►
From YouTube: From City Hall - Ward 3 - March 2015
Description
City Councilman Larry McAtee discusses the Public Works Department with Director and City Engineer Eric Wenger.
A
I
am
Larry
makati,
Ward,
3
city
councilor,
and
what
a
delight
it
is
today
to
have
with
us
for
our
show
the
Director
of
Public
Works
in
Oklahoma,
City,
Eric
wing
or
Eric.
Thank
you
for
coming
down
and
sharing
your
experience
with
our
viewers
that
I
thank
you
for
having
me
how
about
giving
our
viewers
just
a
brief
synopsis
of
your
background.
I
think
that's
fascinating
I.
B
Came
to
the
city
in
1994
after
graduating,
from
the
University
of
Oklahoma
I'm,
actually
from
Texas
had
done
a
summer.
Internship
horns
not
anymore
anymore,
had
actually
done
a
summer
internship
with
the
city
of
denton
as
a
civil
engineering,
intern
student
and
learned
a
survey
and
and
do
water
lines
and
sewer
lines
and
was
convincing
enough
to
go
to
college,
to
study
it
further
so
upon
arriving
in
Norman
Oklahoma
and
going
to
school
at
University
of
Oklahoma.
B
B
We
have
over
700
bridges
that
were
responsible
for
miles
of
channel
and
drainage,
pipe
that
require
maintenance,
but
we
also
do
a
lot
of
new
constructions,
so
it
would
be
new
infrastructure
and
improvements,
building
construction,
so
projects
today
that
are
under
construction,
including
the
new
police
headquarters,
the
improvements
at
the
a-si
Hall
of
Fame
park
and
others
throughout
the
city.
Those
are
also
under
public
works.
Now.
A
B
A
B
To
the
city
back
in
1994
I
was,
I
was
appointed
to
manage
the
bricktown
ballpark,
which
was
my
very
first
large
project,
moving
on
into
the
new
downtown
arena,
overseeing
master
kids
in
the
school
reconstruction
program
being
able
to
kick
off
maps
three,
but
now
returning
to
public
works
yet
turned
into
a
career.
For
me,.
A
B
Know
the
streets
and
bridges
in
Oklahoma,
City
and
specifically
the
streets,
require
continual
maintenance
and
monitoring.
We
actually
survey
all
the
streets
every
year
to
assess
their
condition
and
they're
ranked
on
a
scale
of
zero
to
a
hundred
for
our
information,
but
the
funding
for
the
improvements
the
streets
comes
from
a
variety
of
sources.
A
lot
of
that
is
from
the
city's
bond
issues
and
the
most
recent
one
was
in
2007,
but
we
also
work
very
closely
with
the
state
and
federal
funds
when
those
are
available.
B
A
B
Many
of
the
permits
that
are
occurring
across
the
city
are
from
the
2007
bond
issue
funds
those
funds
approved
at
that
time,
we're
in
excess
of
eight
hundred
million
dollars.
500
million
of
that,
though,
was
just
for
streets.
We
continue
today
to
work
on
streets
that
were
approved
and
that
bond
issue
and
that
work
actually
will
take
several
more
years
before
we're
finished.
B
When
bond
issues
are
passed,
all
the
money
is
not
available
at
once
it
each
year
about
70
million
on
average
is
sold
by
the
city
of
Oklahoma
City,
that's
based
on
a
16
mil
property
assessment
and
those
projects
are
completed,
and
then
the
next
year
additional
monies
become
available.
So
we
have
been
working
those
projects
since
the
passage
of
that
bond
issue.
New
projects
are
coming
onto
the
list
and
those
will
be
considered
in
the
next
bond
issue.
That
currently
looks
like
it's
going
to
be
in
2017
now.
B
As
we
look
at
the
platform
and
as
the
City
Council
in
the
past
has
decided
not
raising
property,
taxes
has
been
really
a
strategic
goal
of
the
council,
and
the
16
mill
has
been
there
for
a
very
long
time,
and
it's
really,
I
think,
been
important
in
the
past
for
for
us
to
be
able
to
go
out
and
say
that
we're
not
raising
citizens
taxes
for
this
next
bond
issue.
However,
I
would
say
that
the
council
has
the
final
decision
on
how
that
would
be
for
future
bond
issues.
Now.
A
B
That's
entirely
possible
and
because
of
the
net
assessed
value
of
property,
increasing
as
property
values
increase
more
quickly,
especially
with
a
lot
of
the
improvements
in
Oklahoma
City.
That
is
a
factor
as
well,
so
additional
defendants
may
become
available
just
with
all
the
improvements
that
have
occurred
over
a
number
of
years.
Well,.
A
B
Does-
and
so
we
are
limited
somewhat,
especially
when
we
look
at
say
the
year:
2009
were
Oklahoma.
City
did
experience
some
of
the
national
recession
when
net
assessed
values,
weren't
growing
and
with
the
commitment
to
not
raise
property
taxes.
Sales
in
those
2009-2010
were
not
as
high
as
expected
it,
so
it
did
slow
the
progress
of
the
project
slightly.
We
expect
that
it
may
be
added
a
couple
of
years
to
the
bond
issue,
but
those
projects
are
still
promised
and
they're
still
going
to
get
completed.
Let's.
B
A
number
of
projects
that
are
underway-
probably
those
that
are
the
most
visible
today-
is
the
work
that's
currently
underway
on
Northwest
23rd,
which
is
a
streetscape
project.
It's
three
miles
of
streetscaping
first
phase
has
been
completed.
Second,
is
under
construction
in
the
last
phase
will
begin
this
year.
Now,
when
you
say
streetscape,
what
does
that
mean
the
streetscape
being
a
little
bit
different
than
say
a
traditional
resurfacing,
or
just
a
street
widening
project
they're
going
to
be
district
markers
on
Northwest
23rd?
B
A
B
Know
we
we
do
a
lot
of
work,
not
just
bond
issue.
I
mentioned
others
with
the
general
fund
resurfacing
dollars
that
came
available
from
the
City
Council
Ward
3.
Fortunately,
with
about
3
million
dollars
over
the
previous
three
years
has
been
able
to
do
additional
work
like
on
Southwest
59th,
Street,
there's
four
miles
of
street
construction.
That's
occurring
there.
Two
of
those
miles
are
complete.
B
The
next
two
are
coming
up
here
in
just
the
next
year,
but
those
are
additional
projects
as
well,
but
we've
got
neighborhood
resurfacing
is
a
part
of
the
2007
bond
issue,
there's
about
six
square
miles
of
neighborhood
streets.
That
will
be
resurfaced.
Then.
We've
also
got
other
bridge
in
other
body.
She
projects
as
well
that
are
in
Ward
3.
So.
A
B
What
we're
looking
at
with
the
projected
bond
sales
coming
up
is
that
we
hope
to
begin
construction
of
that
final
residential
street
in
the
year
2019.
So
it
may
seem
like
it's
a
little
bit
out
there,
but
we
have
several
streets
that
are
going
into
construction
here
in
20,
15,
additional
streets
in
1617
and
so
on.
Now.
B
In
Ward
3
we
actually
have
different
types
of
neighborhoods.
We've
got,
of
course,
the
more
urban
style
neighborhood,
that's
curb
and
gutter,
but
then
we've
got
some
very
rural
residential
that
don't
have
curb
and
gutter
and
typically
use
a
bar
ditch
for
drainage.
Both
are
resurfaced
if
they're
in
those
miles
to
be
resurfaced,
but
what
can
be
a
little
bit
different
as
we
intend
to
add
sidewalks
as
a
part
of
our
street
construction
projects
under
the
bond
issue
in
those
neighborhoods?
B
A
B
Do
and
fortunately
I
think
the
council
107
saw
forward
and
looked
to
make
sure
that
the
funding
was
available
for
those
and
so
those
are
being
constructed.
We
are
seeing
some
challenges,
though,
in
the
in
the
rural
residentials,
with
the
bar
ditches
and
the
absence
of
curbs
the
sidewalks
are
very
difficult
to
make
a
DEA
compliant,
and
so
we
have
not
had
one
hundred
percent
success
in
those
areas,
but
the
majority
of
all
of
the
Banda
sea
streets.
Do
you
have
a
sidewalk
included
now.
A
B
On
our
streetscapes,
where
we
have
a
lot
of
an
urban
setting
when
we
do
road
construction
and
we
impact
intersections,
it
requires
us
great
all
of
the
crosswalks
curb
accessibility
ramps,
but
even
the
new
pedestrian
signals
that
countdown
clocks,
the
audible
signals
that
you
now
find
along
twenty-third.
Street.
Those
are
a
part
of
the
street
projects
and
yes,
they
are
quite
complicated.
It
requires
us
to
many
cases
flatten
out
and
not
make
angles
too
steep,
and
it's
just
a
challenge,
especially
in
an
existing
infrastructure
and
sometimes.
A
B
There
are
some
challenges
and
that
does
occur
from
time
to
time.
It
also
extends
the
duration
of
construction.
So
a
lot
of
times
it
doesn't
appear
that
there's
a
lot
of
work
going
on
the
street
itself,
there's
a
lot
of
work,
that's
going
on
behind
the
curb,
either
in
the
sidewalk
or
through
utilities,
or
through
some
of
the
other
infrastructure
that
goes
with
the
street.
So
it
has
been
a
challenge,
but
it's
being
worked
now.
A
B
Do
and
as
I
mentioned,
we
actively
on
an
annual
basis
analyze
our
streets,
we
make
sure
that
each
one
is
accounted
for.
We
prioritize
streets
that
are
in
need
and
our
planning
those
future
years
projects,
but
inevitably
potholes
do
develop
and
failures
do
occur
and
we
do
rely
on
our
citizens
to
help
make
aware,
in
some
cases
bring
those
to
our
attention
so
that
we
know
to
go
to
fix
them.
B
We
suggest
that
they,
please
call
our
city's
action
center
at
297
3535
to
report
a
road
condition
or
any
other
concern
that
they
might
have
in
the
city,
so
that
we
can
immediately
get
a
crew
dispatched
to
take
care
of
that.
But
we
also
have
a
smartphone
application,
okc
gov,
it's
available
for
those
and
it's
a
unique
resource
and
that
it
actually
locates
the
complaint
on
the
user's
phone,
and
so,
as
that
sent
directly
to
the
city,
we
have
an
exact
location
of
where
the
complaint
has
been
made.
Are
the.
B
A
B
A
B
We
are
already
in
the
midst
of
planning
the
2017
bond
issue
as
there's
a
little
over
200
million
left
to
be
sold
in
the
2017
bonded
or
the
2007
bond
issue.
Sorry,
we
are
already
looking
at
the
list
of
projects
for
2017
Awards
citywide,
be
streets,
bridges,
drainage
of
course,
there's
also
police
fire
parks
and
other
projects.
But
as
we
as
we
start
to
look
at
that
list,
it's
it's
highly
important
that
we
prioritize
them
correctly.
B
A
B
A
Was
kind
of
a
sneaky
way
to
get
a
little
commercial
and
at
the
end,
thank
you
for
your
time.
Hey
hope
you
viewers
got
a
vision
of
what
the
public
works
department
under
Eric,
wingers
leadership
is
doing.
You
know
a
city
is
more
than
just
paving
and
asphalt
and
roads.
It's
important.
The
character
of
our
people
is
even
more
important
and
we're
blessed
here
in
Oklahoma
City
to
have
a
faith-based
community.
That's
looking
with
optimism
to
the
future
and
thank
you
for
what
you
and
your
staff
to
to
contribute
to
the
accomplishment
of
that
vision.