Without a city engineer, Clayton Dimmick, director of highways, parks and water distribution, said he has to fit rating the streets for the upcoming paving season into his already tight schedule.
Dimmick was responding to a question from Alderman-at-Large Kevin Kirchberger during the year’s first meeting of the city’s Highways, Parks and Water Distribution Committee on Monday.
Mayor John Lombardi III said he had no plans to fill the position of city engineer and had converted the role into a manager of special projects position that has been filled. Lombardi said the new position assists Dimmick.
Lombardi said the city entered into an engineering contract with Nussbaumer and Clarke Inc. for 2026, which includes proactive engineering planning and street engineering.
Last year’s street ratings performed by John Donnelly, then city engineer, will be the starting point for this year’s paving list, Lombardi said.
Dimmick said the nine water line breaks the city experienced in January were typical, with six or seven leaks last year. Two breaks at Carolina Street and Hamilton Street were being fixed, Dimmick said.
Concerning potholes, Dimmick said the year was already off to a bad start due to the heavy snows.
As temperatures eventually warm, Dimmick said, “It’s going to thaw and freeze at night, and (the asphalt) is all going to pop. You think last year was bad, this year will be real bad.”
Sidewalks remain thick with snow in much of the city, due to the rapid accumulation last week. Lombardi clarified at last week’s Common Council meeting that property owners are responsible for clearing snow from sidewalks and around fire hydrants.
In an interview, Jason Dool, the city’s chief building inspector, said sidewalk clearing is enforced in a similar manner as grass cutting.
“We go out, we leave a notice, we mail a letter,” Dool said. “The property owner has five days. If they don’t clear it, we send a service over there and bill the homeowner. We don’t have the ability to ticket or set a fine. We usually try to start around the schools and react to any complaints that we receive. Typically, if someone makes some kind of effort, that’s OK. It’s when it’s 1 ½ to 2 feet high, those are the places we go to first.”
Dool said a bill for sidewalk clearing includes a $150 administrative fee that was established by the Common Council.
Kirchberger said public Highways, Parks and Water Distribution Committee meetings will occur on the first Monday of each month at 2 p.m. in the back conference room of city hall to review the city’s infrastructure needs and work performed.
In addition, Marcus Wyche, 2nd Ward alderman, said that the Water and Sewer Committee, which he chairs, will meet on the first Monday of each month at 3:30 p.m. in the back conference room of city hall.