Pub. 2 2019-2020 Issue 4

12 Our own members weigh in on the impacts, opportunities and industry outlook resulting from COVID-19. • Derek Andersen i s the owner of Andersen Asphalt. The company is a trusted asphalt maintenance contrac- tor with state-of-the-art equipment, resources, and expertise to help cus- tomers find solutions that provide long- term value. With its proven asphalt main- tenance treatments, customers signif- icantly extend the life of their pave- ment and avoid costly replacement. The company is extremely met icu- lous and detail-oriented with its work. Employees use rigorously tested and proven products and techniques to provide customers with the very best solutions. • Jeremy Lapin is the public works direc- tor for Saratoga Springs. This city is located in Utah County on the northwest shores of Utah Lake. The city was incorporated in December 1997 and currently has about 32,000 residents. It is in the top five fast- est-growing cities inUtah, with a build-out populationofmore than120,000 residents. What are the main challenges your organization has encountered as a result of the coronavirus pandemic? Derek: Themain challenges we have faced are the many changes in our overall envi- ronment. Challenges have included some large customers freezing spending, custom- ers going out of business and keeping our employees safe and healthy. We have had to make adjustments that have come with a learning curve. Jeremy: The first major challenge is the uncertain financial impact. While many businesses have been required to shut down or limit service, public utilities must continue operating. Water, wastewater, and other essential services must be main- tained. In fact, due to an increase in shelter- ing and working from home, we have seen an overall increase in the demand placed on our utilities. Conversely, revenue has declined due to forbearances in shut-offs due to nonpayment. The second major challenge is the risk to our workforceposedby thepandemic. Most publicworks employees need tobe“on-site” to complete the critical tasks necessary to ensure the operation of our municipal ser- vices. They are unable to shelter at home, COVID-19: IMPACTS, OPPORTUNITIES AND OUTLOOK