Shane Daniels taking position at Premium Plant Services
Shane Daniels, Tracy’s public works director since 2012, won’t miss the 2 a.m. watermain breaks calls, or taking unfair criticism from the public, or dealing with freezing cold temps while removing snow when another storm might be on the way. But that doesn’t mean stepping away from his position was a no-brainer.
“It was a difficult decision; I’m excited and scared at the same time,” said Daniels, who is transitioning into his new position as account executive at Premium Plant Services next month. “This is intriguing to me, so I thought I’d give it a shot.”
Daniels, a 2002 graduate of Tracy Area High School, has worked for the City of Tracy since 2007 when he was a building official trainee and public works employee under Gary Garrels. Five years later, he took over his current post, eventually succeeding Rick Robinson, and has wore many different hats ever since.
“I’m going to miss the council, and staff and the public,” he said.
For all intents and purposes, Daniels has always had a strong working relationship with Tracy council members and administration throughout the years. That is something that cannot be overlooked, as the City has taken on a number of very large projects under Daniels’ tenure, including the Phase E infrastructure project that will commence later this year.
DANIELS
He has also built rapport and trust with large firms the City has hired over the years like Bollig Engineering and ISG. Daniels has learned that the process of retaining the ins and outs and subtleties of Tracy is a neverending one.
“All these firms have been very good to work with,” he said. “They always start on a small scale — data collection, what do we have in the ground, what are our problem areas. A lot of that information, you obtain over the years.”
Daniels’ job has become a complicated one when it comes to infrastructure projects. After decades of not replacing what lies under Tracy’s roads, the City has recently been far more aggressive with addressing long-standing issues such as aging pipes and valves. With the City taking on large-scale challenges, Daniels has become more relied upon in the last few years than ever.
“It’s good to see things get fixed, but I understand (the taxpayers’) frustrations,” he said. “A lot of this, (the City) should’ve been planning for back in the ’50s. The 1890s stuff we’ve found should’ve been gone. How it held up is … there are still a lot of issues with valves that don’t work. If we can shut a block off to repair a main, that would be wonderful — never happens. Sometimes, we end up shutting a six-block area off to work on something.”
Daniels said he is most proud of the improvements the City has made over the years, and he gives credit to the people who have served on recent city councils who have rubberstamped expensive projects at the risk of public scrutiny.
“It’s all with the help of past and current councils and administrations for being on board with everything, and the citizens,” he said. “When I started, we had 21 watermain breaks my first year, now we have one or two at the most. I feel like the town is in a lot better shape than what it was when I started. It’s good to see all that being fixed; it helps whoever follows me sleep better at night.”
After high school, Daniels attended Lake Area Tech for Carpentry and worked for Bladholm Construction in Marshall and Northstar Homes. He returned to Tracy in December 2007.
His last day with the City is Aug. 7.
Given Daniels’ work ehtic, and institutional knowledge of his department and Tracy as a whole, the City is now facing the daunting task of replacing him. Tracy City Administrator Jeff Carpenter calls Daniels irreplaceable.
“It’s what he does at the airport, what he does with public utilities, what he does with government, what he does with any engineering, what he does with any sewer or water projects that we have, the future projects — he is the most important person as far as employees in this town,” Carpenter said. “He has that much knowledge. I have no idea right now how I’m going to hire one person to do that job.”
The hiring process has already begun with an advertisement in this week’s Tracy Area Headlight Herald.
Carpenter said he will also cast a wider net through the League of Minnesota Cities and possibly reach out to an online hiring outlet.
