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March 04. 2010 6:00AM

Wayne Fletcher won’t miss his phone ringing in the middle of the night alerting him to a broken water main or trouble at the city water plant.

And in the midst of a winter season hampered by above-average snowfall, strong winds and bone-chilling temperatures, Brandon’s director of public works is ready to let someone else make the snow alert call.

“It’s been a long winter,” he said from behind the desk of his office in the city maintenance building. “It’s been quite awhile since we’ve had one like this, probably the winter of ’83-’84.”

On Friday, Fletcher will conclude a 29-year career in the public works industry. He’s spent the past 12 years as the city’s director of public works. Prior to his position here, he was employed 17 years in the same field with the City of Beresford.

“I turned 62,” Fletcher said, which is his main reason for calling it quits. “And it gets deeper and deeper every year with more rules and regulations coming down from the state or feds, and the programs you have to handle.”

While Fletcher has several reasons to back his retirement, there are even more reasons he’s spent 29 years of his career in the public works sector.

“I just enjoy the field of public works because with the four seasons you’re always on to some different type of work,” he said. “The city guys are the ones in July thinking about what we’ll do for snow removal in January.”

Changing times
Hired in 1998, Fletcher came to Brandon when it’s population numbered 5,413. Today, the community has grown to over 8,200. His public works budget that first year was $174,000. This year, Fletcher’s department was assigned $967,000, not including the parks department.

“When I came here Brandon was still a little town and the public works department, well it was pretty small,” he said. At that time, the department’s fleet consisted of a truck, a tractor, a one-ton pickup, four other pickups and a small assortment of street maintenance and snow removal equipment.

“The first couple of weeks I was here, I was thinking, ‘I miss my boss. I miss my equipment. What the hell am I doing here?’ ” Fletcher recalled. “But with help from the council, we got some additional equipment to get the job done.”

“He had a pretty meager department when he started,” confirmed Dennis Olson, who is stepping down from his post as city administrator in the weeks to come. “He’s added a lot of equipment and the service we get from his department has increased ten-fold.”

Today, the department’s fleet of equipment is extensive, allowing Fletcher and his staff to keep Brandon maintained.

“We’ve also hired people with particular skills,” Fletcher said, citing staff members with backgrounds in chemistry and construction, licensed plumbers and electricians, and park management degrees.

“But it wasn’t just me,” Fletcher said. “It was the council, the administration and my staff that all had a great part in making this work.”

He gives some credit to technology, too.

“The addition of GPS, for locating and mapping programs, and computers have become a big part of our job,” he said.

One of the biggest time and money saving measures implemented during Fletcher’s tenure was changing the meter reading system from a walking route to a drive-by route.

“We probably went from 960 hours a year to read meters to 54 hours a year. That was a big plus for us,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher said positive changes such as that one, are made to stay ahead of growth and to serve the public in an efficient manner.

“A lot of people don’t see it that way,” he said. “They see the dollar amount.”

The council’s recent discussions on increasing water and sewer rates to save money for future water and sewer system needs, is an approach city leaders are taking to stay ahead of growth.

The city’s current water plant, built in 1999, has out-grown its capacity, Fletcher said.
“It’s not just because we’re the second lowest in cost for water … we’re trying to be as economical as we can. We’re not trying to go overboard on anything,” Fletcher said. “That’s one of the things that has kept Brandon a positive community … so we don’t have growth issues like Tea and Harrisburg, for example.”

Taking pride in his work
The McHardy Park fishing pier is one of Fletcher’s most prized projects that he was involved with.

“That was one of the most fun projects,” he said. “It started out as a bank stabilization project and turned out to be a $70,000 fishing pier that cost the city just $4,000 with help from grants and donations. That’s one of my pride and joys.”

The last year of work Fletcher said, has been the most comfortable for him in his 12 years here.

“A lot of the obstacles have been taken care of and we’re working in a positive direction,” he said. “That makes the job a lot easier when things aren’t haunting you.”
On Thursday, Fletcher will be honored with his very own day, “Wayne Fletcher Day,” as proclaimed by Mayor Larry Beesley last month. The public is invited to a retirement open house from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the council chambers.

“He’s probably one of the most down to earth guys I know,” Beesley said. “He keeps an even keel and he knows everything about water, sewer and streets. His knowledge is going to be very hard to replace.”

The proclamation, Beesley said, is simply a small token of appreciation for his 12 years of service.

“I know there are six council members that know losing Wayne is a loss for the city,” Beesley said.

Fletcher was humbled to have a day proclaimed in his honor. “I’m pretty proud that the people think enough of me to do that and recognize my achievements,” Fletcher said. “I’ve never been one of the guys in front of the camera, (but this) has been a real ride.”
Olson said Fletcher’s departure from Brandon’s public works department will be apparent.

“When you have to deal with water, sewer, streets and parks, it’s really tough to find people with experience in all of those areas,” Olson said. “Wayne brought a lot of experience (to the job), and we’re going to miss that.”