Request for Committee Action
A briefing memo explaining the purpose, background, and impact of the requested action.
Gift acceptance from the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety for travel and lodging expenses (RCA-2023-00121)
ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT
To Committee(s)
| # | Committee Name | Meeting Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Policy & Government Oversight Committee | February 6, 2023 |
Action Item(s)
| # | File Type | Subcategory | Item Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Resolution | Donation/Gift Acceptance | Passage of Resolution accepting a gift of travel and lodging expenses from the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety (MNOPS) for James Keller, Engineering Tech II Utility Locator, to attend the Global Excavation Safety Conference in Tampa Bay, Florida. |
Ward / Neighborhood / Address
| # | Ward | Neighborhood | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Not Applicable |
Background Analysis
On January 18, utility locating staff from the Surface Water & Sewers Division attended the state Locate Rodeo put on by the Minnesota Common Ground Alliance (MNCGA) and Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety (MNOPS). The Locate Rodeo is an event designed to promote safety throughout the state and compete to see what locator has the strongest skillset. This event was free and was hosted by CenterPoint Energy in 2023.
City of Minneapolis Surface Water & Sewers employee James Keller won the event this year. He out scored 33 competitors to take home the top prize. As part of winning this event, MNOPS has offered to send James Keller to the Global Excavation Safety Conference in Tampa Bay, Florida from February 14-16. At this conference James will attend classes to enhance his knowledge on locating and dig safety. He will also compete against other locators as part of the Global Locate Rodeo. James will bring back the knowledge received at the conference and share it with other Public Works staff that are locating city utilities (water, sewer, storm, traffic) daily. MNOPS will cover the cost of travel, lodging and conference registration.
Partaking in this conference is a positive way to show the cities commitment to pipeline safety and preventing damage to buried utilities. It is estimated that the cost of damaged utilities in the United States is $30 billion annually. James Keller started working for the city in April of 2022. Prior to that James was employed by the private locating firm USIC for 3.5 years.