Led by Jennifer Moczygemba, P.E., the Aguirre & Fields Planning & Program Management (PPM) Group facilitates and assists clients with both short-term and long-range planning on a multitude of project types.
“What we’re trying to do is help communities get better organized in terms of planning infrastructure projects, help find them funding, and help them determine what priority projects need to be pushed forward in order to best serve the needs of that community,” says Moczygemba.
“A lot of developing counties might not have the staff needed to address sudden areas of growth,” adds Program Manager Trey Haskins, P.E., CFM. “That’s where we feel we can really help. Having been an assistant county engineer for 13 years, I have a really good idea of what one of them goes through in trying to find solutions for not just planning out projects, but securing the necessary funds to do so.”
Beyond their sincere desire to help communities grow, the PPM Group proactively mines various sources to determine how their services can best be utilized by counties and municipalities throughout the state of Texas.
“We attend a lot of city and county events and have conversations with community stakeholders,” says Haskins. “We listen to their needs and try our best to find a way to help them reach their goals.”
“We look at growth and census data,” adds Moczygemba. “Land use and new developments are also a good place to start. Outside of our PPM group, Nazlie Saeedi, P.E. from our Austin roadway team has helped provide traffic impact analyses —a skillset she carries over from her time with the city.”
Making sense of how to use the data gathered is critical in helping a community achieve its goals, and that’s where GIS Analyst Analie Armendariz comes in.
“Our goal is to build a robust database with bridge, sidewalk, and roadway data,” says Armendariz, “so we can point to any given area on a map and know what mobility improvements can be made just by looking at it.”
“Analie’s been instrumental in helping us generate maps and other visual forms of data to include in grant applications, so we can help secure funding for the communities we serve,” adds Moczygemba.
“Our focus on serving communities is what drove me to this company in the first place,” says Haskins. “When I worked for Brazoria County, I was always impressed by Aguirre & Fields’ genuine interest in helping us develop into the county we wanted to be, and how they always had time for us no matter what. I am very excited now to be on the other side of it because I love helping others and seeing communities grow.”
“Growth in most areas is inevitable,” says Moczygemba, “and usually a good sign, because it means people want to live in your community. Being strategic in how you tackle that growth allows a community to faithfully execute their vision.”
“I always say ‘plan to grow into what you want to be’,” adds Haskins. “You don’t want to just sit back and let things happen because then you risk losing your identity as a community. Whatever path you want to go down, let’s do so, and let us help you find the best way to do it.”
