Public works official Gary Marks previews a busy summer of water, sewer and street projects in Dallas

Gary Marks, a longtime public works official, told the committee at his final meeting that the department completed several capital projects this fiscal year and is entering what he described as “probably the most active summer for the public works department in, I think, anybody’s memory.” Marks gave a line-by-line status update on completed work, contracts, funding and near-term schedules.

The overview matters because the projects affect city water and sewer reliability, school-area safety, major road access and an out-of-service bridge that disrupts truck and resident travel. Several projects rely on outside approvals or external funding, which affects timing and who will build the work.

Completed this fiscal year: the city reclaimed a 6.4-acre poplar farm and arranged for the adjacent farmer to assume farming operations; completed the Japanese garden improvement and the Siebert Fredriksen shelter roof at City Park; purchased replacement equipment for parks and for the fleet; installed a UV disinfection system at the wastewater or water treatment facility (Marks said early billing indicates energy and cost savings); added a manager’s office at the treatment plant; replaced the headworks screen at the wastewater plant; replaced a lift-station control panel on River Drive; repaired a leak in a Clay Street reservoir that had been losing about 150,000 gallons per day; completed the Mercer Reservoir fish-passage project (state-funded); implemented a fleet fuel-tracking system; and…