Peter Bergquist has shed the interim label and been officially chosen as Humboldt's new director of planning and engineering.
"Peter has done an outstanding job with us and has demonstrated he is more than capable of taking on the position of director," said city manager James Moller in a statement. "He not only has the technical expertise, he has been an integral part of key infrastructure initiatives and will ensure such work continues."
Bergquist had been serving as the acting director since early June and will oversee many of the city's most important operations and assets, including roads and water management. He has worked with the city since 2011 after spending four-and-a-half years working for the city of Medicine Hat, Alta., where he said the issues are the same but communication and organization can sometimes be a problem.
"The benefit we have here in Humboldt is that we have a full snapshot of what our infrastructure is so we can better coordinate replacement services," Bergquist said. "In a bigger city you have different departments and communication can be a problem."
Given that the city's planning and engineering department is so centralized, Bergquist's first major priority is to develop a five-year plan on asset management. The plan is to determine what water mains, sewers and/or roadways have to be replaced.
Currently there are water mains being replaced on 4th Avenue and 5th Street. Some of these mains are close to 100 years old and while they have performed well they are approaching the end of their usable lifespan.
Bergquist said an upcoming priority is to improve sewer services. The city sends cameras into the sewers to examine their condition, and with most sewer lines being installed between the 1940s and 1960s, it will soon be time for a lot of them to be replaced.
As existing infrastructure continues to age, it is both an exciting and challenging time for the engineering and planning department. Much of the city's roads, sewers and water mains will be replaced or repaired over the next few years and Bergquist will be at the helm.
