Outgoing public works director reflects on career, says AI will change city’s fight against blight

MEMPHIS, Tenn. —  Public Works Director Robert Knecht is ending his 23-year career with the City of Memphis to work in the private sector.

Knecht is not saying where he will be going but said it was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.

“I love this job, but at some point, you have to evaluate opportunities that come to you that are better for you and your family in the long run, and it just made sense for me and my family that I accept another opportunity and move on,” said Knecht.

Knecht has worked for the City of Memphis since August 2003. He began working for the City after graduating from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and working for FedEx.

Knecht said he’s faced some big challenges, like a near-record flood in 2012, a large sewer failure in 2016, and major wind and storm events. The public works director said he’s proud of how his team has handled those emergencies and what they’ve done to improve and deliver services and tackle blight.

“We added environmental enforcement that didn’t exist until a few years ago,” Knecht said. “The environmental enforcement team is obviously doing amazing work tackling illegal dumping, and then we expanded that recently, adding the capacity to clean up as well. So, it’s kind of a one-stop-shop, and then we added commercial code enforcement, which was a whole new operation, and that’s been huge,” Knecht said. “There are a lot of things we have done in those areas of blight that has made a huge difference.”

Knecht said that includes using AI for blight detection. Public works is already using cars with cameras and AI technology to spot potholes and is close to teaching it how to identify blighted properties.

“Years ago, we did this Bluff City snapshot where we sent people into the field, these volunteers with cameras and smartphones to take pictures and try to make a determination if a property was blighted. It took months. I want to say it took four months to do 200,000 parcels. Now, with this technology, we can do a whole city in thirty days,” said Knecht.

Knecht said that AI technology will also be used to detect litter and clogged storm drains in the future.

Another project Knecht will not get to see through is the $42.5 million makeover of Elvis Presley Boulevard. Phase two was supposed to start this summer but is now in jeopardy after state transportation officials defunded it. Knecht said that is not why he is leaving.

“I still feel solely that is the state. I think we’re doing everything right, and I still say to this day that it is 100% their responsibility to correct. They should’ve done a better job of communicating with us, and I feel like we were just kind of caught off guard, but they had nothing to do with my decision.” he said.

Public Works is the third largest division in the City of Memphis government and oversees the City’s infrastructure, including the state of city streets, sewers, and bridges.

Knecht’s last day on the job is July 26.

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