Public works director details staffing, water and streets workload, lead‑service inventory and ash‑tree grant

Public Works Director Rob (first name used in the meeting) gave the City Council a comprehensive department update covering staffing, daily operations and several multi‑year compliance projects.

Rob said the department now has 10 regular positions (including one mechanic) and hires 5–6 seasonal workers in summer. He described an on‑call rotation for after‑hours coverage and said he and Public Works Supervisor Randy are frequently available for emergencies.

On streets and pavement management, Rob described an annual pavement rating process used with the city engineer (WSB) to prioritize projects. He said the department averages about “4 to 500 tons” of asphalt for patching annually and that the city uses a prioritized approach in spring to concentrate on the largest potholes first before returning later for additional patching.

Rob outlined snow‑plow staffing and routes: the city uses four large truck routes divided into quadrants and typically teams two trucks on main roads; he said clearing main roads can take about 1 hour 45 minutes and that a townwide average event can be cleared in six to seven hours “barring no breakdowns.” For downtown snow removal the city uses skid steers and loaders and sometimes leases additional equipment to manage piling and hauling as development reduces available space to pile snow.

On water, Rob said the city maintains “about 4,800 water meters” and that the current meters — installed roughly 15 years ago — are approaching the end of expected life; commercial meters were noted as a 10‑year life and are beginning to fail. He said meter replacements will be a multi‑year effort. Rob also discussed the federally mandated lead service line inventory. He said the city submitted an inventory and has “about 1,400 reports” where at least one side of a service line is known; of those reported, he said the city has identified 38 known lead service lines and another roughly 60–65 galvanized lines that fall into the inventory’s lead category. Rob said grant funding will be available to replace lines but that the scope and pace of replacements remain a work in progress.

On sanitary sewer, Rob reported roughly “47 miles of sanitary sewer lines” and four lift stations; the city is using a contractor to camera pipes and collect mapping data to better plan repairs and replacements. On stormwater, Rob said watershed district rules increasingly require upsizing ponds and storm lines when roads are reconstructed, adding cost to street projects.

Rob summarized forestry work tied to emerald ash borer (EAB): he described a $400,000 grant the city received, with $300,000 for boulevard trees and $100,000 allocated for residential trees. He said the residential portion was fully spent and that the city removed private trees through the program and planted replacements; Rob said approximately 90 boulevard trees were removed and replaced under the grant and that the grant reimbursements are paid on progress with a 10% holdback until project completion. He said the original EAB plan identified about 1,500 ash trees needing attention across the city and that work remains ongoing.

Rob and staff said the department’s principal near‑term constraints are staffing levels, an aging vehicle and equipment fleet (about 200 items tracked), contractor availability for specialty work, and the need to schedule major pipe and road work considering watershed requirements. He invited councilors to tour public works facilities for a detailed view of operations.