopefully that lasts 50 to 100 years, and that we won't have to dig 21 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:21,160 it up and replace it anytime soon. 22 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:23,400 At a time it really varies. 23 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,160 Much construction season, we usually have about 60 construction projects taking place 24 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:28,200 throughout the city. 25 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:33,680 In total, capital improvement plan is usually right around $100 to $120 million annually. 26 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:38,840 We are a long linear city, and so this year we'll be working up on 52nd Avenue North, 27 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,040 all the way down to 76th Avenue South. 28 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,280 And so Fargo does extend a very long distance. 29 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:49,160 We do really try to be sure that the improvements that we're making are city-wide. 30 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,320 We do balance the resources throughout the city that way. 31 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:54,440 There are a number of funding sources that we use. 32 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:56,800 Utility funds are one of them. 33 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:58,600 Sales tax is another really important one. 34 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:03,800 We use sales tax on nearly every project we do that preserves our infrastructure or improves 35 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:04,920 our infrastructure. 36 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,480 Without it, we would really struggle to fund the projects that we do. 37 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,280 Property taxes don't go towards construction projects that we do. 38 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:16,720 We have a great tool that I don't know that everyone is aware of, but if you go to Fargo 39 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,240 Streets dot com, we have a great interactive map that shows all the work that's taking 40 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:21,240 place throughout the city. 41 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:25,960 You can see examples of who's doing the work, the size of the project, how the project is 42 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,200 being funded, which is a great resource that relies on GIS. 43 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:35,040 Well, it's not only a benefit to the residents, but to us as project managers or project engineers 44 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:39,480 and inspectors, because we get to see the project from its inception and how it was 45 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:40,480 designed. 46 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,680 It really gives us a better understanding of what we're going into before the project 47 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:45,760 even starts. 48 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:50,120 And we can kind of foresee some of the problems that might arise during a project and just 49 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:52,240 handle them probably a little bit more quickly. 50 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:56,040 A lot of people don't even realize all the things that we do in engineering until something 51 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:57,040 goes wrong. 52 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:58,040 Right. 53 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,400 And so if you're driving a road and you don't hit a pothole, you don't realize the infrastructure 54 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:02,400 that you rely on. 55 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,980 So unfortunately, a lot of times you don't realize the work we do in engineering until 56 00:03:05,980 --> 00:03:07,340 something's got wrong. 57 00:03:07,340 --> 00:03:12,000 The engineering department is made up of a lot of different personalities, all of which 58 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,640 are trying to strive for the same thing and make Fargo a better place. 59 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:19,840 We try our hardest from planning to construction. 60 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,160 We want to see Fargo grow and make it beautiful.