Lake Stevens public works cites APWA accreditation, big year of repairs and grants in 2024

Lake Stevens Public Works presented its 2024 annual report to the City Council on Feb. 11, reporting accreditation from the American Public Works Association, roughly 8,475 completed work orders during 2024 and a $900,000 grant for watershed and stormwater work.

The report, presented by Public Works Analyst Laurie Erickson, highlighted the department’s accreditation as 1 of 7 agencies in Washington with APWA accreditation and among about 200 nationwide. Erickson told council members the department had tracked about 1,000 public service requests and completed 8,475 work orders across operations, facilities, stormwater and streets teams in 2024.

Why it matters: the report packages operational productivity, new data from an asset-management system and external funding that the city says will underpin capital and environmental projects in coming years. Council members praised what they said was visible day-to-day work and rising lake clarity.

Key figures and projects from the presentation included: about 260 staff hours and roughly $11,000 expended responding to a November 19 “bomb cyclone” storm; the operations division completing 8,475 total work orders; the facilities team completing 1,872 work orders; the stormwater team completing 5,298 work orders and cleaning 833 catch basins; and the streets team completing 1,305 work orders, replacing 18 school-zone flashing signs, installing or repairing about 300 signs, mowing 236 miles of roadside shoulder and installing 14 new or updated crosswalks. Public Works also reported 2.5 miles of roadway repaved and roughly 3,000 feet of new sidewalk along 90 First Avenue SE.

Erickson said the environmental team secured a $900,000 grant to support comprehensive watershed planning, a stormwater infrastructure condition inventory and continued property acquisition for wetland restoration. The stormwater pipe condition assessment inspected miles of pipe and identified 326 deficiencies requiring repair. Erickson also pointed to what she called an encouraging ecological indicator: “the Lake Clarity is the deepest that it’s been in 10 years,” and credited outreach, maintenance and restoration work.

Operations Manager Curtis Clifton credited a new asset-management system for tracking the workload. "2024 was our first full year of using this asset management system, and I think with these numbers, it proves how valuable it's been," Clifton said.

Public Works Director Aaron Halferson also praised staff performance and encouraged residents to use project QR codes in the report to submit service requests and follow capital projects online. The report’s public-facing materials include references to the CitizenView app for service requests and a QR code linking to project pages in a platform staff called Zen City.

Council members commended staff during discussion. One council member noted a human-interest detail in the packet—a pair of rescued ducklings—and said the anecdote helped communicate the department’s work to residents.

The department also reported work on the Bayview Connector Trail first phase, including about 2,800 feet of paved trail, two parking lots and two dog parks. Staff said more detailed project pages and the full annual report will be posted on the Public Works website and that the QR codes in the packet will link residents to those pages and to service-request forms.

The council did not take formal action on the report; it was a departmental presentation and informational update.

The Public Works team said it will continue to use the asset-management system to set performance targets and to prioritize repairs identified in the stormwater pipe assessment.