Public Works Officers Institute

Cal Cities Registration Open

10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Exhibit Hall Open (Wednesday only)

10:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

1:00-2:30 p.m.

Cal Cities/CEAC President’s Welcome

Brian Balbas, President, County Engineers Association of California and Public Works Director/Chief Engineer, Contra Costa County

Benjamin A. Fine, P.E., President, Cal Cities Public Works Officers Department and Director of Public Works/City Engineer, Pismo Beach

Opening Keynote: Leading Change by Changing the Way We Lead

As a leader, you get better by change, not chance. The world of work has changed and continues to change. Blue-collar workers are more often recognized as the backbone of local government. What are the skills needed to lead this important group? How can managers create a purpose-filled vision that instills passion, drives  performance, and produces collective success? 

Learn the skills and habits of 21st Century leaders by attending this session designed to make you laugh, learn, and leave with new mindsets and skill sets. You’ll also find out workplace cold hard facts, why managers fail to get better, and how to ignite your public works team members through engagement, encouragement, and empowerment. Lastly, you’ll understand how to develop your “positivity” reflex and utilize it in the future, long after the presentation. 

Speaker: 
Ron Williams, Vice President of Personal Services Plus, LLC

Ron Williams, the “Leadership Whisperer,” is an internationally recognized speaker and trainer with more than forty years of experience in the public and private sectors. His insights on 21st-century leadership, employee engagement, and executive coaching make him one of the nation’s leading resources in understanding organizational and individual success and achievement. Ron has held many high-profile positions in his career, including as Chief of Staff for the District of Columbia’s Human Resources Department and General Manager of the Western Region for Nike. Ron created the Corporate Diversity department at Nike and was Nike’s Director of Training and Development. Ron has also worked with many federal government agencies helping them to develop programs to optimize their human capital. 

Discover the case studies, public project contractor negotiation, and best practices that can safeguard your community from disputed agreements and potential litigation. These disagreements often result from legislative and regulatory changes in California public construction and contracting law that impact cities and counties. 

Moderator and Speaker:
Deirdre Joan Cox, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP

Speaker:
Maxwell Blum, Partner, Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP

Becoming Part of the Conversation: Increasing Public Works' Public Perception

Public works departments play a significant role in making everyday life as safe and convenient as possible for everyone. By helping the community understand our work, we can generate goodwill, gain compliance with new regulations, and keep the public safe. This panel discussion will focus on how research, planning, implementation, and evaluation can inform effective public education strategies when communicating major infrastructure projects, newly enacted state laws like SB 1383 (the organics mandate), and inspire calls to action related to natural disasters like floods, wildfires, and earthquakes.

Moderator:
Julie Hagen, Deputy Public Works Director, County of Santa Barbara

Speakers:
Maurice Chaney, Public Information Officer, Roseville
Lael Wageneck, Public Information Officer, Santa Barbara County Public Works

4:15-5:30 p.m. 

Public Input that Works: Strategies for Successful Community Engagement 

The public’s increasing desire to have their say about everything from road designs to rate structures, environmental programs and more has posed new challenges for public works professionals. Learn how to meet new expectations for community engagement without giving up control or compromising your technical expertise. This session will provide real-life case study examples of how to engage the right people at the right time on the right decisions, plus some painful lessons from public engagement gone terribly wrong. In the end, participants will leave feeling more empowered, confident, and prepared when asked to “engage the public.”

Moderator and Speaker:
Kristina Ray, Communication & Engagement Director, Carlsbad

Speaker:
Carmen Kasner, Southwest Operations Director, Ardurra

Agencies throughout California utilize pavement management systems to monitor existing pavement conditions. A successful program integrates the existing pavement condition with a toolbox of various treatments for different pavement needs. The session will also briefly provide an overview of the importance of pavement compaction and an overview of the roles of contractors and agency representatives to maximize the performance of the pavement. Panelists will offer insight and best practices drawn from many years of research into effective pavement program management.  Lastly, receive an update on the latest activities and initiatives sponsored by the City County Pavement Improvement Center (CCPIC) followed by an engaging discussion with the audience on local agency pavement management issues. 

Moderator:
Matt Randall, Road Maintenance Division Manager, Placer County DPW

Speakers:
John Harvey, Professor, Director, City and County Pavement Improvement Center, UC Davis
Erik Updyke, Specialist, City and County Pavement Improvement Center

A combination of drought and population growth has overstressed California’s water supply infrastructure. The California Central Coast is now implementing multiple advanced treated recycled water projects to create a new and sustainable water supply. These projects represent pinnacle engineering efforts to secure sustainable water for our communities, with each project injecting the purified water into their respective groundwater basins for storage and protection against seawater intrusion. Panelists will address the permitting, public support, financing, and engineering elements necessary to implement recycled water projects.

Moderator:
Justin Pickard, Project Manager, Water Systems Consulting

Speakers:
Gina Dorrington, General Manager, Ventura Water
Benjamin Fine, President, Public Works Officers Department and Director of Public Works/City Engineer, Pismo Beach
Andrew Salveson, Vice President, Carollo Engineers

5:30-6:30 p.m.

Make new friends and catch up with old ones while enjoying delicious appetizers and tasty beverages during the evening networking reception. It's the perfect opportunity to form support networks within your profession.

9:00–10:30 a.m.

9:00–10:00 a.m.

Receive a legislative update curated for public works professionals leading California cities.

10:10-11:30 a.m.

Is your team known for consistently delivering on objectives? Do team members act as resources for each other? Does your team work well together, learn quickly and adapt easily to change? Effective delivery of Public Works services requires teamwork at all levels, and today’s Public Works environment requires teams to be more nimble, adaptable, and resilient than ever before. Whether you’re an experienced manager or new to the role, this session will help you unlock the full potential of your team. 

During this interactive, fast paced session, participants will: 1. leverage Six Sigma communication techniques to fuel efficiency and reduce or eliminate rework 2. learn to maximize the benefits of conflict (innovation, inclusion, and diversity of thought), while at the same time, preserving and strengthening relationships and 3. learn two powerful coaching strategies to fuel development for team members and capacity for leaders.