With infrastructure improvements and new construction projects always on tap, there’s plenty to keep Public Works Director Christopher Cash and his team busy. “I have a much greater connection to Orange than some of the other cities where I’ve worked,” says Cash, a 30-year Orange County resident.

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Christopher Cash

As Public Works Director for the City of Orange, Christopher Cash seems to always have a lengthy to-do list.

In addition to the regular, yet also important, street, sidewalk, sewer and storm drain repairs and replacement, there are also the high-profile projects, such as the $29.5 million, 608-space parking structure that opened in Old Towne about a year ago.

“The great part about Public Works is you are doing things that make a difference in people’s lives, and you can literally see them using it day in and day out,” says Cash, who has been working in local government for more than 25 years, starting in the City Manager’s office in Dana Point before leading Paramount’s Public Works Department for 11 years.

Cash assumed the same role in Orange about two and a half years ago, and the parking structure was his first major project for the city.

“It’s been transformative in providing needed parking for Old Towne,” he says, adding that Public Works crews early last summer also restructured traffic flow along Glassell Street to allow for the Orange Plaza Paseo and its expanded alfresco dining.

Now, Cash and his team are in the midst of constructing a new Fire Station 1 and Fire Headquarters campus at the corner of Chapman Avenue and Water Street.  Expected to be finished by late summer or early fall 2022, it will replace a fire station that was built in 1968.

Of course, all this work has been going on during much of the past year during a global pandemic.  While that certainly has presented its share of challenges, they largely have been overcome, says Frank Sun, the Assistant Public Works Director.

“Some staff were working from home, and there have been other adjustments (including conducting meetings remotely and ensuring on-site workers follow measures to protect them from COVID), but there has not been a significant impact in terms of operation and project delivery,” he adds.  “Most projects have been moving forward.”

In another change, the department is accepting an increasing number of forms and architectural plans online that previously needed to be submitted in-person—an effort that had been in the works but was accelerated due to the pandemic.

“Making our processes a little more robust in a digital environment has been really important,” says Cash, adding that 2020 was a year like no other.

“It’s been challenging, and we’ve been tweaking and modifying and rising up to those challenges, but this has been like nothing I’ve encountered in my career.”