Public works really does a lot to benefit our community. They are the quiet engine that keeps our town looking beautiful and running efficiently and effectively.”
Julie Pace, Paradise Valley council member
By Julie A. Pace
Our town has the greatest public works department in the state of Arizona. Without a doubt.
We all enjoy how special our unique town is with the ambiance of open space and desert landscaping. We all can thank the public works leadership of Director Brent Skoglund and Jerry Cooper and their amazing team!
We count on the public works team to take care of drainage issues during monsoon season, trees that fall into the roadways during wind storms, and all of the cactus, trees and medians throughout our community.
Our public works department takes care of 176 landscaped medians, which is over 493,689 square feet. They maintain 5,200 trees shrubs and plants including 355 Palo Verde trees, 360 mesquite trees, 170 Ironwood trees, 3,174 plants, 999 shrubs, and 109 saguaro cactus.
Our public work experts also maintain 144.5 linear miles of paved asphalt streets and 543,086 square feet of town right-of-way and the Berneil Wash, along with 10 bus stops. And they complete street sweeping with two sections of the town swept per week.
Did you know they also maintain almost 2,000 street signs, 1,600 regulatory signs and 17 town entry monument signs?
They handle street striping and there is over 684,389 linear feet of pavement markings and they replace approximately 400 pavement reflector markings every year.
And public works is responsible for facilities maintenance and physical enhancements of all the public buildings within our Town Hall complex including public safety and public works buildings.
Director of Public Works Brent Skoglund remembers a couple of exceptionally challenging times in the town’s history. The number one catastrophic time was the 2014 storm.
He said it was the craziest storm with approximately 50% of the roads flooded, erosion throughout entire community, numerous request for assistance from residents, and it took months and months to repair. And, there was a significant amount of time devoted afterwards to seek reimbursements from FEMA for repairs and damage.
Another challenging time was just a few years ago when the main water line broke at Lincoln and Tatum. Traffic had to be diverted for days from this major arterial street and caused havoc for transportation in town.
And, as one might expect, they also pick up dogs and confront rattlesnakes and bees. The public works team is ready for anything.
Whew! Public works really does a lot to benefit our community. They are the quiet engine that keeps our town looking beautiful and running efficiently and effectively.
The PV public works department takes great pride in maintaining the town’s infrastructure. Please feel free to thank them and express your appreciation for all of their hard work. And bake them some cookies once in a while!
Editor’s Note: Julie Pace is the former vice mayor and current Paradise Valley Town Councilmember.
