Page 14 - March-April2020 Vol37 No7

COLLIERVILLE
Bill Kilp Retires...Briefly
After 20 years as the Town of
Collierville Public Services Director, Bill
Kilp retired Dec. 20, 2019 at age 68.
And to begin the year 2020, he began
working part-time Jan. 3 as the nearby
City of Piperton’s Public Works Director.
So, technically, retirement lasted...two
weeks.
Chuckling, Kilp said, if he hadn’t joined
Public Works, he would have found
something similar, such as becoming an
engineering consultant, or serving on a
planning commission to “to keep me busy
doing what I really enjoy.” He admits he is
as surprised as anyone to be back on the
job so quickly.
“My wife and I bought property in
Piperton several years ago and built on it.
We live here now. I got to know some of
the elected officials here and they asked
if I would consider working with them. I
thought, “I can do something like that a
few days a week,” he said.
He added that Piperton’s City Manager
and Mayor knew his background, and
invited him to lunch, since the city’s
Public Works Director had vacated the
position a year ago. “They asked if I would
consider working with them,” he said.
In 2017, Piperton was estimated to have
1,715 residents, up from 589 residents in
2000. Kilp said it is “a nice community
right on the verge” of experiencing a
massive population surge, partially due
to its proximity to two major state routes
and the nearby interstate. “Population
tends to follow the major transportation
corridors,” he said.
“City Public Works employees, no
matter if they work for a city that is big
or small... they generally deal with the
same challenges such as streets, drainage,
ground maintenance, water and sewer
treatment,” Kilp said. “It will be fun to
give it my personal touch.”
Back in 1999 when Kilp was hired in
Collierville, the Town was growing at a
rapid pace. There were around 30,000
Collierville residents and more than 800
new homes annually built. In fact, Kilp’s
first project on the job also was related to
the Town’s growth. He was asked to build
a new Public Services Complex – in a
different location and practically six times
the size of the current facility.
14 TPW March/April 2020
By Jennifer Casey & Lisa Hood Skinner
“It was one of the neatest jobs, because He built a department that grew
it was my building,” Kilp said. The facility from 75 to 118 full time employees. He
at 500 Keough Road is home to the Town’s built relationships with Public Works
fleet maintenance, equipment parking professionals all over the country
areas, and public works and utilities (and even internationally). He built
administration. After the facility opened, a workplace culture that provides the
the next project soon followed, at a swift best service possible to the residents of
pace that continued for the following 20 Collierville.
years.
When asked what he would miss the
Additional projects included most about his job in Collierville, he said
construction of another wastewater two words, “the people.”
treatment plant, developing their work-
order management system, creating The people will miss him too.
the leaf mulching site and program,
establishing a solid waste service that is “Bill Kilp came to Collierville during
efficient yet one of the lowest rates in the a period of unprecedented growth. He
county, and fostering a workplace culture oversaw the construction of all our
of exceptional customer service and existing Public Works and Utilities
dedication. grounds, buildings and plants. He grew
all our operations into a level of quality
A Customer Service Mentality that is frequently modeled as a standard
for others. But the better story is about
Public works, at its core, is an essential the friendship we built and the respect I
function of a city contributing to the have for him as a person.
welfare and quality of life for an entire
community. Kilp ensured that his “He is a constant. He is, “who he is”
department provided and exceeded every day. He never changes his attitude
expectations of this service to Collierville or disposition no matter what else is
residents. He attributes this customer going on in his world. I’ve watched him
service mentality to working together like suffer through pain and tragedy in his life
a big family. “Everyone helps each other without ever failing to put others first,”
out, and makes each other’s jobs easier,” said James Lewellen, Collierville Town
he said. Administrator.
Prior to his work with Collierville, he “For the past twenty years, Collierville
worked for 16 years in the public works
and utilities industry with the City of
Bartlett, and 10 years as an engineering
consultant in the private sector. The
son of a civil engineer, Kilp said he was
interested in engineering himself, however
at first, he was drawn to the electrical side.
Working Outside and Buildng Things
“I didn’t really like it, because you
couldn’t see what you were working on
- you can’t see electricity. I switched my
major to civil engineering, because I liked
working outside and building things,” Kilp
said. He built a lot of things, and if you look
around Collierville, you can see them.
He built facilities and supporting
infrastructure to manage a growing and
thriving community.
He built programs and services to
improve efficiency and the quality of life
for residents.