TYMCO - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Drainage Manager
- Manager of the Streets and Drainage
Armando A. (Rocky) Aranda, Jr., is Manager of the Streets and Drainage Division of the San Antonio Public Works Department. The division is responsible for gravel and asphalt maintenance, street cleaning, drainage construction and maintenance, flood control facilities (tunnels),and storm water conduit televising and inspection activities. The division's vegetation control responsibilities include mowing and river and channel maintenance.
Mr. Aranda's duties include developing analytical and administration methodology; value engineering techniques; mechanizing divisional operations; and civil and structural design of streets, drainage facilities, maintenance structures, and bridges. His environmental impact analysis/assessment and abatement responsibilities include asbestos, asphalt, and hydrocarbon and petrochemical issues. As Divisional Safety Coordinator, he appraises training programs, workers' compensation; medical, life, and general liability coverage; and accident site analysis and investigations.
Job Titles:
- Director of Public Works for the City of San Antonio, Texas
John L. German, P.E., is the Director of Public Works for the City of San Antonio, Texas. His 31 years of experience combines public works management, traffic engineering, and transportation planning. Since his graduation from the Yale University Bureau of Highway Traffic with the equivalent of a Master's Degree in traffic engineering and transportation planning, Mr. German has carried out various technical and management roles. As Director of Public Works, he is responsible for the engineering, streets, and drainage, solid waste, environmental services, building construction and maintenance, capital improvement projects, traffic engineering, and parking functions for San Antonio's one million citizens.
He supervises a department with over 1,600 employees, an operating budget of $90 million, and a $300-million capital improvement program. The Solid Waste Division picks up garbage from 265,000 residences twice per week, provides curbside recycling once per week, and makes three cycles through the city annually picking up brush and large objects. Streets and Drainage Division personnel maintain over 3,600 miles of streets and 4,100 acres of rivers and drainage channels. The Traffic Division operates over 1,030 signalized intersections, installs over 10,000 new and 7,500 replacement signs annually, and stripes over 700 lane miles of streets twice a year. Over 625,000 sq ft of municipal office space is maintained, and 25 parking facilities with over 10,000 spaces are operated.
Other duties for Mr. German include serving as Team leader for the Development Services Team, providing general direction to the Directors of the Planning and Building Inspections Departments. He acts as liaison with the municipally-owned San Antonio Water System and City Public Service (an electric and gas utility). As a member of the 19-member Metropolitan Planning Organization Steering Committee, he helps direct the expenditure of over $100 million annually in state and federal funds for planning, engineering, and construction. He is also a member of the city's Economic Development Action Team and manages the Alamodome Contaminated Soils remediation program.
Street cleaning has been associated with positive effects on the environment for many years. An accurate evaluation of the effectiveness of street cleaning programs must go beyond simple visual inspections of the streets for cleanliness. The positive impact on the environment, as well as increased street life-cycle, must be included in any comprehensive evaluation of the program's effectiveness. The level of street cleaning practices significantly affects water pollution control by removing potential pollutants from the runoff before it enters the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System. Philosophically, the appearance of the streets may constitute a high profile; however, environmental protection must be emphasized as one of the most important results of cleaning streets regularly and effectively.