“It was pretty rough,” she said.
But eventually Kevin got a transfer to a Deere & Co. location in the Quad-Cities, and the family has been together ever since.
And also ever since, Kay has “expanded our knowledge of storm water best practices and increased the number of green infrastructure projects in the city,” River Action’s Wine wrote in a news release about the Eddy awards.
“Those of us who work with flood prevention and mitigation admire her knowledge of federal, state, and local laws and permitting.”
While Kay is in a management role that means most of her work is done on a phone and a computer in an office, she makes a point to get outside. And she’s particularly happy leading conservation projects, such as obtaining grants to help build a permeable paving alley or planting bluebells.
She also has started a group called Duck Creek Wild that will gather volunteers — when it is medically safe to do so — to do projects along the creek such as removal of invasive plant species and planting of native materials.
Another project she’d like to tackle for the city is a restructuring of the stormwater utility fee in which all residents pay the same flat rate of $2.80 per month. Over the next couple of years, she would like to make that more equitable by charging more to those with bigger impermeable surfaces such as roofs or concrete driveways.
