09.e PW-Staff Report
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: 5/20/2025
For: Mayor and City Council
From: Charles Fischer – Director of Public Works
Subject: PW - Staff Report
Roads/ ROW
Public Works staff have been completing pot hole patching and removing fallen trees and branches from
the ROW.
Shouldering material has been hauled in to the PW facility and staff will be working on filling low
shoulders over the next month.
Wood chips were offered for free to the public beginning in early May. The pile will continually be added
to until our stock pile is reduced.
PW has continued dead tree removals in the ROW, the trees are mixed species and not just ash trees.
Due to the overgrowth of trees in the ROW the weaker trees are succumbing to the conditions and dying
off naturally versus insect or pathogen pressures. The ash trees although are succumbing to the pressure
of the ash borer beetle and will be an issue for the foreseeable future. Public Works has observed a large
number of ash trees just outside of the City ROW and homeowners will need to address these trees.
Calcium Chloride was applied to the gravel roads on May 14th and 15th.
Parks
Our seasonal staff member has been busy catching up on mowing
The tennis/pickleball court project is scheduled to be substantially completed by the end of May. The
PRC is planning a grand opening in June.
Tree planting in the parks will take place around the City Hall parking lot this year to replace the infested
ash trees which had been removed over the winter. Quantity and type are still being determined based
on cost and available space. There will likely not be a one-one replacement but a healthy number of
trees will be planted.
Sewer
Public Works staff have responding to a number of residential sewer alarms within the Bliss
neighborhood. So far this spring three pumps have been replaced and failing control panel parts have
been repaired.
Sludge judging this spring has yielded a small number of tanks which require pumping this season. PW
will be pumping this year: 3 tanks in the AE (8 last year) and 18 in the Bliss (36 last year).
Buildings
The new cold storage building concrete floor and driveway were completed at the end of April/first week
of May. Staff will begin the moving process from the old building after May 26th which will have given the
new concrete time to cure for 28 day or more. Helke has starting taking measurements of the old
building and planning the removal process.
Public Works has been working with Xcel to bring power to the new storage building and place a new
pedestal meter in the park after the old building is removed. We plan to hook up the new building before
July of this year and have the power for the park completed before Taco Daze. The new power source to
the park area will be based on building removal timing and when Xcel can fit into this schedule. It may be
necessary for the food trucks to preemptively plan to use their own generators for the event.
Staff Training
Chuck has been in multiple week-long seminars and completing testing for the license’s he is required to
hold as a PW employee. PW has been short staffed for four out the last eight weeks due to the training
schedule for Chuck and other illness related time off.
Equipment
The John Deere tractor used for ditch mowing and brush clearing was returned to PW earlier this month
after a transmission repair and mowing equipment recall update which required the lift cylinder stroke
to be augmented to reduce stress on the booms. Mowing of the first five to seven feet of the ROW will
begin later in May or early June.