City Appoints Dave Stoneback as Public Works Agency Director

Dave Stoneback, a former City of Evanston Utilities Department Director and Water Superintendent, has been appointed as the city’s first director of the newly-formed Public Works Agency.

According to an email City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz sent to city staff Tuesday, Stoneback will lead the newly created agency responsible for water treatment, infrastructure maintenance, engineering, capital planning, refuse, recycling and forestry services. He will work to complete the reorganization of the City’s public works operations into four bureaus by the end of 2015.

The city’s Public Works Agency recently formed as a merger of the Public Works and Utilities departments.

“Dave Stoneback brings a unique mix of engineering, management and infrastructure experience to this new position,” said Bobkiewicz. “He is the right person to lead the City’s public works operations as we begin a new chapter in our service to the residents of Evanston.”

Stoneback has worked for the city since 1985 and has served as the primary architect of the City’s Long Range Sewer Improvement Program, the largest public works project ever undertaken by the City and, according to Bobkiewicz, “dramatically improved the lives of the residents, virtually eliminating property damage due to backups in the City’s sewer system, which used to happen several times a year.”

Bobkiewicz said Stoneback has “also been instrumental in dramatically reducing the City’s energy costs through long-term contracts and in improving the City’s relationships with ComEd and Nicor.”