The week of May 17-23, 2020 is National Public Works Week. During this week we recognize Sheboygan’s Department of Public Works staff along with the American Public Works Association with over 29,000 members who promote and educate the general public about the value and necessities of public works projects throughout the area. The Sheboygan DPW includes the Streets and Sanitation Department, Parks and Forestry, Engineering Department, Waste Water Treatment Facility, City Electrician, Garbage, Buildings and Grounds, Sign Department and Wildwood Cemetery.
When you think of Sheboygan City government, public works is not the first thing that comes to mind. But, public works is one of the most important city functions and has a direct impact of a community’s quality of life. Without public works, life would be nearly impossible. Think of your typical day without public works. You get up in the morning and find there is no running water. The sewer has backed-up into your basement. Garbage is piling up since no one is available to collect the refuse. You back out of your driveway onto the street to find that it is nearly impassable due to snow or mud since streets would not be paved. If you do make it through the snow or mud, you will not get very far because traffic is gridlocked due to there being no traffic control. At night there would be no street lights. Parks would be nonexistent due to development and streets would not be lined with trees or have sidewalks. Overall, life would be challenging.
Fortunately, the City of Sheboygan has a public works department and is staffed with qualified professionals and dedicated employees that everyday make Sheboygan a desirable place to live. The Department of Public Works has six divisions: Administration, Engineering, Streets and Sanitation, Buildings/Grounds and Electrical, Parks and Forestry, and Wastewater Treatment. In addition , there are also specialized positions of Surveyor, Mechanics, and office support staff.
Having a city of 14.5 square miles in size, the public works department is responsible for an incredible amount of assets:
- 200 miles of streets that need to be plowed, salted, and maintained
- 16 bridges
- 170 miles of sanitary sewer
- 102 miles of storm sewer
- 45 signalized intersections
- More than 15,000 signs
- 1,300 street lights
- 13,000 tons of garbage and 3,400 tons of recyclables collected annually
- garbage is collected every week at 16,000 homes
- 40 parks and open spaces with 734 acres of grass to cut
- 22,154 street trees (5,139 are Ash trees)
- 10.5 million gallons of sewage treated per day
Public Works – more than any other function of city government – influences the residents on a daily basis. Unfortunately, public works is often forgotten. Most of the attention public works receives is when something needs to be fixed or replaced. If everything is working and functioning as it should, nobody would notice the public works activities. Remember the size and scope of the entire city when an issue becomes apparent.
The everyday maintenance and routine work is not glamorous but it is vitally important. I am proud to recognize the hard working dedicated employees of the Department of Public Works as we celebrate National Public Works Week. Next time you see a DPW crew or worker, think about all of the things that need to be maintained and how life would be without public works. Take time to thank them for all their efforts to keep our city clean and beautiful. Thanks again to the Sheboygan Public Works Department staff.