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A PLACE APART
Volume 1 Issue 2
PUBLIC WORKS ... BIO BUSINESS IN THE BAY
“Bay St. Louis is a major corporation, and our scope of work continually grows,” said Ron Vanney, the City’s Public Works Director.
After 5+ years on the job, Vanney still has a sense of humor. In contrast to many executives managing multimillion dollar budgets he doesn't have the big bottle of pink stuff on the comer of his desk! What he has is an organized staff of 35 talented, trained and dedicated workers.
“We have the finest public works organization on the coast,” Vanney said. “Our high pressure situations are few and far between, but when emergencies happen our workers perform better, faster and longer.”
locked. When service is restored, meters must be unlocked and all pilots re-lighted.
less than 36 hours we had
absence, the natural gas line crossing the Bay of St. Louis ruptured and service was greatly curtailed. Superintendent Buddy Zimmerman, the Department’s second in command, requested that the City’s gas supplier assist in finding an alternative to a complete shutdown of service. Together, Zimmerman and the Koch/Gateway Company, found a liquid natural gas source and tied the delivery directly into the City’s main lines while the rupture was repaired. Both City and company employees worked around the clock making repairs and staying on-call to commence a shut down if necessary.
In January of 1995 and 1997, the best and worst happened for the Department when Bay St. Louis experienced serious natural gas shortages. In 1995, Bay St. Louis lost its natural gas supply when the line was accidently turned off in Pass Christian. When a loss such as this occurs, every gas meter in the city must be
Public Works Director Ron Vanney, “We much prefer working to waiting!”
Photo by jimmy Loiacano
complete shut down and re-light.
Our guys took care of every home in the city, except weekend residences,” said Vanney. “Thirty city employees performed this awesome task without one harmful incident.
“When I got back to the Bay,” Vanney stated, “everything was under control. Through creative thinking and hard work, our department found an acceptable alternative and avoided a costly shut down in operations for the City.”
This event was followed by the 1997 event when, during Vanney’s
inside...
Rene and Butch
Mike Watkins Makes his Mark for Research Did you know this?
A Little History
When asked about his wish list, Vanney asked for only one item - “no
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