Public Works Pipeline

An IntervIew wIth CArys LustIg DPw DIreCtor town of neeDhAm, mA

Will you please provide us with some insight into your education, past experience, and history that led you into your current position?

I started my career in Public Works as an intern in my hometown of Needham, while pursuing my undergraduate degree in Political Science. While I had many friends who worked as interns, doing filing work or getting coffee, I was lucky to be given the chance to work on a project, completing a prioritization analysis of Town vehicles for replacement. I continued as an intern in various departments in Needham over the rest of my undergraduate career and became an analyst in the Public Facilities Department when I graduated. I worked in that role for four years, helping shape the Department overseen by a new Director. As I pursued by Master’s in Public Administration, I was promoted to Supervisor of Administration for the Public Works Department. I was selected for the American Public Works Associations Emerging Leadership program, which brought 16 people from across the country together to work for a year developing leadership skills and creating a presentation for the national Public Works Expo. I took on an acting role as Director of Public Facilities in conjunction with my supervisor role, and later became the Director of Finance and Administration for Public Services. I participated in the International City Managers Association Leadership program to continue building my municipal leadership skills. In the fall of 2020, Needham’s Public Works’ highly respected Director Rick Merson retired after 48 years with the DPW and nearly 30 years as Director. The Town began a planned succession process, and I took on the role as Interim Director in October 2020. In March 2021, I was named Director of Public Works.

I have really enjoyed working for my hometown for the past 15 years. I actually grew up about seven houses down the street from the Public Works yard, so you could say I’ve always been around Public Works!

Can you give us a brief description of Needham in regard to the make-up of the DPW, population, and infrastructure statistics?

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Needham is a suburb in Metro-West

Boston, with an estimated population of 31,000. It occupies a land area of approximately 12.75 square miles. The Town is classified as an economically developed suburb with above average wealth levels and higher education attainment. The Town has an “AAA” credit rating from Standard and Poor’s. It is located on major commuter highways and is accessible to Boston via the commuter rail. The Town is surrounded by the Charles River on three sides. Our Department of Public Works manages all the infrastructure in the Town. The Department has five operating divisions – Highway; Parks & Forestry; Water, Sewer, & Drains; Building Maintenance (which also maintains the schools); and a full-service Recycling and Transfer Station. We have three support divisions – an in-house - including the Engineering office, Administration and Finance, and Fleet Maintenance. We are the primary first responders in weather events and are respon-

On-site, not on-call

sible for snow removal for the community. Needham DPW maintains a very busy and dedicated staff of 153 employees and has an annual operating budget of approximately $25M. From that budget our department will also service/repair/replace, as needed, our fleet of over 125 vehicles and pieces of construction equipment. Typically, the department will self-perform most smaller projects while at the same time overseeing another $10 million plus of annual Capital Improvement Infrastructure Projects put out to public bid.

What do you currently see as the most pressing infrastructure needs for the Town in the next few years, and is there a 5-year Asset Management Plan in place to address those needs?

Two of the largest concerns we have right now are related to DPW staffing and to the private sector’s capacity to perform work. We strive to be an employer of choice,

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where people in the public works industry desire to work because they know that they will be educated and empowered. We have a succession planning program established to help mentor, educate, and expose staff for new opportunities. The Department is currently undergoing a significant workforce shift as long-term employees retire. Additionally, Federal DOT has imposed new requirements for Commercial Drivers Licenses that are making it harder to hire and more expensive for the Town to on-board new employees with less experience. Currently, the DPW is down 12 staff, which represents about 8% of our workforce.

Additionally, increased material costs and high workload volumes for our consultants and contractors is contributing to project delays and cost over-runs. The Town has a comprehensive and historically well-funded five-year capital plan, but executing work in a timely manner and within budget has been a challenge both from a contractor and Town staffing standpoint. Our largest infrastructure challenges relate to continuing momentum of scheduled replacement of underground utilities. The high volume of work in the community coupled with a short construction season means there is a lot of work occurring within a relatively small geographic area at one time, leading to increased traffic congestion and general disruption. The community is also very interested in becoming more climate friendly and building resiliency. This will likely influence infrastructure development in the next few years.

How has Needham historically funded infrastructure projects? Does the Town utilize the SRF Loan Program through MassDEP for water or sewer infrastructure projects?

We have been fortunate to have strong support in Town to fund projects in house, although financial demands and service de-

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Public Works Pipeline continued from page 59 mands are forcing us to rethink our strategies. We are applying for grant funds whenever appropriate and possible. The Town has utilized SRF funds in the past for water and sewer infrastructure projects. Additionally, there have been several larger development projects in the community that have provided funds for the Town to reduce inflow and infiltration.

The availability of Federal and

State funds for Infrastructure projects is at an all-time high and looks to possibly continue that way for the next five years. Does Needham have some projects coming out to bid in 2023 and beyond that will be utilizing these Federal Infrastructure funds?

Needham has a strong history of financially supporting its own infrastructure improvement needs. The Department does apply for grant opportunities to supplement use of local funds. We have $6 million committed from ARPA that we hope to put into water, sewer, and drainage work in the next two to four years. The Town has a relatively high average income and few areas that qualify as environmental justice communities, so some funding opportunities through ILJA may not be available to the Town. There are a few larger projects beyond 2023 that we are seeking funds for, including the rebuilding of a bridge between Needham and Dover, the implementation of a quiet zone for the commuter rail and the related infrastructure, and the construction of a path connecting two communities over an old rail line that is desired to be both electric bus and pedestrian/ bike friendly. We have our consultants working on these larger projects and on finding available State and Federal funds. Within the DPW we are trying to analyze how much annual infrastructure activity we can support without creating traffic gridlock within the community. n