Starting next month, Judy Wagner will no longer oversee the day-to-day operations for Arnold’s Public Works Department, but she will continue to work for the city.
Wagner, 57, of Hillsboro plans to retire from her role as Public Works director on Jan. 3. However, she will continue to work part-time for Arnold as the project engineer.
In her new role, Wagner will apply for federal grants to fund road, bridge and trail projects and oversee those projects for the city. Arnold currently has federal grants for improvements on Lonedell, Pomme, Richardson and Missouri State roads that Wagner will oversee.
“At this time, we have four federal grant projects; there is a lot of work involved in that in keeping and meeting all the deadlines that are involved,” Wagner said. “In the past, the city has not had many of those because of the time, effort and dedication it takes to meet the requirements to the federal grants.
“You have to have a person responsible for the grants who is employed by the city to be eligible for the grants. I will keep my certification up and keep my professional and development hours up to date so I can keep my professional engineers license as well.”
City Administrator Bryan Richison said Wagner is being paid a salary of $129,313 this year, and she will be paid a $96,985.20 salary as project engineer.
“Her knowledge of the East-West Gateway (Council of Governments) grant process is invaluable,” Richison said. “She also has extensive experience managing projects from start to finish, which can be challenging given the paperwork involved and the necessity on many projects to acquire easements.”
Wagner became Arnold’s Public Works director on Oct. 1, 2019, after retiring as the area engineer overseeing Franklin and Jefferson counties for the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Ed Blattner was Arnold Public Works director before that and retired on May 1, 2018.
Arnold waited more than a year to fill its Public Works director position before hiring Wagner.
Mayor Ron Counts said waiting for Wagner was worth it.
“I can’t go on enough about how impressed I am with Judy, her credentials and what a great job she has done for the city,” he said. “When she came on, she brought a new perspective and added so much to our city.
“I am just joyful that she will continue on a part-time basis for the city. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to her that she will do that.”
Next director
Richison said the city will soon advertise for a new Public Works director, adding that Arnold will likely accept applications until Jan. 31.
He said candidate interviews will likely take four to six weeks to complete, and the next director probably will assume the position four weeks after the City Council approves hiring that person.
Wagner said the next director will need to be diplomatic.
“Some things can get difficult, and you have to have the ability to build consensus between employees, leadership, departments, the council and staff,” she said. “You need to remain professional at all times. If the new director has those qualities, the director will succeed.”
Wagner said she will help the new director if needed, but she primarily will work from home.
“I want the new director to take the lead,” she said. “I am just a phone call or drive away from here to discuss anything, but I want the director to be the new leader and lead this team to great things.”
Improving Arnold
Wagner said one of her accomplishments she’s proud of is securing federal grants for infrastructure projects. Typically with those grants, 80 percent of project costs are covered with federal money, and the city pays the remaining 20 percent.
“Getting federal grants was big,” she said. “The city had not been really successful in the past decade of receiving them.”
Wagner said the first thing she will do in her new role will be pursuing grants for two improvement projects on St. Johns Church Road, a second improvement project for Pomme Road and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Missouri State and Lonedell roads.
Those grant applications are due on Feb. 7.
Wagner said she also is proud of the improvements made to the Public Works Department facility at 2912 Arnold Tenbrook Road.
The city spent $2,137,303 to renovate the complex between 2019 and 2022. New buildings for the streets and parks departments were built on the site, along with a washing station for the dump trucks. A wash-out pit and fencing were added, and new signs were installed to make buildings easier to find at the complex.
The department also developed protocols for storing and maintaining equipment, Wagner said.
“I stepped into this role at the right time to have the funding to really take hold of the 8-acre complex,” she said. “We got it compliant with environmental regulations and organized. Now city staff know where things are and where they belong.
“Being part of emergency response, it is so critical when you get called in at midnight to cut down trees or fight a snowstorm that things are where they are supposed to be. Our team is so good as far as the accountability of taking care of things and making them last longer. That protocol is something they are proud of.”
Richison said Wagner’s work has benefited the city.
“(The Public Works facility) looks nicer; it is a better working environment for our employees, and it allows us to better maintain our equipment,” he said. “She also worked extensively with Enterprise Fleet Management to improve the quality of our vehicle fleet and to identify vehicles that were underutilized. This has helped us with budgeting as well as providing our employees safe and reliable vehicles to perform their work duties.”