Without public works, the city would grind to a halt. They work behind the scenes but are essential to the city running smoothly. And the person in charge of facilitating all the work in the city is public works manager, Ian Irwin.
The crew of 13 does a variety of jobs, from operating equipment, dealing with utilities (water and sewer issues), and fixing pretty much any problem that comes up.
“We’re sort of a jack of all trades,” Irwin said.
As manager, Irwin has to have more communication skills since he has to liaison with the city and the general public.
“You do end up talking to a lot of people,” he said. “I did realize I would have to step up my communications game. There was going to be more interaction with people.”
Unfortunately, some of that interaction includes criticism from the public, which Irwin said is common.
“For the most part, we hear about it, it’s not personal,” he said. “It’s not directed toward us. The best thing to do there is to listen to it, take what you can from it, and try to sort out the issue. If you’re talking directly to the person you listen, try to figure out what the issue is, and show them that you are going to look at it and get back to them, and hopefully alleviate any concerns that they may have.”
Irwin originally got into municipal work out of necessity: he needed to pick up a job, and initially worked as a skilled labourer. He moved into working with utilities (water and sewer) and then got the manager position here in Humboldt.
“My favourite thing about my job is dealing with issues,” he said. Maybe I’m a little sick when I say this, but I enjoy problem solving. So when an issue comes up, I do actually enjoy figuring out what the issue is, figuring out the solution, and getting it done. And the satisfaction you get afterwards from sorting it out.”
Now that it’s getting warmer, it’s heading into the busy season for public works. A lot of their job is responding to problems that pop up, but they also have regular maintenance that they do. Now that it’s warm, public works is getting ready to troubleshoot and repair any issues with water valves and storm drain systems. As well, they are going to locate leaks in old pipes and repair them, as well as flush the water lines.
“I get to be outside. I’m not stuck in an office all the time,” he said. “We tackle a wide range of issues, so we’re not stuck dealing with the same issue day in and day out. There’s a good variety of things we deal with. There’s always something new, whether it be in regards to upgrades we’re planning on doing in regards to infrastructure, and problems we run into day to day. There’s always something new to wrap your head around.”
The staff members work normal business hours but take turns being on call. Public works should be called when citizens see water or sewer issues, as well as issues with the streets.
“It can be almost anything we get calls on,” he said.
Since they have to deal with pretty much anything, not all their jobs are pretty. They do maintenance to six different sewer lift stations, and when things go wrong there, it can get dirty.
“If there are issues with the sewer lines, it’s mucky and dirty, and the line you’re dealing with unfortunately has some nasty things running through it,” he said.
With all the things he has to do, his standout moment from the job is when he first started last March. It was right in the middle of the spring thaw, so he was put right in the middle of the busiest time of year.
“Right after I was hired I stepped right in the middle of spring thaw and all the drainage issues we were having,” he said. “The community that I came from had very little drainage issues due to the topography. So it was quite a quick and sharp learning curve to be thrust into, but the guys here were pretty good and they got me into gear so we could look after it.”
He said that generally, people have an idea of what public works does, but there is one thing he wants people to know.
“Sometimes the job looks and sounds easy,” he said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t always pan out that way, and we usually are doing the best we can with the situation that we’re in.”
