The Public Technology Institute (PTI) has presented Joe Waters, director, and Neal Angrisano, deputy director of the Johnson County Facilities Management Department, with the 2005/2006 PTI Technology Leadership Award.
Each year, PTI recognizes technology leaders from the PTI membership who have shown a commitment to using technology for the public good. Awards are presented to local government officials who have fostered an environment of technology innovation in their organization while implementing technology programs and practices that have improved service delivery and the quality of life in their community. PTI is a national, non-profit technology research and development organization based in Washington, DC.
Awards are
presented to technology
leaders in one of three
categories, based on the
population size of the
jurisdiction that leader
represents. Waters and
Angrisano were named
Technology Leaders in the
medium-size local
government category.
In announcing the awards, Dr. Alan Shark, executive director of PTI, cited them for creating an atmosphere of innovation and creative problem-solving in their department. “Because of their efforts, Johnson County is an innovator among local governments when it comes to energy conservation and sustainable environmental practices,” he noted.
The past two decades have brought rapid growth to Johnson County. The Facilities Department has responded to the needs of its customers by embarking upon a number of new initiatives. Key among these was the development of a “strategic facilities master plan.” Out of this plan came a focus on identifying existing and future space needs, developing standards for new capital design and construction, and an increased focus on the importance of environmental stewardship and innovation.
Initiatives implemented over the past year include: development of Johnson County’s first U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold certified building that incorporated sustainable design practices allowing it to operate at a cost 40 percent lower than comparably sized “standard” office buildings; the lighting retrofit of nearly 1 million square feet of county buildings; and a program designating hybrid vehicles as the “vehicle of choice” for county-owned vehicles.
Waters and Angrisano were among the 2005/2006 Technology Leadership Award winners honored at the recent PTI 2006 Congress for Technology Leadership in Chicago.