Public Works gets new digs

The old saying that “the cobbler’s children go shoeless” is no longer true of Sonoma’s Public Works Department, which is settling into a new building – complete with functional bathrooms and heating.
“Now I can be happy,” joked Street Foreman Dean Merrill, a 19-year departmental veteran. “I feel like I’m in a castle.”
The new offices at the agency’s Eighth Street East corporation yard was constructed over 11 months at a cost of $864,000, said Sonoma Building Official Wayne Wirick. The yard itself was purchased by the city from Nicholas Turkey Farms in 1977, and an aerial photo from 1981 shows Public Works’ now-former quarters – a cramped, three-room structure whose shabby wood-paneling makes a striking contrast to the new space’s clean white walls and general airiness.
But the change is more than aesthetic – it’s organizational. The new headquarters feature dedicated offices for each sub-department: streets, water, parks and cemetery. There’s also a large conference room, a part-time office for the city engineer, and regular business hours of 8 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday.
“You don’t realize how confined you are until you move out,” said Public Works Director Milenka Bates, explaining that since each departmental supervisor now has his own telephone and computer space, “we’re able to be more efficient and serve the public.”
Maps and diagrams were still being hung on the walls Monday, but Bates said all should be ready for the public open-house during National Public Works Week (May 18–24).