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Public Works director outlines airport, wastewater, transit and street projects
Summary
Public Works Director Dan Johnson briefed the council on airport facilities, wastewater treatment volumes, transit ridership gains, equipment purchases, paving programs, and upcoming facility projects including City Hall elevator modernization and Justice Center chiller replacement.
Public Works Director Dan Johnson gave a comprehensive report to the Joplin City Council on June 16 covering multiple operational and capital topics.
Johnson said staff are using a new SRE building at the regional airport and are planning for two passenger loading bridges, acknowledging the complexity of bridge sizing and aircraft compatibility. On streets and stormwater, the department continues overlay and patch programs, has ordered a long-arm mower and compact grader, and uses tar pot trailers for crack filling. He reported five snow events this year that consumed about 25,000 gallons of anti-ice and 800 tons of salt.
On wastewater, Johnson presented 2024 totals: Turkey Creek ~3.5 billion gallons and Shoal Creek ~2.35 billion gallons, and noted Joplin treats wastewater from neighboring jurisdictions in Kansas and Oklahoma. The city runs an in-house wastewater operator training program and hosts continuing-education classes for regional operators.
Transit updates included a trolley relaunch (8,331 riders to date) and MAPS ridership reaching a 29-month high in April. Solid-waste and recycling programs reported an average monthly recycled material of 41.3 tons in 2025 and an annualized total exceeding 500 tons; a shred event collected 6,568 pounds of paper in April. Johnson also outlined recent facility projects such as replacement of Justice Center domestic water lines and the multi-stack chiller installed at City Hall.
Council members asked about miles of sewer (Johnson estimated ~430) and lane miles of roads (about 800) and how a wet spring has affected project schedules; Johnson said weather has delayed construction and mowing but crews engage in storm response and inlet clearing.
Next steps: design and procurement actions continue on elevator modernization, Willow Branch stormwater design and Grand Falls Trail design; staff said they will return with contract and budget documents as projects advance.
