UDSKRIFT 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:08.249 --> 00:00:11.949
Welcome back to County Conversations, a podcast
00:00:11.949 --> 00:00:14.830
program by the county to help build community
00:00:14.830 --> 00:00:17.609
trust with the public and expand opportunities
00:00:17.609 --> 00:00:20.510
for them to learn more about the county, our
00:00:20.510 --> 00:00:23.510
operations, and just better access to information.
00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:26.660
This is episode four of County Conversations,
00:00:26.859 --> 00:00:29.160
and we have Greg Caldwell, our Public Works Director,
00:00:29.179 --> 00:00:31.739
returning. Greg, thanks so much for joining us
00:00:31.739 --> 00:00:34.340
yet again. Looking forward to it. This is great.
00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:36.960
I appreciate the opportunity. Our first three
00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:39.859
episodes dealt with infrastructure. This episode
00:00:39.859 --> 00:00:41.880
is also going to deal with infrastructure. We've
00:00:41.880 --> 00:00:45.539
talked about roads, stormwater management, the
00:00:45.539 --> 00:00:50.640
building of parks. Folks may not understand that
00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:52.840
our infrastructure project and particularly the
00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:55.880
role of public works also deals with other types
00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:58.350
of projects. Share with our audience what some
00:00:58.350 --> 00:01:00.409
of those other projects might be that Public
00:01:00.409 --> 00:01:03.210
Works spearheads. So we're able to work, I think
00:01:03.210 --> 00:01:05.890
St. John's County in general is focused on improving
00:01:05.890 --> 00:01:07.689
the overall infrastructure and that includes
00:01:07.689 --> 00:01:12.090
a lot of facilities. Public safety is a key component
00:01:12.090 --> 00:01:14.670
of doing those improvements and we've been able
00:01:14.670 --> 00:01:16.930
to work with Fire Services, the Sheriff's Office
00:01:16.930 --> 00:01:20.049
to try to understand their current situation.
00:01:20.349 --> 00:01:23.049
what they need to continue to provide the level
00:01:23.049 --> 00:01:25.329
of service the St. John's County and the Board
00:01:25.329 --> 00:01:27.290
of County Commissioners and County Administration
00:01:27.290 --> 00:01:29.849
has really supported those efforts to advance
00:01:29.849 --> 00:01:33.469
and get public safety up to where they feel St.
00:01:33.569 --> 00:01:36.010
John's County needs to be. Yes, the St. John's
00:01:36.010 --> 00:01:37.730
County Board of County Commissioners approved
00:01:37.730 --> 00:01:44.310
a plan to not only build new fire stations strategically
00:01:44.310 --> 00:01:47.290
throughout the community to improve response
00:01:47.290 --> 00:01:52.590
time, but also renovations of some older stations.
00:01:53.170 --> 00:01:54.890
Absolutely. So we're working on two renovations
00:01:54.890 --> 00:01:57.269
of existing fire stations. We want to make sure
00:01:57.269 --> 00:01:58.849
that we're still taking care of our existing
00:01:58.849 --> 00:02:01.189
fire stations and making sure they're providing
00:02:01.189 --> 00:02:04.400
the needs of the the fire services people to
00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:06.319
make sure they're able to operate efficiently.
00:02:06.939 --> 00:02:09.039
But one of the key things is the new model that
00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:11.280
we're building the new fire stations. We are
00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:14.840
co -locating the sheriff's office and fire services
00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:19.120
in one building. We're able to do that with trying
00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:22.080
to reduce our cost of the construction of a building
00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:24.759
as well as You know, have a hand in hand. These
00:02:24.759 --> 00:02:26.740
are public safety officers that work together
00:02:26.740 --> 00:02:30.039
all the time. Chief McGee and Sheriff Hardwick,
00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:32.719
they get along very well. They're great partners
00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:35.259
to one another. So they support this effort and
00:02:35.259 --> 00:02:37.219
it's been a great model that we've been able
00:02:37.219 --> 00:02:39.039
to introduce in the St. John's County and it's
00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:42.370
working very well. With these public facilities
00:02:42.370 --> 00:02:45.370
in this budget year alone, Greg, you've got 18
00:02:45.370 --> 00:02:50.250
projects valued at 99 million dollars. We talked
00:02:50.250 --> 00:02:53.129
about the fire stations. Another hidden type
00:02:53.129 --> 00:02:55.169
of project that folks may not know that Public
00:02:55.169 --> 00:02:58.430
Works helps spearhead is the construction of
00:02:58.430 --> 00:03:00.469
libraries. Talk to us about that. The library
00:03:00.469 --> 00:03:02.430
system is somebody, you know, Deborah Rhodes
00:03:02.430 --> 00:03:05.039
Gibson is a great proponent other libraries.
00:03:05.099 --> 00:03:07.199
Obviously she's the director of it and she is
00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:09.539
trying to take that to the next level. She's
00:03:09.539 --> 00:03:11.659
been able to work with Parks and Rec to introduce
00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:14.419
a couple new libraries into their regional parks
00:03:14.419 --> 00:03:17.080
as well as a brand new standalone library up
00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:20.199
in the northeast part of St. John's County. And
00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:23.360
lastly but not least is the community center
00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:26.000
down in Hastings that is nearing completion and
00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:28.159
that is going to be a brand new community center
00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:31.180
with a major library hub inside of it that's
00:03:31.180 --> 00:03:33.860
going to provide so much to that area. Well,
00:03:33.860 --> 00:03:36.560
it's amazing to see the quality of life projects
00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:40.759
that Public Works helps lead. We talked about
00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:43.520
the libraries just a moment ago, and in a previous
00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:45.780
episode we talked about the parks. There are
Load full transcript
00:03:45.780 --> 00:03:48.240
some other public facilities that folks may not
00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:52.259
know that Public Works helps build, such things
00:03:52.259 --> 00:03:55.879
as storage facilities and other administrative
00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:59.159
type facilities that are important to government
00:03:59.159 --> 00:04:01.419
operations. So we're able to sit down with a
00:04:01.419 --> 00:04:04.039
lot of end users. in public works and in St.
00:04:04.139 --> 00:04:06.580
John's County. We all talk every constantly.
00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:09.860
I won't say every day, but we talk a lot. We're
00:04:09.860 --> 00:04:12.539
able to share what improvements are necessary.
00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:15.300
What does it take to provide services to the
00:04:15.300 --> 00:04:17.959
public of St. John's County? And we're able to
00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:19.560
share them with the border county commissioners
00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:22.060
as well as county administration to see if their
00:04:22.060 --> 00:04:25.920
funds are available either through grant opportunities,
00:04:26.279 --> 00:04:28.420
current funding sources or other means and methods.
00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:32.029
And to date, the Board of County Commissioners
00:04:32.029 --> 00:04:33.870
and County Administration you can't ask enough
00:04:33.870 --> 00:04:36.629
of because they are supportive of continuously
00:04:36.629 --> 00:04:40.189
improving the service level to St. John's County
00:04:40.189 --> 00:04:44.009
residents. It's important to note and it's important
00:04:44.009 --> 00:04:48.069
for our public to know not only are we good stewards
00:04:48.069 --> 00:04:51.730
with taxpayer money and grant money and other
00:04:51.730 --> 00:04:55.279
sources of revenue for these projects but we're
00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:58.240
also innovative. And that came to light when
00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:03.199
the Northeast Florida Regional Council presented
00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:05.639
the county with an award for one of the projects
00:05:05.639 --> 00:05:08.600
that Public Works helps lead. This was one of
00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:10.459
those things that the team did an amazing job.
00:05:10.459 --> 00:05:13.279
They worked with the sheriff's team to work on
00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:16.699
a tactical training facility. This is going to
00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:19.040
be a building. This is a building because it
00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:21.279
is complete that the sheriff's office is going
00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:24.069
to use to be able to train to just in case, and
00:05:24.069 --> 00:05:26.490
hopefully it never happens, but if there's a
00:05:26.490 --> 00:05:29.490
school shooting, if there's a shooting at a movie
00:05:29.490 --> 00:05:32.730
or at a church, they are going to be able to
00:05:32.730 --> 00:05:35.189
be trained at this facility to be able to respond
00:05:35.189 --> 00:05:37.649
accordingly. And it's one of those things I'm
00:05:37.649 --> 00:05:39.490
very proud of,
but I thought it would never work
00:05:39.490 --> 00:05:42.740
on something like this. And early in the stages,
00:05:42.740 --> 00:05:44.939
I asked the sheriff to come in and speak to our
00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:47.480
staff about what they're doing and to hear how
00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:49.720
he felt about this, his passion for this building
00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:51.959
and what it was going to do for the citizens
00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:54.759
of St. John's County, continuously trying to
00:05:54.759 --> 00:05:58.240
improve the public safety area. And one of the
00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:01.350
I heard this morning it brings true is. You have
00:06:01.350 --> 00:06:03.569
good schools, that makes a good community. If
00:06:03.569 --> 00:06:07.389
you have a great public safety policy and a team
00:06:07.389 --> 00:06:10.110
out there, it also creates a great community.
00:06:10.610 --> 00:06:12.589
So those are two areas that we're very blessed
00:06:12.589 --> 00:06:16.079
in St. John's County to have. Yeah, the 15 ,000
00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:18.540
square foot training facility that Public Works
00:06:18.540 --> 00:06:21.620
helped build has everything from a driving track
00:06:21.620 --> 00:06:26.160
to elevated tactical operation training, just
00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:30.279
very detailed for the Sheriff's Office and also
00:06:30.279 --> 00:06:34.699
other public agencies to come in and learn tactics.
00:06:34.980 --> 00:06:37.339
Absolutely. This is going to be open to the regional
00:06:37.339 --> 00:06:40.800
area to make sure we're training our staff. And
00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:42.540
that's what it takes for people to be able to
00:06:42.540 --> 00:06:46.160
respond. the way they do. I do believe that Sheriff
00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:48.459
Hardwick is the best sheriff in the state, if
00:06:48.459 --> 00:06:51.459
not the nation, and he's focused on these improvements.
00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:53.660
And that's why we are where we are in our public
00:06:53.660 --> 00:06:56.620
safety. We've talked a lot about infrastructure,
00:06:56.939 --> 00:07:00.600
the CIP as it's known, in this episode, in the
00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:03.240
previous three episodes. We've talked about public
00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:05.240
works, but you've mentioned other departments
00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:07.879
here and there, and I want to give you a couple
00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:11.300
of minutes to do a deep dive on an internal working
00:07:11.300 --> 00:07:13.560
group that's called the Infrastructure Delivery
00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:16.279
Team, because I know you're a huge champion and
00:07:16.279 --> 00:07:18.939
advocate for partnerships and teamwork. Talk
00:07:18.939 --> 00:07:21.079
to us a little bit about what this Infrastructure
00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:24.410
Delivery Team is and what its purpose is. I think
00:07:24.410 --> 00:07:26.689
the purpose really is to break down walls. It's
00:07:26.689 --> 00:07:28.389
to make sure that we're all working
in the same
00:07:28.389 --> 00:07:31.189
pathway. Everybody understands where the placement
00:07:31.189 --> 00:07:33.329
of a current project is and what's the goal of
00:07:33.329 --> 00:07:36.490
it and how to deliver that in the best fashion.
00:07:37.050 --> 00:07:39.569
This is our purchasing department from our facilities,
00:07:40.009 --> 00:07:42.790
public works, parks and rec, land management.
00:07:43.250 --> 00:07:45.410
There are so many different people. Our office
00:07:45.410 --> 00:07:47.709
of management and budget. county administration
00:07:47.709 --> 00:07:50.029
is leading the charge on this. So for us to be
00:07:50.029 --> 00:07:52.329
able to sit down and try to look at projects,
00:07:52.850 --> 00:07:55.930
understand obstacles, figure out ways to get
00:07:55.930 --> 00:07:58.310
over those obstacles and complete the project
00:07:58.310 --> 00:08:00.730
in the best way, the quickest way, as well as
00:08:00.730 --> 00:08:03.930
the most financially responsible way has been
00:08:03.930 --> 00:08:05.889
one of the critical things that we're working
00:08:05.889 --> 00:08:08.589
on. And that leads to innovation. Innovation
00:08:08.589 --> 00:08:11.569
in St. John's County is amazing and we always
00:08:11.569 --> 00:08:14.269
look for opportunities to deliver a project in
00:08:14.269 --> 00:08:17.069
the best way we can for St. John's County. Speed
00:08:17.069 --> 00:08:18.689
is always a good thing. We try to get things
00:08:18.689 --> 00:08:20.829
completed as best we can, but we are looking
00:08:20.829 --> 00:08:24.389
at the financial component as well. Not only
00:08:24.389 --> 00:08:26.569
internal county departments, but you've got some
00:08:26.569 --> 00:08:29.089
partnerships outside the county administration
00:08:29.089 --> 00:08:31.930
in terms of the school district and the sheriff's
00:08:31.930 --> 00:08:34.289
office who have a seat at that table. They do
00:08:34.289 --> 00:08:37.070
and they bring their expertise into that. For
00:08:37.070 --> 00:08:39.450
us to have these conversations open and honest,
00:08:39.750 --> 00:08:42.750
it's a safe room, so anybody can bring up any
00:08:42.750 --> 00:08:45.070
idea and figure out a better way to provide a
00:08:45.070 --> 00:08:47.629
service. But having the school board there is
00:08:47.629 --> 00:08:50.070
amazing. Just to introduce them into the inner
00:08:50.070 --> 00:08:52.870
circle of St. John's County, it has totally opened
00:08:52.870 --> 00:08:55.710
up so many doors, so many relationships, so many
00:08:55.710 --> 00:08:58.990
calls that have led to the Courtney Vista Drive
00:08:58.990 --> 00:09:01.350
agreements that allow us the shared cost of major
00:09:01.350 --> 00:09:04.070
roadway improvements. And the comfort level that
00:09:04.070 --> 00:09:06.779
people have in this meeting, which happens every
00:09:06.779 --> 00:09:09.419
other week. So we're always talking about projects
00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:12.139
from roadways
to facilities to drainage systems
00:09:12.139 --> 00:09:15.340
to anything and everything to make sure that
00:09:15.340 --> 00:09:17.200
we're working for St. John's County and providing
00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:20.659
the best service possible. I got to imagine having
00:09:20.659 --> 00:09:24.080
a regular rhythm and rapport with your peers
00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:26.580
and other county departments and outside agencies
00:09:26.580 --> 00:09:31.120
helps public works pivot and adapt when needed
00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:33.899
on these projects. St. John's County, there's
00:09:33.899 --> 00:09:36.299
a lot going on. Everybody is extremely busy right
00:09:36.299 --> 00:09:38.720
now. So to make sure that we have face time with
00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:41.419
all these directors, county administration every
00:09:41.419 --> 00:09:44.120
other week is essential for us to continue on
00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:47.179
to push these projects forward. If we have to
00:09:47.179 --> 00:09:49.259
pivot, if we have to make some changes, if there's
00:09:49.259 --> 00:09:51.019
something that has come up along the way that
00:09:51.019 --> 00:09:54.860
we need to a challenge that comes up in the project,
00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:56.759
we can work through that. We can work through
00:09:56.759 --> 00:09:58.759
it if it's a land management issue, if it's a
00:09:58.759 --> 00:10:01.019
purchasing, if it's procurement, if it's a contract
00:10:01.019 --> 00:10:04.139
issue. We're able to talk it through, communicate
00:10:04.139 --> 00:10:05.899
that back and forth, and then come up with the
00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:09.480
best solution. In describing what the infrastructure
00:10:09.480 --> 00:10:13.559
delivery team is, you used the phrase breaking
00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:15.720
down walls. Well, Greg, you've certainly broken
00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:18.620
down a lot of walls in these past four episodes
00:10:18.620 --> 00:10:22.559
of County Conversations, sharing with us the
00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:24.559
ins and outs of infrastructure delivery here
00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:27.480
in St. John's County. We appreciate your time
00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:30.759
and attention to having a conversation with us
00:10:30.759 --> 00:10:32.899
on County Conversations, the county's official
00:10:32.899 --> 00:10:36.059
podcast program. Thank you so much for helping
00:10:36.059 --> 00:10:40.049
us. build and sustain community trust in our
00:10:40.049 --> 00:10:42.409
St. John's County community. Well, thank you
00:10:42.409 --> 00:10:44.309
very much for the opportunity because for us
00:10:44.309 --> 00:10:47.210
to show everybody and tell everybody our story
00:10:47.210 --> 00:10:49.149
and how we do it in Public Works and what part
00:10:49.149 --> 00:10:51.570
of the role that we play in delivering some of
00:10:51.570 --> 00:10:54.169
these projects, it's just something that we're
00:10:54.169 --> 00:10:57.679
very proud of. Well, and we're proud of our special
00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:00.039
web page devoted to the topics that Greg has
00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:02.700
talked about these past four episodes again that
00:11:02.700 --> 00:11:05.419
special web page to check out all that Greg's
00:11:05.419 --> 00:11:10.460
talked about and more go to sjcfl .us Slash featured
00:11:10.460 --> 00:11:13.919
dash projects to see and read and learn more
00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:17.220
about all these projects So we great we really
00:11:17.220 --> 00:11:20.100
appreciate your time for this episode of county
00:11:20.100 --> 00:11:23.649
conversations. Thank you very much You've been
00:11:23.649 --> 00:11:25.990
listening to County Conversations with Director
00:11:25.990 --> 00:11:28.509
of Public Affairs for St. John's County, Wayne
00:11:28.509 --> 00:11:31.049
Larson. If you'd like to keep the dialogue going,
00:11:31.549 --> 00:11:33.690
like, share, and leave a review on our social
00:11:33.690 --> 00:11:36.909
media. For news, events, and resources, make
00:11:36.909 --> 00:11:41.370
sure you visit our county website, sjcfl .us.
00:11:41.889 --> 00:11:44.970
That is sjcfl .us.