Onaway DPW begins the New Year in a new, larger facility

The crew of the Onaway Department of Public Works has a new home, with a lot more elbow room. When the new plow truck arrives later this year, they?ll have room to drive it in, and crews won?t have to park either of the two older trucks outside.

?It is nice to get in here and park the trucks. The trucks dry off and then we can work on them,? said foreman Clayton Dunn, who has worked for the DPW for 14 years. ?The big thing is that we are able to move around and work on stuff. We weren?t really able to work on our trucks. They would be parked side-by-side and you couldn?t walk in front of them.?

The office/breakroom is about as large as one of the bays in the old DPW building.

The old DPW property will be owned by Brewbaker?s Housing.

CITY MANAGER JOE HEFELE said this was a win/win project for the city.

?Relocating our public works department got that department into a building better suited to meet our needs in a more ideal location,? said Hefele. ?It got our DPW out of the center of the business district and allowed a neighboring business to grow and expand, bringing almost four acres and three buildings into the tax base in the process.?

Dunn and fellow workmate Pat Preseau, who has been on the city payroll with the DPW for 19 years, moved the equipment into the facility in mid-December. ?THE HARDEST part is getting used to an office,? said Dunn. ?We used to just sit in the garage. It?s nice to take phone calls in there, away from the noise.?

Hefele said it

is important to note that the $60,000 USDA Rural Development grant, matched by the proceeds of the sale of the existing public works property, made the project possible.

?We tried to proceed cautiously throughout the project, from the planning process through the release of the plans and bidding, and I believe it paid off with a great building our DPW can call home for many years to come,? said Hefele. ?Rural Development continues to assist Onaway tremendously as the City takes steps to improve upon an already-great community, and we continue to be extremely appreciative of their efforts on our behalf.?

Kenyon and Sons of Hillman was the contractor on the project, with the city commission releasing the final payment to the company at its December 19 meeting.

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