Oak Harbor public works supervisors outline staffing, projects and system capacities

Public Works Director Steve Schueller and division supervisors presented Oak Harbor’s Public Works annual report at the City Council workshop on Sept. 23, detailing staff responsibilities, system sizes, recent hires and near-term infrastructure projects.

The presentation matters because public-works operations—streets, water, wastewater, stormwater, fleet and solid waste—support daily safety, public health and development growth. Schueller opened by describing Public Works as “the quiet beauty of service,” and supervisors then summarized operational metrics, staffing changes and projects that affect neighborhoods and city operations.

Sandra Place, administration manager, outlined recent facility work and compliance activity, saying she has “had the privilege of serving the city of Oak Harbor for 28 years.” Brad Von Hayden, operations foreman for wastewater collections and storm drains, said his team manages 12 sewer lift stations, about 70 miles of sewer line, roughly 6,200 service connections and about 1,500 sewer manholes. Jack Robinson, who works at the clean water facility, said the plant treats a daily average of about 2,000,000 gallons and produces a Class A biosolid product used by local golf courses and farmers. Bridal Sullivan described stormwater compliance duties tied to Washington State Department of Ecology permits and work inspecting roughly 404 stormwater systems, about 13 miles of ditches and 80 fats/oils/grease source-control elements.

Ken Riley, equipment rental maintenance foreman, said the city fleet is approximately 250 vehicles and heavy equipment; Riley noted the crew recently added a third mechanic, nicknamed Nick, because of fleet growth. Chris Price and Jimmy Gordon summarized water and streets priorities including an Olympic View crosswalk safety improvement, a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system upgrade, Southwest Lopez Drive and Southeast Fort Glencoe water-main replacements, and a planned Well 9 replacement. George Place said the solid-waste team handles residential recycling and yard-waste collection, commercial dumpsters, special events and hard-to-handle-item pickup and currently manages seven employees.

The department also highlighted program and administrative items: roof restorations and facility office improvements, electric vehicle charging upgrades, continued work on the water comprehensive plan, advisory-board revisions, and an upcoming major Microsoft software and hardware upgrade (roughly 100 computers). Schueller introduced new staff including front-office personnel Ryan Kinker and Katie Lewis and a new senior utility engineer, Andy Walsh.

Council members praised the department’s presentations. Council member Romero said he “cannot speak strongly enough about the importance of public works for our community,” and Council member Stuckey thanked staff for their accessibility and said, “It's nice to get the FaceTime.” Council members also raised questions about tree canopy, the role of an arborist, and balancing landscape requirements with higher-density housing; staff said the city’s arborist role addresses specific Garry Oak protections and helps expedite technical reviews.

No formal actions or votes were taken; the presentation served as an informational update. Staff reported recruitments are in progress for positions including a community-development (formerly Development Services) director and that they have selected a candidate for streets foreman who could not attend the workshop. The Public Works organization chart included in the meeting packet showed a substantial share of positions (the packet described roughly 60%) were hired or promoted in the last few years.

Council members thanked the Public Works team for the presentation and for the day-to-day services the department provides to the community.