City to celebrate Public Works Week with open house, sign unveiling

In celebration of National Public Works Week May 16-20, residents are invited to an open house and the unveiling of a new “Welcome to Yuma” sign.

The city will hold a community outreach open house event 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Training Room at the city’s Public Works Services Building, 155 W. 14th St., located at the intersection of 1st Avenue.

Staff will discuss services such as pavement preservation, Adopt-aStreet program, Yuma Click and Fix and an important upcoming route change to the city’s solid waste service.

Free to attend, the open house will also include the reading of an official City Council proclamation of Public Works Week in Yuma.

On Thursday, the public is invited to join in the unveiling of the latest city-student collaboration on a welcome sign. The dedication of this mini-beautification project will take place from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Avenue A and 34th Place.

As with previous signs, local high school students, in partnership with Weld Like A Girl, took a large role in the project. Students from AzTec and EOC High School will be on hand for the unveiling of the new welcome sign they helped create.

Public works services in Yuma include essential everyday functions such as residential solid waste and curbside recycling pickup; street repair and maintenance, including street sweeping, fleet services, road signs, streetlights and traffic signals.

These events are part of a busy week for the Public Works staff. They will visit a local school on Monday for equipment demonstrations. On Friday, staff members will attend an annual employee recognition event.

The American Public Works Association, dating back to 1960, instituted National Public Works Week (#NPWW) as a public education campaign. NPWW calls attention to the importance of public works in community life. The week seeks to enhance the prestige of the often-unsung professionals who serve the public every day with quiet dedication.