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Fall is time for the Public Services Department to ramp up several of its construction projects before the impending winter which looms in the far distance. Work surrounding our annual road paving; sidewalk reconstruction throughout the Peninsula, sewer utility and separation work within the Fall Brook Watershed, and the long awaited W. Commercial Street Drainage and Street reconstruction improvements is all under way in various stages. The recent completion of the Cliff Island Barge landing combined with the Departments’ outstanding response to our entire islands tree and debris removal needs caused from the Patriots Day Storm is yet another example of our Customer Focus Mission in our City. The Department continues to have a strong role in traffic management while working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders including City Councilors, local residents and businesses, in addressing some of our most demanding issues facing our City. Key examples of addressing our on going mobility issues, includes , installing landscaped islands and lane markings along Washington Avenue Extension, Westbrook Street and soon to be along outer Forest Avenue in the Riverton Neighborhood area, between Warren Avenue and Riverside Street.
As we move into fall, the Department prepares for the upcoming winter season. Department personnel is busy preparing work shift schedule assignments, equipment readiness work and scheduling for equipment operational training and review to ensure we are as responsive as we can in meeting winter emergencies. Later fall, the Department will provide for the annual curbside bagged leaf collection service. This popular program will run from Monday, October 22 to Friday, November 16, 2007. Leaves must be in the large paper biodegradable leaf bags that can be purchased at most hardware stores.
If you have not visited our Riverside Recycling Center recently, I certainly encourage you to do so. Troy Moon, Solid Waste Manager, and members of the Solid Waste Team have moved the operations into a very efficient and effective operation for residents and commercial haulers needing to dispose of and recycling a wide range of construction and demolishing materials, yard wastes including leaves, grass and brush, universal wastes, such as TV’s and computers, old appliances and of recent, our new Saturday household hazardous waste drop off program, available to those Portland residents with new E-Cards for tracking material and volumes, and for a fee for outside Portland residents. Also for the fall, Riverside Recycling Facility will be open on Sundays. The dates that they are open are October 28, November 4, 11, 18, 2007.
Also, the Department will be sending the top Maine snow plow team to the American Public Works Association sponsored Western Snow and Ice Conference held in Estes Park Colorado. The team of Andre Provencher and Bruce Warner achieved the best overall rodeo score of any Maine plow team this past spring at the annual Highway Congress in Skowhegan. This team of employees will be traveling to Estes Park to compete in the National Plow Rodeo event later in September. Stay tuned for their results!
Very Truly Yours,
Michael J. Bobinsky
Director of Public Services
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