Public Works outlines pothole reporting options and immediate‑repair threshold

Jesse Rupseger, Public Works Office Manager, briefed the committee on how pothole reports are received and handled. He said the department is working toward a written standard operating procedure but currently consolidates reports from multiple channels onto an internal spreadsheet and sends them to the streets foreman for triage and repair.

"There are 4 ways to report. We have a request tracker on the city website. People can call by phone. They can email us, and they can show up in person," Jesse said, noting that the streets foreman typically responds same day or next day. He described the operational threshold for immediate repair: "if a pothole is 7 by 7 and 2 to 3 inches deep, they'll repair it immediately." Committee members raised that the staff memo listed three reporting methods; Jesse acknowledged the difference and said he would add the in‑person option explicitly to the SOP draft.

Why it matters: clearer reporting options and a documented SOP provide predictable response expectations for residents and help protect the city from safety claims. Staff also flagged questions about reporting damage outside of Middleton, noting their practice is to encourage residents to report directly to the municipality where the damage lies and to alert that municipality where possible.