Commending Memphis Public Works Director Robert Knecht
Floor Speech
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Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Memphis Public Works Director Robert Knecht who is retiring from the City of Memphis after 23 years of making it a safer and more attractive place. Mr. Knecht is a hard-working and outstanding public servant who always had time to answer my questions about federal funding for city projects or how securing federal funding could advance the city's infrastructure needs, a quality invaluable to me as the Congressman representing Memphis. Mr. Knecht concentrated his efforts on the full Public Works portfolio including stormwater and wastewater operations, blight remediation, Code Enforcement, environmental enforcement, sustainability, street sweeping and street maintenance operations, and the results are to his credit. My staff and I worked closely with Mr. Knecht as we realized the $41 million Big River Crossing project, which included improvements on downtown Memphis' Main Street from Uptown to the Harahan Bridge and the conversion of the vehicle sections of the bridge into a bike/ pedestrian path. This project was made possible by $15 million in federal funds I secured through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER IV) Grant as well as matching grants from state and local funds and private funds. Mr. Knecht was instrumental in helping to execute Community Project Funding I secured for projects such as developing the Memphis Cobblestone Landing Recreational Center, which received $4 million. I have also worked closely with him to secure district projects in the past several Water Resources Development Acts, including provisions to deauthorize the Wolf River to create a lake adjacent to the historic downtown Snuff District and to accommodate a floating entertainment dock at Cobblestone Landing. A graduate of the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering (2003), he also has a Master of Business Administration (2008) from the University of Phoenix. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he served during Desert Storm/Desert Shield. Married to Memphis native Mandy, he and his three children have bright days ahead as he heads for an opportunity in the private sector. As Mayor Paul Young has said, his shoes will be hard to fill. His has been a job well done.
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