03-F Water/Sewer (5/15/03) - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Water & Sewer Subcommittee May 15, 2003 Page 29 you would not put a foot in that creek to a few years later where you wanted to drink the water coming out of that creek. He said that it smelled good. Mr. Steely said he watched the whole thing evolve from just a piece of junk to an efficiently run, pretty nice plant that he would trust completely. Mr. Steely stated that he disagreed with Mr. Malone a lot. He said that he has been informed all these years and watched every budget since 1968. He also watched the water plant be created in Commerce and he knows a little bit about the creation of the plant. One of the things he agrees completely with Mr. Malone is he hires people that are good. There is not one manager in this whole group that he has hired that he wouldn't trust. Mr. Steely stated that he did not believe that a City Council should micro-manage nor a School Board. He said that when you get into micro-managing then you might as well fire the guy. He said that Mr. Plata was trying to be a more of an expert than the guy you hired and if he disappoints you that much, then you get to the point where you budget strictly and then he operates off that budget. He said that to get into micro-managing and start talking about shifts and people and how many categories to work together is not what the City Council is designed to do. He said it is designed to set policy and then you have the option of removing the Manager if you do not like the way the policy is done. The City Manager has the option of removing the Water Superintendent if he does not like they way it is done. Mr. Steely said he watched it happen one day. He said that for weeks and months, Mr. Campbell had a good time just messing around and enjoying life and Mr. Malone walked up and took him away, but we have had one heck ora nice operation and that he would bet on that Mr. Campbell needs what he says needs. Mr. Steely said, to get into micro-management, he has worked 12 hour shifts at Kimberly Clark and he has watched 6 people operate a machine that should have had four on it. He watched the engineers streamline the machine to where there is only four and eliminate those one or two as you go down the line looking at the machine. Mr. Steely said he watched people sleep at night on 12 hour shift and he had watched people get hurt. He said that 12 hour shifts are terrible to him and in talking to J. Mac Janes, who works and Kimberly Clark, there was not a guy on the floor over 50 years old. He said that those shifts are not made for the normal work that takes some decision making. He said the K/C machines are made to run like a