Steve Lederer and Napa County Public Works

Napa Temp Agency

Last week was National Public Services appreciation week, so we thought we’d give a shout out to one of our favorite public servants. Steve Lederer is the head of Napa County’s Public Works Department and a longtime partner and friend of BOLT Staffing. 

Steve has devoted his career to seeing through the completion of projects, and his tenure as Napa County’s Public Works director has demonstrated the strength of his leadership. He had multiple careers prior to taking on the role of Public Works Director, having worked as the head of nuclear test engineering for a Vallejo shipyard and as an environmental consultant for a private Napa law firm. He says that his diverse background his strength, as it gives him a unique perspective for problem solving. 

When Steve took the job in 2012 one of his main goals was to repair Napa County’s road network, but like many others in Napa, his priorities were upended by a series of natural disasters. The 6.0 magnitude earthquake that shook South Napa in 2014 damaged many buildings in downtown Napa, including the historic Napa County Courthouse Plaza. Under Steve’s leadership the courthouse was properly repaired as well as other buildings in the city 

As many of us know, Napa County has continued to feel the effects of the October 2017 wildfires long after they were over. Almost 8,000 structures were destroyed and hundreds more were damaged. The county government continues to work diligently to help the community repair and rebuild what was lost in the fires. 

 After the Atlas, Nuns and Tubbs fires in 2017 thousands of trees were badly damaged, many along roads and in close proximity to powerlines. Steve’s team successfully removed thousands of fire damaged trees that were at risk of falling onto power lines or into streets, a massive undertaking that spanned 50 miles of roads. 

Within the last year, the Napa County public works department has embarked on the OVOK Group B revegetation project; working to install temporary irrigation systems, planting vegetation and managing invasive plant species. This project is located on the East and West banks of the Napa River, between Yountville Cross Road and Oakville Cross Road.  This will be an ongoing project with maintenance occurring for a three-year period after initial planting is finished. This project is making great strides in the efforts to restore the greenery of Napa Valley. 

We are lucky to have Steve and the entire Public Works department as a part of our community, as they do important unsung work that keeps our community infrastructure running. It is thanks to the leadership of Public Works leaders like Steve that our roads, bridges and community stays running despite the natural disasters of the last few years. We are grateful to have Steve as a partner and a friend! 

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