Norwood Public Works outlines 2024 accomplishments, $8.5M repair backlog and Montgomery Road projects

Clint Zimmerman, Superintendent of Public Works for the City of Norwood, delivered the department’s 2024 annual report to Norwood City Council on May 27, summarizing staffing, equipment, maintenance work and planned projects for 2025.

Zimmerman said the department consists of five functional teams — parks, streets, paint and signs, garage and water — staffed by 16 full‑time employees at the time of his report with an additional seasonal crew of four. “We do have an additional 4 seasonal employees brought up, in for the 12 weeks in total,” Zimmerman said.

The report listed routine responsibilities and 2024 accomplishments: maintenance of 12 parks and roughly 108 acres of turf; upkeep of about 60 miles of water main and roughly 6,500 service connections; snow and ice control; removal and trimming of trees in parks and right of way; and coordination on multiple reconstruction projects, including Smith Road and Lincoln Street. Zimmerman said the department collected roughly 1,800 cubic yards of leaves in 2024 and completed the consumer confidence report required by federal and state regulators.

Why it matters: Zimmerman highlighted several multi‑street reconstruction and water‑system projects set to continue in 2025 — the Montgomery Road Pedestrian Improvement Project (including a water main replacement north of Norwood Avenue), Elm Avenue sewer work, and a South Jefferson full‑depth reconstruction from Williams Avenue to Duck Creek that will include water main upgrades. Those projects will involve replacing aging water mains and coordinating stormwater and service‑line work.

Zimmerman described the department’s near‑term capital needs and assets: Norwood has four large dump trucks (two newer, two older) and other field equipment; an asphalt heated trailer is listed for replacement in the capital program; and a bobcat and utility gator were noted as recent helpful acquisitions. He estimated the city’s outstanding repair work at “roughly 8 and a half” million dollars.

Council members asked several detail questions during the presentation. Councilmember Susan Hoover asked whether the annual consumer confidence report is a federal requirement; Zimmerman answered, “Yes,” and later estimated printing and mailing the report at “probably around 6 to $8,000 total.” Councilmember John Moore asked about the SeeClickFix platform; Zimmerman said public adoption has increased and that the system helps the department track and target repairs, though patching sometimes requires returning to the same locations.

Zimmerman said the department is actively recruiting for an assistant superintendent to provide day‑to‑day field oversight and free the superintendent to manage large reconstruction projects. He described the assistant superintendent’s duties as supervising crews in the field, ensuring work quality and helping with requisitions and receipts so budget and audit trails are maintained.

Zimmerman also described upcoming regulatory and inspection events: an Ohio EPA triannual sanitary survey scheduled for June with Mariano Hensel identified as the Ohio EPA contact. He said the department completed an EPA requirement to inventory likely lead service line materials in all accounts and provided a public link to the health department listing for residents to confirm their addresses.

Council members and the mayor noted the extent of work ahead and thanked the public works crews. Zimmerman closed by inviting questions and said he expects to have the assistant superintendent onboarded in the coming weeks.

Looking ahead: The council will consider ordinances on water service‑line replacement and related reconstruction projects on Montgomery Road and Ralston Avenue (both referenced later on the agenda), and Zimmerman said department staffing and capital replacement will be priorities through the construction season.