By Janet Dailey, City of Madison DPW; Awards Committee Member
At a late 2008 meeting of the Awards Committee of the Wisconsin Chapter of APWA, it was unanimously decided to forward the nomination of William Kappel, Director of Public Works, City of Wauwatosa Wis., for the American Public Works Association Award “Top Ten Public Works Leader of the Year” for 2009. This marked a second attempt to capture a “Top Ten” award for Kappel. It was also decided that the application would be prepared by Janet Dailey.
Kappel has long served both the City of Wauwatosa and the Wisconsin Chapter of APWA as a leader with high professional standards, sincerity and dedication. He is well respected by his peers and those who have worked for him and with him. He is a true Public Works leader.
Six copies of the application were due to National on March 1 and they were submitted a few days ahead of the deadline. Many sources were used for the preparation of the application, including Kappel himself. The lengthy application consists of a nomination form and supporting documentation for: employment record; job-related technical and managerial accomplishments; initial and lifelong education; publications and presentations; professional involvement; community service; and awards. Letters of recommendation were collected from: James Archambo, City Administrator, City of Wauwatosa (2008); Jill Diller, Mayor, City of Wauwatosa (2008);Herbert Goetsch, Past President and Honorary Member of APWA (2008);Philip C. Evenson, Executive Director, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission(2007); Thomas Trice, Director of Public Works, Bloomfield Township, Mich./Past Region V Director and Past National APWA President (2007);and Theresa M. Estness, Past Mayor of the City of Wauwatosa (2007).(Note: She was Mayor when Kappel was first nominated.)
Fast forward to the morning of March 24 when, in Kappel’s own words:
“I was in Florida just winding up my vacation when I got a phone call from Noel Thompson, President of APWA. Noel told me I had been awarded one the Top Ten of APWA Public Works Leaders for 2009. I was amazed. It was a fitting end to my vacation.
“This award means a lot to me, mainly because early in my career I had several mentors who were very encouraging. In particular, Herb Goetsch, former Com -missioner of Public Works for the City of Milwaukee, was first to get me involved in APWA. His successors, Dave Kuemmel and Jim Kaminski (also City of Milwaukee DPW Commissioners), did the same. Later I worked with Larry Nelson and learned a lot about APWA National working with him as a Delegate. All four men have won Top Ten Awards, so I’m humbled to have been in the company of four of the 12 winners from the Wisconsin Chapter.
“I also want to thank Paul Woodard, Awards Chair, who is serving as the liaison with National for the presentation, and Janet Dailey, for authoring the submittal. Getting this award also speaks to the number of great employees who have worked for and with me. And last but not least, I would like to thank my wife Mary Anne, whose encouragement and support greatly contributed to the receipt of this award.”
For those of you who don’t know Kappel well, the following paraphrases the executive summary that was submitted with the application:
William Kappel has had a lengthy career in the Public Works sector starting in 1967 as a Sanitation Worker to the present date as the Director of Public Works for the City of Wauwatosa, Wis. In 1970, after receiving his BA from the UW–Milwaukee majoring in psychology, Kappel served in the U.S. Army Security Agency as a Russian Transcriber until his Honorable Discharge in 1973. In the following years, Kappel’s career gained momentum as he gained experience, including the unprecedented rise from the back of a garbage packer for the City of Milwaukee in 1976 to the department head in 1982.
In 1988, Kappel received a master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the UW-Milwaukee, as a member of the first class to graduate with this degree. Since that time, he has periodically advised the University on curriculum and internship matters. Kappel has mostly worked for municipalities in the Milwaukee area, yet has some experience in the private sector as well.
In his current position, Kappel oversees staff in the Engineering Division, Operations Division, Fleet& Traffic Maintenance, and Parks & Forestry. The Engineering & Operations Department has over 100full-time and seasonal employees with an approximate$12 million operating budget and capital budget averaging$10 million annually. Kappel is also charged with creating a five-year capital plan which is produced each year. The capital plan for 2009 is $25 million and includes a replacement for Fire Station #1.
Prior to working as the Director of Public Works for the City of Wauwatosa, Kappel was previously the Public Works Operations Superintendent for the City of Wauwatosa from 1990-1992. He was also the Mechanical Equipment Superintendent and subsequently the Building and Fleet Director for the City of Milwaukee and worked in the private sector as the General Manager for Waste Management of Rochester, Min. During his career, Kappel has also been involved with many professional affiliations including APWA, Engineers and Scientists of Milwaukee, Milwaukee Chapter of the American Society of Public Administrators, and the National Solid Waste Management Association, to name a few.
During the span of his career, Kappel has had numerous responsibilities covering many facets of operations and public works, everything from garbage collection to the leadership of the Public Works Department. There have been numerous other accomplishments in between. He has shown strong leadership in the aspects of waste management, engineering, field operations and fleet management during his career.
Kappel is also an invaluable asset because of his numerous professional association positions and involvement in continuing education from He has served the Wisconsin Chapter as an Executive Committee member, President, Delegate to National and has recently been appointed as Chair -person for the 2009 Congress Program Review Committee and the National Nominating Committee for Region V. In addition, he has contributed to numerous publications. His most recent article on privatization appears in the April 2009 edition of The Reporter.
The award was presented to Kappel at the Spring Conference in West Bend. Kappel is the first Chapter recipient since Larry Nelson in 2006, and Kappel is the12th overall dating back to 1960. It should be noted that the submittal of the application made the Wisconsin Chapter eligible for a PACE Award in 2009 (Presidential Award for Chapter Excellence).