Corte Madera — The Town Council on Sept. 16 authorized hiring an additional senior maintenance worker to increase preventive maintenance of the town's sanitary sewer system, part of a broader push tied to the town's sewer master plan and recent capital work. The council voted unanimously.

Council action comes after staff warned that a portion of the gravity sewer system shows structural defects that require more frequent cleaning and monitoring to avoid backups and spills. "We need to closely monitor and clean these lines much more frequently to avoid backups and spills," Public Works interim director Chris Good told the council.

The nut graf: Staff said adding one certified senior maintenance worker will let the town run more in-house cleaning crews, reduce reliance on outside contractors and lower the long-term risk of sewer spills, fines and litigation while the town continues longer-term capital replacements.

Town Manager Adam Wolf and Public Works staff framed the hire as part of several steps taken since completion of the sanitary sewer master plan, including bond-funded capital projects and a recent reorganization that added a field supervisor and a deputy district manager. Chris Good said current maintenance staffing includes seven employees, but only three are fully certified to do sanitary sewer work; when any of those three are unavailable, the town's ability to maintain the system is limited.

Chris Good said the town expects operational benefits from a recently purchased Vactor cleaning truck because the equipment is operated by two-person teams; a fourth certified staff member would allow two concurrent in-house teams and substantially increase annual cleaning throughput. Staff estimated the fully burdened annual cost of the new position at roughly $101,000 to $121,200 depending on starting step. Town staff said the position would be funded about 90% by Sanitary District 2 and roughly 10% by the town.

Councilmembers asked about recruitment and training. Good and Wolf said the hiring process will prioritize candidates with existing sanitary certifications but that the town will train promising candidates if necessary. Staff also said pension and OPEB costs were included in the position cost estimate.

Council members and the town manager also noted the long-term cost benefits of better maintenance as the town implements recommendations from the sewer master plan and continues major capital projects such as the Paradise Pump Station rehabilitation.

The council voted unanimously to approve creation and hiring for the position; the recorder shows votes of Council member Andrews, Council member Beckman, Council member Casiza, Vice Mayor Thomas and the Mayor in the affirmative.

Ending: Staff will proceed with recruitment and return any budget adjustments or required ordinance/budget items to the board as part of regular midyear updates, the town manager said.