Town of Los Gatos employees showed off the town's equipment and facilities in honor of Public Works Week at a day-long open house Wednesday. The gates of the normally quiet Corporation Yard at 41 Miles Avenue were thrown open and the town's Parks and Public Works employees seemed to have a great time showing off everything from the signs workshop to the vacuum truck, "cherry-picker," and the compressed natural gas refueling station.
Interim Director of Public Works and Town Engineer Kevin Rohani welcomed two groups of visitors on Wednesday and Park Superintendent Tim Boyer and PPW Supervisor Bruce Smith led the tours.
There are relatively few town employees to cover such a large assignment, and many have decades of experience here in town. Everyone explained their functions enthusiastically. They seem to love their work, be it riding high in the aerial truck, maintaining police vehicles, or sweeping the streets.
Sixth-graders from Rolling Hills Middle School took the tour Wednesday morning as a field trip and had a great time.
"This is really awesome," teacher Shelley Castillo said. "Next year we'll try to get all ten classes to come."
Street Superintendent Steve Regan explained that Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is used to power many of the town's vehicles (and those of neighboring cities, such as Saratoga) because the gas burns clean, with no particulate matter. The town compresses gas that it purchases from PG&E. Because the town negotiated a good price, and because it is exempt from some taxes, the clean CNG is significantly less expensive than gasoline for the town.
Associate Engineer Fletcher Parsons was also on hand to explain the engineering services that the town provides, which include reviewing applications for compliance with town grading and engineering standards, approving subdivisions, and conducting inspections of work within the public right-of-way.
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