Public Works Day returns this week
If you ever wanted a first-hand look at some of the heavy equipment used throughout the City of Kingsport, you will soon have your chance.
The City of Kingsport is hosting its annual Public Works Day at the Farmer’s Market on May 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is being held during National Public Works Week (May 15-21) – a week-long celebration started by the American Public Works Association in 1960 to show the public the importance of public works on their daily lives.
In all, about 50 pieces of equipment will be on hand during Friday’s event, including automated garbage collection trucks, a trash grabber truck, mini street sweeper, leaf collection equipment, sewer camera vans, a directional drill machine, mowers, a back hoe and mini paver.
Folks will be able to take a short trip up in a bucket truck, try and pick up a tire with a grabber truck, hook a metal pin with a back hoe or attempt to drop a tennis ball into a bucket with a Gradall machine.
All divisions within public works will be represented and employees will be on hand to demonstrate the equipment and answer questions from the public. Several presentations explaining essential daily operations will take place throughout the event.
“We are blessed by an extraordinary group of employees who are dedicated to serving the citizens of Kingsport,” said Deputy City Manager Ryan McReynolds. “We very much appreciate the community taking a few minutes out of their day to visit with us at the Farmer’s Market, where we can personally explain the daily work of our public works employees.”
In addition to the heavy equipment, activity stations will be set up to allow children to paint sign replicas of manhole covers, look through microscopes to see bacteria and see how cameras go through sewer pipes. A large sandbox will also be set up to let the public view a replica of the city’s sewer and water lines.
Kingsport’s Public Works Department is the largest, non-school related, department in the city with approximately 315 employees. The department includes water and sewer, streets and sanitation, building maintenance, traffic, fleet maintenance, GIS, engineering, stormwater and the Metropolitan Transportation and Planning Organization.
“What we’re trying to showcase is the breadth and depth of services that are offered to the citizens, from snow removal to the street sweepers to the directional drills, to the guys who trim trees and put the asphalt down,” McReynolds said. “We’re doing this so the public has a good idea of the value they’re getting every day for living within the city limits.”
