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To express the gratitude and deep appreciation of the Council of the City of Columbus to Tatyana (Tanya) Arsh, P.E., for her exceptional service and unselfish commitment to improving the quality of life of Columbus and central Ohio residents.
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WHEREAS, Tatyana (Tanya) Arsh, P.E., is a 1983 graduate of the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, in St. Petersburg, Russia, with a Master of Science in Civil Engineering; and
WHEREAS, she began her career as a Project Engineer for the State Design Institute in St. Petersburg, and then as a Project Engineer for R.D. Zande & Associates, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, in 1996, she joined the Columbus Department in Public Utilities, and in June 2005, after serving as the Manager of the Sewer System Engineering Section, she was named Administrator of the Division of Sewerage and Drainage; and
WHEREAS, on January 1, 2007 Tanya assumed her role as Director of the Columbus Department of Public Utilities, taking over the Department's $2.5 billion, EPA-mandated Wet Weather Management Plan (WWMP) to improve water quality, protect rivers and streams and reduce sewage backups into residential basements; and
WHEREAS, in addition to managing the WWMP as part of a total $5.4 billion 40-year capital plan, Director Arsh also led the Department's efforts to invest millions of dollars in upgrades to the water system, including the construction of the Upground Reservoir Project and expansion of our South Wellfield; and
WHEREAS, Director Arsh implemented an Asset Management Program to better define critical assets, allocate resources, enhance project values, prioritization, and equipment reliability, and lower operations and infrastructure costs, while meeting customer expectations; and
WHEREAS, as Director, Tanya successfully led a department which serves more than one million people, providing safe, dependable drinking water, environmentally sound wastewater treatment and storm drainage systems, and street lighting that helps make Columbus neighborhoods safe; and
WHEREAS, as a result of her leadership, the Department of Public Utilities provides now, as it will into the future, an enhanced quality of life for all through the economic, efficient and environmentally responsible stewardship of superior public utilities that are the essential foundation of a great city and region; and
WHEREAS, it is more than appropriate to recognize Tanya's contributions, her faithful leadership and dedicated service to the Department of Public Utilities and the residents of Columbus and central Ohio; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That the Council of the City of Columbus does hereby express their gratitude and deep appreciation to Tatyana (Tanya) Arsh, P.E., for her exceptional service and unselfish commitment to improving the quality of life for Columbus and central Ohio residents.