News - December 2005
DOUGLAS L. SMITH HONORED BY BOCC
From: Good Afternoon, Johnson County; Week of Dec. 12-18, 2005
As a New Year’s tradition, many Johnson County citizens make annual resolutions such as try a new hobby, lose weight, or do some other self improvement activity.
Douglas L. Smith, the administrator for the Johnson County Unified Wastewater Districts for the past 25 years, plans to usher in 2006 with a new resolution already in mind and in place. It’s to enjoy his retirement that ends a public service career spanning more than three decades.
His retirement becomes effective on the first day of the New Year. A reception in his honor is scheduled from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, December 16, at the Sylvester Powell Jr. Community Center, 6200 Martway, Mission.
On Thursday, December 15, Smith was honored by the Johnson County Board of Commissioners during its weekly business meeting. He was presented a Certificate of Special Commendation by Chairman Annabeth Surbaugh who described Smith as a “model employee” and “a real community person” for both his public work and a citizen of Johnson County.
Smith also was praised by Board members for his legacy of excellence, dedication, leadership, professional skills, wisdom, sense of humor, integrity, friendship, and longtime public service to the Johnson County community.
The bittersweet ceremony mixed a touch of lightheartedness, including presentation of a small chamber pot to Smith as a memento for his many years of sewer service.
The highlight of the program was the unveiling a life-sized cardboard cutout of the retiring wastewater administrator. It was made from a photograph of Smith in the late 1960s when he had black hair and mustache and “goggles” for eyeglasses. As Chairman Surbaugh and County Engineer Norm Bowers held up the cutout, its pants fell down to the amusement of the standing-room crowd of mostly county employees gathered in honor of Smith.
“Doug, I can tell you that wasn’t in the script,” Surbaugh said with a laugh, adding later that she was still “saving the best for last” in Friday’s reception and roast in his honor at the Powell Community Center Mission.
Smith smiled, adding that the ceremony only made him a little more nervous about what to expect during Friday’s event. On a more serious note, he told the gathering he was honored to receive the certificate and recognition.
“I’ve said many times I am proud to be a Johnson County bureaucrat,” he said in closing.
As he prepares to leave Johnson County government, Smith says he has no plans yet on what he’s going to do after he retires.
“I’m going to take it in increments of six months or so to see what it’s all about,” Smith said with a smile. “It’s a first for me. I never have been retired before, so I really don’t know what to expect or to do, so I plan to take it in stages of six months at a time, and see what happens.”
His departure as helmsman signals an end of an era for the county’s wastewater department.
Smith has been credited by both his peers and his superiors for his leadership and administrative experience in helping JCW evolve from a sanitary sewer department into a modern and innovative wastewater treatment organization that now serves more than 380,000 customers in Johnson County.
His era began in November 1980 when Smith was named the administrator of the Johnson County Unified Sewer District. At the time, the sewer system served roughly 200,000 residents in Johnson County’s population of about 260,000. The department had 94 employees and maintained about 880 miles of sewer lines.
One of his first changes was to rename the department to Johnson County Unified Wastewater Districts in 1981. The name change was approved on March 19 of that year by the Johnson County Board of Commissioners.
He said the new name served two main purposes. One was to give the department a modern image.
“It also made it clear that the department provided sanitary sewer services and not stormwater sewer services,” Smith said.
Another highlight in his career with Johnson County government occurred in April 1992 when a countywide vote approved a new finance plan for funding capital improvements and projects for the district through the issuance of county backed bonds. The margin of approval was close with 27,389 votes of support and 26,371 against.
The new finance plan was needed to support major improvements to the system, including construction and expansion of vital treatment plants, elimination of remaining outdated lagoon systems, introduction of low-pressure sewers with individual grinder pumps in homes, replacement of chlorine gas systems, and a process to rehabilitate and repair aging sewer lines in the district that dates back to 1945.
Under his leadership, JCW has played an important role in the continued growth of Johnson County by providing the wastewater treatment capacity to meet the increasing demands for wastewater service as Johnson County continued to grow and prosper with more people, more homes, more businesses, and more development in the wings.
The growth, however, did not come at the expense of the environment under Smith’s direction. His integrity and attention to detail have supported JCW in its mission to protect the health and environment of the county.
During his tenure, Johnson County’s nationally recognized infiltration/inflow program helped alleviate problems associated with too much water entering the sewer system during intense rains.
Smith also was instrumental in the creation of the county’s Environmental Department, which began as a small laboratory in JCW.
Over the course of the past few years, the department has introduced new methods for charging for wastewater treatment services which are consistent with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended methods and with the way other communities charge for services and are based on usage of the system versus property valuation.
The county’s wastewater system, with assets valued at more than $1 billion, now includes 2,033 miles of sewer lines, 7 treatment plants, and 34 pump stations, processing more than 22 billion gallons of sewage annually. The department has 214 employees.
He credits administrating a successful operation to the staff of JCW.
“My motto has been to surround myself with quality people,” Smith said. “I have had the good fortune of working with a staff of high quality people.”
Smith moved to Johnson County 38 years ago from Omaha, Nebraska, to manage an insurance office before entering public service – first through the political door. He was elected to the Overland Park City Council in 1972 and served until assuming his wastewater position in 1980.
He also was a member of the board of directors for the Mid America Regional Council (MARC) for seven years, serving as MARC Chairman for two years and becoming a key player in developing the region’s 911 system.
Outside his public contributions, Smith has been active in his community and has been a willing participant in the Johnson County government’s annual Feed the Need campaigns, serving as chairman in 1994 and co-chairman in 2004.
A resident of Overland Park, Smith and Elsie, his wife of more than 44 years, are the parents of two grown children.
Smith has no regrets about starting off the New Year with a new course of direction as a public servant in retirement, but he will mostly miss the people he has worked for and with over the years.
He will not miss the job as much and looks forward to a change of pace in his life, allowing for more time for church activities, travel, and family.
“I have always enjoyed doing my job. Ninety-five percent of my job has always been a positive experience,” Smith said, quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson with a twinkle in his eye: “To be great is to be misunderstood.”
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