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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMSD_Pipeline_Winter 2021MSD Project Clear is getting regional recognition for its video production work. Spot Content Studio and the MSDPC Public Affairs team just won the District’s first Emmy Award. The FOG Before Christmas was honored as 2020’s best Public Service Announcement in the Mid-America region, which stretches from Louisiana to northern Iowa. The District has been nominated for several Emmy Awards in the past, but this is the first win. “The FOG Before Christmas captures the holiday spirit with the sights and sounds of all those Christmas Eve nights at Grandma and Grandpa’s house,” says Sean Stone. “It’s stark visual look, inspired by Jim Henson’s A Christmas Toy, and an audio track that puts you in the middle of a movie adapted from a Charles Dickens novel, grabs audiences’ attention and helps drive home an important message: Fats, oils, and grease belong in the trash and NOT down your drain.” The 30-second PSA was seen more than 135,000 times in the St. Louis television market. You can see it anytime on the MSD Project Clear YouTube page. MSD Wins First Emmy Award: “The FOG Before Christmas” MSD PUBLIC AFFAIRS SHARES ENGAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES AT PUBLIC PARTICIPATION CONFERENCE MSD AND L KEELEY CONSTRUCTION WIN 2021 KEYSTONE AWARD GRATITUDE: THANK YOU LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS TO OUR EMPLOYEES INTERNAL THANKS: GREAT CUSTOMER SUPPORT STARTS WITH GREAT TEAMWORK ANOTHER HAPPY CUSTOMER: GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND COMINGS & GOINGS 3 4 5 6 7 8 MSD RECEIVES QUALITY CONCRETE AWARD FOR GRAVOIS TRUNK SANITARY STORAGE FACILITY PROJECT 2 Inside this issue News for Present & Retired Employees WINTER 2021 2 | PIPELINE MSD Receives Quality Concrete Award One of MSD’s larger projects, the Gravois Trunk Sanitary Storage Facility in Crestwood, addresses an aging infrastructure collection system along Gravois Creek. The benefits of this project will capture wastewater during heavy rains, prevent wastewater backup in basements, and improve overall water quality and public health. The annual St. Louis Concrete Council Quality Concrete Awards program recognizes those who have demonstrated outstanding concrete work in the St. Louis area, and it reinforces the Council’s long-range commitment to quality concrete construction. PROJECT OWNER Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) PROJECT ARCHITECT Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. PROJECT ENGINEER(S) Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc., Wade Trim, Inc. David Mason & Associates, Inc. M3 Engineering Group ERM Technologies, Inc Gravois Trunk Sanitary Storage Facility Project © Wade Trim, Inc. MSD PROJECT CLEAR | 3 Public Affairs Specialists Saad Amir and Bess McCoy repre- sented MSD Project Clear at the 2021 International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) North America Conference. Their session, titled “Crisis to Catalyst: Harnessing Momentum to Reimagine Public Engagement,” showcased how MSD’s Public Affairs Division turned the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic into an opportunity to reevaluate public outreach efforts. That improved approach, called MSD Project Clear Connect, is a streamlined, measurable, and fully integrated public engagement plan that can be tailored to meet the unique needs of outreach efforts across the District. In addition to Amir and McCoy, the session also included the perspectives of two stakeholders; Mayor Bill Hook of the City of Bel-Nor shared his experience as an external stake- holder, while Steve Kadyk, former Program Manager in MSD’s Engineering Construction Division, shared his perspective as an internal stakeholder. “Public participation is built around the belief that those who are affected by decisions have a right to be involved in the process,” said Amir. “It was important that our audience hear directly from those affected by our efforts—both internally and externally.” In addition to the presentation, audience members were invited to join an online community to share their own best practices and lessons learned. MSD Public Affairs Shares Engagement Best Practices at Public Participation Conference “ The COVID-19 pandemic took away the in-person tools we relied on, but it didn’t take away our responsibility to engage our stakeholders in the important work we’re doing throughout the region. We didn’t want to simply replicate our previous engagement efforts in a digital environment—we wanted to make them better. BESS MCCOY Public Affairs Specialist Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District 4 | PIPELINE The 2021 Project of the Year Awards were announced at the Associated General Contractors (AGC) Construction Awards Gala, which highlights the creative talents of Missouri’s construction industry. L. Keeley Construction and MSD took home the award for the Delridge Court Storm Channel Repair. A panel of five expert judges selected the outstanding projects spanning 10 categories focused on the work of AGC member general contractors and specialty contractors. The category is “Project of the Year Mid-America Class for Infrastructure Projects Under $15 Million.” The Contractor, MSD Design, and MSD Construction all worked very closely together on this project to make it a success. “ This team was successful in achieving innovative solutions and creating long-term contributions to the community. I could not be prouder of their skills, teamwork, and communication. This award is a great way to honor our whole team for their quality and timely construction. ALLEN MUEHLHER Assistant Director of Engineering Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District L. Keeley Construction and MSD Win 2021 Keystone Award MSD PROJECT CLEAR | 5 GRATITUDE Thank You Letters from Our Customers to Our MSD Employees Hello MSD team, I sincerely appreciate all the team efforts on September 21, 2021, and the ongoing efforts to find and repair the 22-foot-deep blockage repair in the grass alley behind my house. Dean and his coworkers worked above and beyond to help get the water out of my basement. I cannot thank them enough. What a team! Thank you to the crew for all your hard work this month. Your crew was very professional, polite, courteous, efficient, and diligent. They took time to answer all my questions, updated me on their progress, while also educating me throughout the process. They are a great example of an amazing team and worked in all phases of the job effortlessly. The cleaned-up alleyway looks great! The work they have done has helped me and all my neighbors. Our drains are working so much better now! I will continue to pass along all the amazing work of the team I witnessed. Sincerely, Sharon Smith Additionally, we would like to thank and recognize the following individuals who helped identify and complete the necessary work to remove the blockage causing water back up in the customer’s home: Maintenance Group Dean Vollmer – Team Leader Nick Honeycutt Rodney Ennis Rehabilitation Group Mike Adams – CCTV Operator Construction Group Larry Stuckenschneider – Team Leader II Sam Bagby Dave Ballard Bob Capps Tadd Dorenkamp Marty Dodd Joe Fleig Chris Harmon Brian Harris Tony Hodge John Love Evan Moore Spencer Randall 6 | PIPELINE INTERNAL THANKS Great Customer Support Starts with Great Teamwork Email from Klint Oldham, Planner/Scheduler, Bissell WWTP to Debra Alysworth, Operations Division Manager, Sulphur I want to pass on a thank you to Debra Alysworth’s crew in Operations, but first, let me give you the rest of the story. Last Thursday, we had an issue with one of our Trickling Filters. This was a serious issue that we had to address quickly, or we would be out of compliance. Our Maintenance Supervisor Chris Mueller asked me to contact your yard to get a crane, air compressor and hoses. Normally, Tony Merz is the person of contact and I left him a message. Frank Abate was covering his phone and I told him what we needed. He assigned Dwight Sloan to our plant with the crane, compressor, and hoses. Our Maintenance crew was ready for him when he arrived and with Dwight’s help on the crane, they were able to get the issue repaired. There has been some follow-up work on Friday and Monday, with Dwight’s help as well. With Frank Agate’s help in getting everything mobilized on his end, and Dwight being here on the crane, our Maintenance crew was able to successfully make the repair. We could not have done this without their help. In my years as a Planner/Scheduler here and at Lemay, I have contacted Tony and Frank for assistance and they have always come through. I have appreciated their cooperation every time and look forward to their continued cooperation in the future. Please pass on my thanks to everyone involved in helping us out. I appreciate it. MSD PROJECT CLEAR | 7 Another Happy Customer Going Above and Beyond A note from a satisfied customer: As a resident of Webster Groves, we have had several months of road excavation, banging, and pipe installation of new sanitary sewer lines, and we want to let you all know how incredibly kind, respectful, and aware the team was. The attention to detail was amazing. The size of the equipment, when it’s directly outside our home for weeks, can be intimidating and unwelcoming. However, we never felt any of that. Instead, the MSD team was extremely accommodating and forthcoming with information and explanations, so we never felt out of the loop. Cory, Gary, and Devoncha (contractors) were incredibly helpful. This was conducted in a professional, consistent, and timely manner. They took into consideration my dogs, our yard, and garden. We would like to recommend this team as frequently as possible, because their attention to detail, polite communication skills, and making reparations from said excavation, were impeccable. We felt secure and confident with this major infrastructure improvement. We deeply appreciate their professionalism and hard work. Sincerely, James Vishion and Melissa Tschampel Recently, MSD’s inspection team and our contractor, Wehemeyer Farms, completed work in Webster Groves. Mark Dietiker, Supervisor, and Sever Leone, Resident Inspector, oversaw this residential area. We want to thank you for going above and beyond for our customers. 8 | PIPELINE Sherry Gilbert (correction) Human Resources Generalist James Lankford Security Supervisor Dominic BalassiInstrumentation/ Electrical Technician Temecia KahnAccount Associate Crystal HickmanAccount Associate Karissa AmersonAccount Associate SEPTEMBER Joseph E. Anselmo Operations Supervisor 42 years Donald L. Aulbach Material Handler 28 years Brian Rothlisberger Collection Systems Team Leader I Jason Rench Collection Systems Team Leader I Michael Carnaghi IT Specialist II – Server Administrator COMINGS & GOINGS New Hires Retirees Promotions Debra GomezAdministrative Support Representative Dawn SmallenAdministrative Support Representative Justin EllegoodTreatment Plant Operator Trainee III Paul Pierce Treatment Plant Operator Trainee I Demetri PhillipsTreatment Plant Operator Trainee I Donald L. Beck Planner/Scheduler 43 years Christopher Mueller Operations Supervisor (Plant Maintenance) Jordan Kincaid Heavy Equipment Operator Tara Liberty Section Head Jennifer Rice Accountant III Amanda DaileyAdministrative Support Representative Sayantani AdhikaryCivil Engineer Alexander CaspersonTreatment Plant Operator Trainee I Carina WagonerDesktop Support Analyst Matthew KinseyPlanner/Scheduler Charletta HaleyAccount Associate OCTOBER Rebecca J. Coyle Operations Division Manager 29 years Rebecca M. Vitelli Office Assistant 33 years Matt Hall Heavy Equipment Operator Demetrius Jackson Construction Inspector Senior Francisco Lopez- Serna Collection Systems Team Leader I James MinorMaintenance Mechanic Helper I Jared LovelessCollection Systems Technician Trainee I Carl FulksCollection Systems Technician Trainee I Steven VanDykeWarehouse Technician Christopher TaylorCollection Systems Technician Trainee I NOVEMBER Eric C. Meadows Collection Systems Team Leader II 34 years Willard Furlow Collection Systems Team Leader I Darius Charleston IT Specialist I – Security Analyst Nathan Overberg Collection Systems Team Leader II Casey SimmonsCollection Systems Technician Trainee I Lori HarbaughAccountant II Charles BatesCollection Systems Technician Trainee I Elena Ramirez Information Governance Manager Gregory BlomenkampResident Inspector Robert Turley IT Specialist II – Server Administrator Ashley Luster Account Associate Senior Kevin White Program Manager