City Matters: Public Works touches all residents, says manager
By Dave Felice
For about $25 a month, each Denver resident gets services ranging from trash collection and street maintenance to traffic engineering and street parking management, says the city’s Manager of Public Works (DPW).
“Denver Public Works plays a role in the city network similar to that of the central nervous system of the human body,” says Jose Cornejo, a resident of Park Hill. “We touch all internal City departments in some way and ultimately affect and improve the lives of Denver residents. Internally we are involved in planning, building and managing many projects, and externally we are out in the field performing basic city services daily to ensure a smoothly-run city. We are mindful that, through all the work we do as a department, customer service must be our primary goal.”
The Denver Public Works Department has a total annual budget of $375 million, according to Cornejo. About $85 million comes from the General Fund, with the remainder provided from Enterprise and Special Revenue Funds, Internal Service Funds, Capital Improvements and Transfers. Cornejo says the estimated cost of delivering Public Works’ core programs per capita for one year is just over $300.00.
Public Works employs 1159 people, including regular positions, limited positions and on-call positions. These employees are responsible for tasks including trash and recycling collection, street maintenance, placement and repair of traffic control signs and devices, parking management, maintenance of sanitary and storm sewer systems, snow plowing and management of capital improvement projects.
According to Cornejo, DPW gets most of its complaints about lack of on-street parking and frustration over parking rules. He says he’s aware of the frustration and tries to balance all concerns.
“Parking is one of the most valuable assets a city can have, and in a growing city like Denver, parking is in high demand and must be managed carefully,” Cornejo observes. “There is a finite amount of on-street parking available; we all have to work together to make the best use of that parking for everyone. Public Works is constantly looking at parking and working to be creative and find ways to meet the growing demand on this asset.”
Cornejo points out that the city has developed a comprehensive Strategic Parking Plan to coordinate all aspects of vehicle parking in the city. “A one-size-fits-all approach cannot effectively manage parking for Denver’s diverse neighborhoods and business areas. The plan explores innovative strategies and recommends new ways to manage parking.”
The Strategic Parking Plan in on line at:
http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/681/documents/The_Strategic_Parking_Plan_Final.pdf
The Public Works Manager says both city residents and officials frequently compliment departmental employees for “excellent” work. “The men and women of Public Works are hard-working public servants dedicated to delivering customer-focused services,” says Cornejo. “Denver Public Works aspires to be a place where employees are involved, empowered, and appreciated, and where they are eager to try new ideas, find creative solutions and respond to citizen concerns. At all levels, our employees seek innovative approaches to identifying needs and community values and to incorporate them into development strategies and solutions throughout the city.”
Cornejo says maintaining the current infrastructure and anticipating future needs is crucial to “healthy and sustainable development.” He sees communication and partnership with stakeholders as one of his key roles in managing the department.
“Public Works core services aim to improve the quality of life in Denver by allowing daily life to occur without interruption or inconvenience,” says Cornejo. “Our department also develops a healthy and sustainable infrastructure that opens the door to economic development by attracting new businesses and maintaining those existing businesses. Our commitment to the betterment and preservation of our environment includes transitioning to alternative fuel-powered vehicles, increasing the number of bike trails, enhancing multi-modal transportation opportunities, and encouraging recycling and composting.”
Mayor Michael B. Hancock picked 56-year-old Cornejo from a private company and appointed him to head Public Works in February 2012. Hancock named Interim Manager George Delaney to the new post of Chief Operating Officer for the agency. Delaney has responsibility for the department’s day-to-day operations. Cornejo actually started the DPW job in April 2012.
“Prior to joining the public sector, I was the President and Chief Executive Officer of J.F. Sato and Associates (JFSA), a medium-sized engineering firm in Littleton,” says Cornejo. “I successfully managed a wide range of infrastructure projects for the private and public sectors and was responsible for negotiating, team building and forging partnerships with a wide range of private and public clients at the local, state and federal levels. Since I am both bilingual and bi-literate in English and Spanish, I am able to reach out to a broad cross section of the community.”
A veteran of 30 years in engineering, Cornejo describes his expertise as “management, programming, design coordination, and construction supervision of multidisciplinary, infrastructure and development projects in various areas of civil, transportation, water resource and structural engineering.”
Cornejo emigrated from his native Chile to the United States when forced to leave under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in 1976. Cornejo’s wife, Marcia, had family in Denver. Ultimately settling in Park Hill, Jose and Marcia raised three sons, all graduates of East High School. Cornejo earned both a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from University of Colorado.
For more information on DPW, visit: denvergov.org/publicworks.
Contact Dave Felice at gelato321@aol.com