PROJECT SUMMARY
The City of Hinesville, GA Public Works Partnership is a contract awarded to OMI for the maintenance and operation for most all the City's public works. OMI's services include:

• Water and Wastewater Services: OMI manages the operation of a 7.0 million gallons per day (mgd) activated sludge wastewater treatment plant averaging 5.0 mgd, and four water wells producing 3.3 mgd. OMI is responsible for continued compliance with all environmental conditions and limitations in related permits.
• Collection and Distribution Systems: Maintenance of systems, making videos of sewer lines for determination of maintenance or replacement, particularly before any new paving. There are 200 miles of sewerage collection lines, 34 lift stations, 150 miles of water distribution lines and six elevated water storage tanks. OMI makes line repairs, water and sewer taps, conducts fire hydrant flushing, and any other preventive or corrective maintenance or repair in the systems.
• Meter Reading: Each month OMI reads 9,970 water meters and reports the readings to the City, which allows the timely preparation and transmission of water and sewer bills to utility customers.
• Garbage Collection: Residential garbage is collected once each week. Commercial customer trash collection is scheduled for pickup once per week as well, however, if commercial customers desire service beyond the standard agreement, arrangements are made through the City. The same is true should a residential customer choose to have multiple polycarts. The City and OMI work hand-in-hand to provide the level of service desired.
• Dry Trash Pickup: Dry trash is collected throughout the City on a weekly scheduled basis. When collected, the debris is transported to the J.V. Road mulching operation for additional processing. OMI manages the operation to produce a useable end product given to residents on a no-cost basis. Tree limbs, leaves, and grass clippings are converted from dry trash to a recycled product in high demand. This is an excellent example of resource recovery.
• Drainage Ditches: OMI cleans all drainage ditches within City limits generally two times per year. Ditch maintenance includes management of vegetation, debris removal, and opening the ditch to allow free-flow of water.
• Street Sweeping: All curbed and guttered residential and major artery streets in the City are swept once each week. Downtown streets are swept twice weekly. Sweepings are transported and deposited at the J.V. Road mulching operation for further processing. Because of the volume of sweeping debris generated, the idea was posed to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to allow the incorporation of the street sweepings into the final product, mulch, from the dry trash operation. The approved process requires the sweepings to be screened to remove and cans, plastics or other undesirables. Analyses are performed on the sweepings by a contract laboratory to ensure they do not contain high residuals of hydrocarbons or BTEX. With the inclusion of this waste minimization project combined with existing recycling programs, the City reduced its solid waste contribution to the sanitary landfill by 27 percent.
• Mosquito Spraying: OMI sprays the entire City weekly during the mosquito season, which runs normally from April through October. Light traps (incandescent light devices designed to attract and collect insects) are used to monitor "high mosquito" counts. Local health department personnel count the mosquitoes, identifying species and sex, as only the female is a threat to bite. If the count is 30 or more females per week, the entire area with the high infestation will be re-sprayed. Mosquitoes reproduce in areas containing standing water, such as abandoned pools, old tires and swampy areas. In those instances of standing water, a mosquito larvacide can be placed in the area to impede the reproductive cycle.
• Fleet Maintenance: OMI provides a staff of ASE certified automotive technicians to maintain the vehicles and equipment owned by the City. Preventive maintenance is scheduled via a maintenance management software program entitled Dossier 32, to ensure no vehicle goes beyond their established service frequencies. This practice not only minimizes downtime and costly repairs; it actually extends the life of the vehicle.
  

As employee owners, OMI associates are expected to think for themselves and perform based on that ownership premise. As such, OMI associates are highly motivated to exceed client expectations. Since executing a contract with OMI, the City of Hinesville has grown by 40 percent. This phenomenal growth placed increased growing pangs on resources and budgets. OMI met the challenge of providing services expanded by the City and, along the way, reducing staff by 25 percent.

The City of Hinesville owns several units of specialty equipment that can only be used for specific purposes. In an effort to capture a return on investment and assist in providing services unavailable to smaller communities, OMI and the City developed the Capital Equipment Optimization program to allow the use of City equipment with an operator on a short-term contract basis, usually by the day. Under this scenario, equipment such as sewer vacuum trucks, sewer camera vehicles and ditch maintenance equipment are better utilized, thus providing a new revenue stream for the City to supplement budgetary requirements without placing further tax burdens on rate payers.

The City of Hinesville and OMI have also submitted a proposal to own, manage and provide water and wastewater services to Fort Stewart. The City of Hinesville would own the system, and OMI would provide operations and maintenance services.