A Message from Dr. Glass

Happy New Year, MES! I hope everyone has returned from the holiday season rested and ready to focus on the year ahead. I am proud of our accomplishments from last year and look forward to the opportunities and possibilities offered by 2024.

As we begin the new year, there will be important announcements to look for in the coming Weekly Digests. Our next virtual All Teams Meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 30 at 10:00 a.m. We will provide a mid-year update on our BEST goal progress and talk about the necessary steps to complete the goals by the end of the fiscal year.

Dr. Glass at the HQ Holiday Lunch

I will also be asking you to watch for your invitation to participate in the annual MES Employee Engagement Survey. This is your opportunity to be heard and to share your ideas, concerns, and suggestions with the executive team anonymously. The resulting data will be used to measure progress toward achieving goals in the MES strategic plan (available on the MES website) by comparing the results to the data collected in February 2023, and ultimately helps us improve the MES employee experience. The MES Employee Engagement Survey is sent out once yearly and is not related to the survey sent in the fall, which was part of the Baltimore Sun Top Workplaces contest.

I am also pleased to announce that we have started advertising for the second annual MES Summer Internship Program. This program provided an excellent experience for everyone who had the opportunity to participate last year. I look forward to onboarding a new group of interns, who I expect to be equally talented and ready to share their perspectives and enthusiasm for learning. Every employee can help with this recruitment process by sharing our social media posts on both Facebook and LinkedIn with their personal networks.

Finally, my thanks to all those who participated in the many donation opportunities presented this holiday season, including the Salvation Army Angel Tree program, Toys for Tots, and the collection drives for Friskies and the Maryland Food Bank. Some of our sites set up their own drives, partnering with the communities they serve to donate needed goods that will help local charities. Our commitment to the Maryland Charity Campaign also remained strong, meeting our goal by over 100%. We have a generous and caring team at MES who are compassionate about serving the Maryland community in every way.

Have a wonderful start to this new year!

Best,

Charles

Something to Smile About

Our staff wear a lot of different (and sometimes unusual hats) as a part of their jobs, but “tooth fairy” may be a first for the team at Prince George’s County Organics Composting Facility (PGCOCF).

In an odd turn of events, a package of dental teeth was delivered to a dentist’s personal address and placed near the curbside collection carts. On any given Monday, residents place their yard trim out for collection by contract haulers and delivery to the PGCOCF. Starting this summer, residents are now also able to add kitchen and table scraps to their yard trim. Seeing the package near the compost bins, the collection hauler assumed it was part of the rest of the food scraps and yard trim to be picked up and added it to the truck.

After the dentist couldn’t find the teeth, reviewed door cam footage from the house and was able to get the truck information. From there, he contacted the PGCOCF staff and asked if they could help find his patient’s teeth. The compost facility team were able to do just that, intercepting the truck when it arrived on site and carefully separating out the entire load to recover the package with all teeth unharmed! Great job to the staff for their quick thinking and diligence retrieving the package— that’s really something to smile about!

"If You Fill It, They Will Come..."

The Environmental Operations group is in the preliminary stages of assisting a client in creating a sports field on top of a capped landfill. While the field is still in the "dream" phase, the staff are working on initial steps like prepping paperwork and concept investigation to move the work forward. It's especially important to ensure a proper amount of soil is placed over the site's synthetic cap when developing projects like this, so staff are working diligently to create CADD mockups and deliver research.

The team is excited to work with the client to beneficially reuse the capped and closed solid-waste site. While this would be a first-of-a-kind project for MES, Environmental Operations hopes that they can assist other clients in the creation of similar sports fields.

One Giant Lift for BWI!

Last week, Technical and Environmental Services staff were able to complete a repair that spanned months and required a 50-foot boom crane to complete— all just in time for the first deicing event of the season at Baltimore Washington International Airport!

During routine inspection and preventative maintenance of the 15R Lift Station in August, MES BWI Maintenance found that pump #3 was damaged. The staff placed the pump out of service and assessed the damage and needed repairs.

It appears that one or more impellers broke, blowing out the side of the cast iron bowls. These pumps are capable of pumping waste deicing fluid across the airport to the 600,000-gallon collection tanks via a 16-inch force main at an initial rate of 3,000 gallons per minute, and are so large that they need to be removed by a 50-foot crane.

Permits are necessary to use such a large crane at the BWI airfield. After applying and receiving approval, the pump assembly was removed and loaded onto a flatbed trailer for transport to the contractor for assessment. The contractor was able to assess the damage, quote a repair cost, and estimate a three-week turnaround for the labor. The MES staff received a second crane permit to replace the repaired pump in the vault.

The rebuilt pump arrived back at BWI just this past Friday, at which point the contractor used the crane to lower it back into the underground vault, where the motor was reinstalled. MES staff reconnected the electrical components and tested them. Thanks to their work, the pump was returned to service before the first deicing event of the season just one day later!

Your Shots

MES teammates do extraordinary work in extraordinary places across the state— show us what that looks like by sending your stories and photos to Mary Chiarella at [email protected].

Winter Solstice Sunset at Masonville DMCF (Baltimore City)

Photo by David Ferguson

Morning Sky at the Harford Co. Landfill Site Composing Area (Harford County)

Photo by Tamara Scarborough

Sunrise over the Patapsco River at Cox Creek DMCF (Anne Arundel County)

Photo by Todd Cebulski

Maryland Charity Campaign Wrap-Up

Thank you to everyone who donated to the 2023 Maryland Charity Campaign! This year's campaign has now ended, and MES was able to raise $21,420, or 115% of our 2023 goal!

Every year, the MCC raises millions of dollars to support valuable work fighting hunger and homelessness, aiding veterans, kids, and families, operating health and literacy programs, and so much more.

In the last 18 years, MES staff have donated more than $296,000 to these charities and made a difference in the lives of thousands of Marylanders who benefit from their services. Every donation makes a difference, and we're grateful to all our staff who've contributed over the years.

The winner of our final MES MCC Target gift card drawing is Patrick Homer. Congratulations, Patrick! Contact Kim Quigley to make arrangements to receive your gift card.

Holiday Decorating Contest Winners

Awesome job to everyone who got involved in holiday decorating this year at the Headquarters office and MES field sites! It's great to see so much festive creativity!

Dr. Glass and Ms. Frketic looked at all the office and site decorations and have declared winners, who will receive a small reward and bragging rights for their decorating skills. Congrats to Phil James and Stephen Brown for winning! Thank you to everyone who joined in to deck the halls (and cubes, doors, and offices) and make MES a little merrier!

Category: Office

Winner: Phil James

Phil clinched the "Best Office" decorating category for the second year in a row with his cheery tree and creative lights display!

Category: Site (Glen Arm WWTP)

Winner: Stephen Brown

Stephen's handmade MES ornaments on this tree growing at the site ensured he clinched the prize for "Best Site" decorations!

Education & Professional Development

Water/Wastewater Operator in Training (OIT) Promotions

Well done to the Water & Wastewater staff on their recent promotions! They have demonstrated significant learning and hard work in the Operator in Training (OIT) program— great job!

In December, Kyle Galla (Dorsey Run WWTP) was promoted to OIT II and Tyler Tolodziecki (Dorsey Run WWWTP) was promoted to OIT I!

The OIT program is rigorous, and OITs are required to pass multiple courses and State certification exams to be promoted. Learn more about program requirements on the MES Intranet here.

Kyle Galla

(Dorsey Run WWTP)

Tyler Tolodziecki

(Dorsey Run WWTP)

Interested in starting a degree or certificate program? MES has a tuition assistance program for employees pursuing continuing education related to their careers. That can mean assistance paying for a college degree, a professional certification, or other training programs completed outside of work. Email Laura Younker to learn more about the program.

New Teammates

Welcome to Our New Hires!

• Aaron Collins – Electrician, BWI Maintenance
• Andrew Najera – Environmental Specialist Trainee, BWI DY
• David Geller – Inspector, Poplar Island
• Elizabeth Ross – Environmental Specialist, Headquarters
• Osa Ngwa – Compensation and Benefits Specialist, Headquarters
• Quentin Miner – Grants Trainee, Headquarters
• Stephanie Patton – Chief, Human Resources, Headquarters

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