Q&A: New Public Works Director Talks Past Accomplishments, Future Needs

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Roads, stormwater pipes, waters towers, lift stations.

They're all integral elements of Eagan's public infrastructure, and they are all part of Eagan Public Works Director Russ Matthys' domain. For 15 years, Russ Matthys has worked for Eagan. But last week, the former city engineer was named the city's second-ever public works director, replacing Tom Colbert, who retired earlier this spring.

Eagan Patch sat down with Russ to discuss the superstorm of July 2000, expansion of the public works department, and the city's aging infrastructure.

Eagan Patch: You've been with the city since 1997. When you look back over your role as the city engineer with Eagan, what would you say are some of your proudest moments, or your largest accomplishments?

Eagan Public Works Director Russ Matthys: Being a part of the restoration and the improvements that followed up the July 2000 storm. I spent about three and a half years working on public improvements [following that storm]. There was a lot of interaction with a lot of people whose homes had been flooded or whose lives were significantly impacted. Others hadn’t been [directly impacted], but yet they needed to be a part of the solution, to provide a greater level of flood protection for those that had been flood impacted.

It was a mix of trying to provide reassurance and additional protection that was going to do what the computer analysis said it would do. Providing some type of reassurance to folks that weren’t sleeping every time it was thundering outside, and also working with the folks that really hadn’t been impacted by the storm, but needed to be onboard, because they needed to provide the city an easement at no cost so we could put a big pipe through their backyard. It wasn’t quick and easy but everybody did it, and everybody stepped up and became part of the solution."

Patch: So what was your reaction when you learned you had received the public works director position out of 25 candidates that initially applied?

Matthys: When [Eagan City Administrator] Tom Hedges called, my wife said, "I think you said thank you seven times." So I was grateful, I was very excited about it. Honestly, it was something that I was looking forward at, I had it as a goal when I came here as a city engineer, because I had the public works experience in Farmington and Maplewood after that. I wasn’t pushing Tom out, but I was ready to learn, and I enjoyed being city engineer here. Like anybody who has a big goal, it’s just a relief and it’s just a great feeling to attain that goal.

Patch: How would you describe your role as the public works director to someone who didn’t understand public works or city operations?

Matthys: I talk to kids a lot, and so a lot of times what I do with the introduction is say: 'When you get up in the morning and you brush your teeth and the water comes out of the faucet, and you go to the bathroom and take a shower or you flush a toilet and eeverything goes away, you can thank the Public Works Department for that, because that's part of what we do'. When you go to school, whether you’re riding a bike on the trails and sidewalks, or you ride the bus, or your mom and and dad are giving you a ride in a car, you can thank the Public Works Department for getting you there safely and efficiently.

Patch: When you look forward to the challenges facing the Public Works Department and the city’s infrastructure in the next five or 10 years, what are those challenges? What have you identified at this point as priorites within that system?

Matthys: Eagan is a young suburb, but it's not a new suburb anymore. It's growing up and it's maturing. A lot of the infrastructure that was installed in the 1980s, in particular, is starting to age, and with age comes aches and pains and wear and tear. So there are some components you don’t necessarily see. On the surface of the street, people get pretty accurate reads on how the streets are doing. If there is cracking or potholes, they know something needs to be done. But there’s a significant portion of infrastructure they don’t see, that’s underground.

There are going to be more maintenance needs, more upgrades, restorations, or replacements in essence that are going to be needed in the next 10 years. It’s going to take perhaps some different funding. The city’s been saving up money, wisely, for such needs. We’re trying to prepare for this new phase of Eagan's life, but it is going to require some additional manpower to address maintenance needs?

Eagan has a lean staff, and I look around at other suburbs, particularly older suburbs, and they seem to have more staff than what we have. It’s becoming apparent to me that maybe there’s a reason for that. I think we’ve been doing things well, but maybe part of that is because we’ve been newer, and the infrastructure hasn’t needed the additional maintenance efforts done on ityet . We're trying to get a better handle on what our assets are and trying to manage those assets.

We want to be proactive on the utility infrastructure as well. In the next five years, we’re either looking at replacing portions of or upgrading lift stations. How do you do that, if you need more personnel or you need more finances? How does that impact taxes, how does that impact user rates? How do you make that work and not be painful?