National Public Works Week - May 15-21

They are the people who work behind the scenes, maintaining the infrastructure that is vital to the community. But what they do is relatively unknown to the public. That’s where National Public Works Week comes in, a time when Public Works departments from across the nation educate the public on the importance of public works and the daily tasks of the staff. This year, the week runs from May 15-21.

As the City’s largest department, the Public Works & Utilities Department operates and maintains nearly all of the City’s infrastructure while also providing many of the City services that residents use on a daily basis.

Public Works staff is sort of the unseen heroes of the community in a lot of ways. Their staff is what makes the department as effective as it is. Staff is on call 24/7 monitoring areas such as the drinking water system, traffic issues, sewer and more. Staff is very committed and is completely willing to do whatever it takes to go the extra mile to get everything done.

Public Works staff IS who fixes the potholes, removes graffiti, sweeps the streets, keeps the water flowing, collects and treats the sewage, repairs street lights, builds nature trails, maintains the fire engines and police cars, plans and builds streets and bridges, and empties the garbage and recycle carts. The Public Works and Utilities Department staff works hard to provide these and other essential services to our residents and businesses.

The Public Works & Utilities Department operates and maintains the City’s regional potable water system, the sanitary and storm sewer systems, the wastewater treatment and water recycling plant, the collection of garbage and recyclables from City residents and businesses through curbside collection and the Harvest Drive Public Drop-Off Center all while ensuring that the City complies with all regulatory requirements and helping to advance the City’s sustainability goals.

The Public Works and Utilities Engineering Division designs and oversees construction of many of the City’s road and utilities projects, and also manages the City’s traffic. The Environmental Education Division operates the Environmental Science Workshop and the Ramsay Park Nature Center and provides classroom education and related field trips to our community schools to teach water conservation, recycling, and watershed management.

The Department staff takes great pride in providing services to our community in an efficient and cost-effective manner while also providing excellent customer service.