Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Works Commissioner Intro topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
New public works commissioner outlines priorities: close response loops, digitize records, fix aging drainage
Summary
Phil Cicek, recently appointed commissioner of public works, introduced himself to the council, described immediate priorities — improving constituent response, digitizing records and addressing deferred maintenance such as corroded corrugated drainage pipe — and answered council questions.
Phil Cicek, the City of West Haven’s new commissioner of public works, made his first formal appearance before the council on May 27 and outlined operational priorities including improving response follow-up to resident complaints, digitizing departmental records and addressing aging infrastructure.
“I'm 27 days into the job, trying to learn as much as I can right off the hop,” Commissioner Cicek said. He told the council he is auditing work processes to “close a lot of circles” — meaning the department needs to do more follow-up to residents after work orders are completed — and that he has begun site visits: “I visited 6 properties today, and each 1 of them had said that they've been sitting for at least a year or not longer.”
Cicek described immediate capital and maintenance priorities that could be funded by the recently authorized LOSIP allocation, identifying examples such as a long run of corroded corrugated metal drainage pipe found ahead of planned milling and paving on Cherry Street. He said crews repaired a 20–25-foot section but that roughly 700 feet remains in similar condition and could be a candidate for repair if funds are available. He also noted small facility repairs — for example, a damaged bathhouse ceiling — that could be addressed with modest grant dollars.
Council members praised Cicek’s responsiveness to emails and constituent complaints. Councilman Gary Donovan said requests to Cicek have been “not only quick, but…extremely quick” in completion, and other council members complimented his prompt email replies outside normal hours. Cicek described his background in landscape architecture, municipal parks and public-works operations and said he recently completed a master’s degree in human resources with a thesis on reorganizing public-works departments.
Cicek told the council he supports digitizing engineering and permit records that currently exist largely on paper or microfilm and said the council’s willingness to fund hardware and digitization would help the department close outstanding records and make files accessible.
No formal council action was required for the introduction; commissioners and council members encouraged Cicek to return with project lists as funding decisions are made.
