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Mill Creek public‑works directors detail 2025 maintenance, cite cost savings from in‑house work
Summary
Public Works highlighted 2025 accomplishments including expanded in‑house tree work, catch basin repairs, sidewalk panel replacements, street sweeping and encampment cleanups; presenters said shifting services in‑house saved time and money and improved quality and control.
City public‑works staff presented a year‑end report to the Mill Creek City Council on Feb. 3 that summarized maintenance work completed in 2025 and described savings from bringing services in‑house.
Keegan Possemrock, public works maintenance and operations (introduced by the director), summarized the department’s 2025 work: proactive tree trimming producing about 1,180 cubic yards of chip material (reported as roughly 896,000 pounds or 448 tons), removal of about 58 dead or diseased trees, eight collapsed catch basins repaired in‑house, 122 sidewalk panels replaced, and 1,728 lane miles swept with roughly 1.6 million pounds of material collected. The crew also completed 181 streetlight repairs, replaced 113 signs and posts and cleaned nine encampments with police offering resources to people encountered.
Council members asked for clarity on cost savings from doing work in‑house versus contracting. Possemrock estimated some catch‑basin repairs could run $12,000–$25,000 if contracted, and tree removals the city handled would likely have cost roughly $150,000 if performed by a contractor; overall, staff said moving select services in‑house yielded both cost savings and improved quality control and faster responsiveness.
Why it matters: public‑works operations are a major part of the city’s operating budget and capital plans. Councilors requested more data for public communication (for example, a web page that shows what work was achieved and associated cost savings) and asked staff to provide department comparables and the rationale behind staffing and mileage assumptions used in later annexation modeling.
Next steps: staff said they will bring a repair contract for raised sidewalk panels in 2026 and share additional cost‑comparison data; councilors asked that clearer documentation of cost‑savings estimates and cross‑city staffing comparables be provided at a future meeting.
