Public Works Department


Jose A. Gonzalez, P.E., Director
City of Kenner
1610 Reverend Richard Wilson Drive
Kenner, Louisiana 70062
Telephone: (504) 468-7515

Sewerage:

For sewerage information or to report sewerage related problems within City owned right-of-way (public property), please call 504-468-7292.

• Administration
• Streets and Drainage
• General Services
• Parkways
• Street Lights
• Traffic

The functions of the Public Work Department include, but are not limited to the following operations:

• Maintenance of a series of city owned buildings and properties
• Maintenance of streetlights and traffic signals
• Maintenance of medians and landscapes under city jurisdiction
• Maintenance of streets, bridges and drainage system
• Management of capital projets relating to streets, bridges, drainage and parkways.

The administrative Division is headed by Executive Assistant, Christine Calamari. The administrative office staff consists of six (6) employees. All phases of the department's operation is generated from the administrative office under the management of the Director of Public Works, Jose Gonzalez, who also manages the six (6) divisions listed above. The administrative office is classified into three (3) main divisions; clerical, operations, payroll/purchasing. The goal of the administration is to provide a prominent degree of productivity and quality services to the citizens of Kenner.

Some of the many duties and responsibilities performed daily by the administrative office staff include, but not limited to the following:

CLERICAL: Meets the demands of the department's clerical and secretarial needs. Maintains all plan, specifications and records concerning development of special city projects. Prepares and maintains department records on legislative matters, annual material and supply contracts and employee personnel records, including job performance evaluations and disciplinary actions.

OPERATIONS: Receives approximately 10,000 (+) annual citizens and City Council complaints varying form major infrastructure repairs to city property maintenance requests. All complaints and requests are monitored with the use of a specialized database computer work order system. This system is scheduled to be upgraded in the near future to be able to produce more detailed specialized data reports in monitoring productivity.

PURCHASING / PAYROLL: Prepares and maintains current budget spending account records to ensure spending is within budgetary confinements. Prepares purchase requisitions and monitors purchases for cost saving measures in following city purchasing procedures. Also, prepares and maintains department's employee payroll.

For customer service, please contact the administrative office at (504) 468-7515.

STREETS & DRAINAGE

Assistant Director of Public Works, Jerry Dillenkoffer oversees the operations of all work pertaining to Drainage, Streets, Parkways, General Services, Traffic, and Streetlights.

DRAINAGE: This division is responsible for the maintenance of all subsurface drainage within the city is essential in minimizing/eliminating street flooding. One of the main problems relating to street ponding can be attributed to debris, such as leaves, grass, silt and other objects flowing or deposited into catch basins in most areas. Maintenance consists of flushing pipes, clearing drains of debris on a regular basis and repairing or replacing drains and drain lines on an as needed basis to improve flow. This division also installs new drains in an effort to alleviate flooding in problem areas.

STREETS: Responsible for all concrete and asphalt street repairs and resurfacing work of over two hundred twenty-five (225) miles of city streets. These street repairs can vary in nature from concrete panel replacements to minor patchwork. Duties also include, but are not limited to curb repair. striping, installation of traffic control signs, etc.... City workers have had their challenges since Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike, but have completed major street repairs throughout the city, with the majority of the work performed by private contractors enabling the division to concentrate on the jobs of operations.

PARKWAYS

The Parkways Division provides maintenance on approximately 100 acres of medians and street rights of ways, to keep area beautified. They maintain trash receptacles at bus shelters/city buildings, recycle pickup at various city offices and maintain the perimeter of most city buildings and city owned properties. Parkways also maintain trees, plants and shrubbery in street right of ways and medians, etc... Street sweeping is also a function of this division.

GENERAL SERVICES

The General Services Division is responsible for the maintenance of most City owned buildings/facilities and provides building needs as necessary. This department handles the required maintenance for continued safety for public use and access, as well as acceptable appearance.

TRAFFIC

This division is responsible for maintenance and installation of all traffic control signs and street signs, processes all traffic related complaints from the general public and other City agencies; fire, police, etc.

STREET LIGHTS

The Street Light Division provides electrical services for many City buildings/facilities and handles electrical related services for special projects and seasonal activities. The streetlight crew maintains a large number of street lights in the incorporated areas of the City of Kenner and works in conjunction with Entergy in many cases to resolve difficult streetlight repairs. All traffic signals within the City, excluding state highways, are also maintained by this division.