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Rules Committee forwards ordinance to reference Department of Public Works after public objection
Summary
The committee forwarded an ordinance to amend the administrative code so references to three former bureaus instead refer to the Department of Public Works; several public commenters, including a senior engineer and Local 21 representative, opposed removing historical bureau names.
The Rules Committee voted Thursday to forward an ordinance amending the administrative code so that references to the Bureau of Architecture, Bureau of Engineering and Bureau of Construction Management would instead refer to the Department of Public Works.
Fuad Sweis, City Engineer and Deputy Director for Public Works, said the engineering division reorganized in July and merged the three bureaus into two divisions to create integrated teams for project delivery. "Back in July, my division, which is engineering division, reorganized and merged the 3 bureaus... to create 2 divisions," Sweis told the committee, explaining the proposed code update.
Public testimony included both general praise for the city's engineering history and pointed opposition. Tamarath Awaitu, a senior engineer formerly of the Bureau of Engineering and speaking for Local 21 (which had not taken a formal position), said deleting bureau names would "permanently erase over a century old institution of the city from the annals of the city's department history," citing past major projects and professional awards completed under the Bureau of Engineering name.
After the public comment period, the committee voted to forward the ordinance with a positive recommendation and no recorded opposition.
The item will now go to the full Board with the committees recommendation.
