Port Washington public works staff outlines street, water and wastewater projects and equipment purchases

Rob, a public works presenter for the City of Port Washington, gave a detailed report on the work of the city’s Department of Public Works on March 18, summarizing accomplishments from 2024 and projects and purchases planned for 2025.

The presentation covered the streets division, water and wastewater utilities, parks and forestry, the marina and engineering. Rob said the streets division has nine full‑time employees, maintains “approximately 58 miles of streets and highways,” and performs in‑house paving and crack‑filling that stretches larger project dollars. “We cleaned 400 catch basins annually. That’s part of our MS4 requirement,” he said.

The report noted several capital and maintenance highlights from 2024: in‑house construction of a pedestrian stair project, fabrication and painting of moorings at the Coal Dock, construction of boardwalks and the Heart of the Harbor project funded partly by a $40,000 coastal management grant and $230,000 in private contributions, and numerous alley and path repairs. Rob said the department completed about 19 miles of sanitary sewer cleaning and televised roughly 10 miles of sanitary sewer last year.

Water utility items included a new emergency generator paid in large part by an $850,000 Economic Development Administration grant, construction of a clear well and upgrades to pumps and controls in response to a Department of Natural Resources requirement, and a meter replacement program that the city intends to finish by 2028. “We pump an average of 1,160,000 gallons a day,” Rob said while reviewing water‑use trends.

Wastewater highlights included a new SCADA system, energy‑saving equipment that has produced revenue and operating savings, installation of grit classifiers and a ferrous chloride tank, and ongoing work on a roughly $14 million plant modernization expected to be substantially complete by October 2025.

Rob also described parks and urban forestry work led by John Crane and his team: the city now manages more than 15,000 street and park trees, maintains an in‑city tree nursery with over 600 trees, and plants between 300 and 500 trees in strong years. Rob said the city carries out emerald ash borer control in‑house and has received state DNR support for many tree purchases.

Engineering updates covered the annual street improvement program, ADA and streetscape projects supported by DOT grants and the city’s complete‑streets policy, and several grant‑funded harbor and lighthouse projects the city is pursuing or constructing.

Rob listed planned 2025 work including construction of the new Public Safety Building (the council later acted on a separate item on that project), a sanitary sewer relay contract for South Spring Street, library HVAC renovations paid with federal funds, continued phases of Lakeview and other street reconstructions, a municipal garage space needs study, and updates to municipal stormwater ordinances under a DNR nonpoint grant.

The presentation included equipment purchases planned for 2025 such as a new street sweeper (already purchased), a broom and bucket skid loader attachment, a forklift and a loader plow, and additional dump trucks to rotate the fleet. Rob also noted staff changes and retirements in the street division and said seasonal hiring will continue.

Why it matters: the report laid out near‑term capital work that affects day‑to‑day services (street sweeping, snow and ice management, sewer cleaning), longer‑term infrastructure investments (water and wastewater plant upgrades), and grant‑dependent projects that shape public access to the waterfront and parkland.

The council did not take formal action on the presentation itself; staff said they would return with additional details and follow‑up items such as the municipal garage needs analysis and the water system master plan.

Rob closed by inviting questions; none were raised that changed the content of the report.