City of Milton-Freewater

Dave is our Public Works Superintendent and is responsible for overseeing the day to day operations of the majority of our city utility services---water, sewer, solid waste, streets and stormwater. He also oversees the parks and recreational programs as well as the public buildings maintenance programs.

Dave has been with the city for 22 years---all of which have been served in the public works utilities. He was promoted to lead the department in 2006.

As you can guess from the list of Dave’s duties, he is a very busy person even on a “regular year” at work.

However, this year has been FAR from regular for city public works projects. We have four major street transportation improvement projects, totaling over $3 million dollars nearing completion, many of which were being constructed concurrently. As if that wasn’t enough to drive a PW Superintendent over the edge, Dave has also been overseeing a massive upgrade of our water meter system to an automated, state of the art Smart Grid system. 

Dave has done a tremendous job keeping track of all these jobs and never missing a beat or failing to keep his sense of humor and positive attitude. He has represented the city in a very positive light and has saved the city a huge amount of money in managing the jobs so closely and carefully.

Jeremy Morris, of Anderson Perry and Associates, the engineering firm for the street improvement projects, made this remark to City Manager Hall: “Dave Bradshaw and Brian Steadman have both been a big help and very responsive for the day to day construction decisions. Some days we talk to each other multiple times a day on the phone….sometimes 8 or 10 times a day. It is great to have such an open communication line with the City. In addition, the City having such knowledgable and responsive, caring staff has probably made the biggest positive impact on how the projects are going. It is rare that we have these types of staff members to work with, and that alone can make projects and coordination much more challenging and time consuming.”

So for all this and more, thank you very much Dave for your hard work, above and beyond efforts and for taking such pride in your work.

Lili has worked in our library as an Associate since July of 2003. Lili gives excellent customer service and has a wide variety of skills that are enjoyed by many patrons of the library. Thank you for your service and teamwork Lili and congratulations on being the July 2011 Employee of the Month!

Recently, our City Manager received the following email from citizens Cheryl and Skip York:

“I just wanted to share with you how much we appreciate the quick response we received from the city this week when we had a wire on the outside of our home spray out a few very large electrical sparks. Rick Rambo was there in minutes and fixed the problem immediately. I had just happened to take something out to our garage at the right time to notice the dangerous problem. I cannot tell you how grateful Skip and I were to see Rick! Mike (Charlo), your department deserves huge kudos for the work they do at any hour of the day or night. Linda (Hall), once again, I cannot express what a great staff you have. THANK YOU!”

Rick Rambo is the working foreman for our electrical line crew and has been with the city for 27 years next month. Rick is not only a wonderful foreman for this hardworking and dedicated electric line crew, he also volunteers in many aspects in the community.

Congratulations Rick!

              The City is most grateful when we hear about our employees doing good deeds and going the second mile.  We live in a world where we hear such phrases as “that’s not my job” or “that’s not in my job description”.  But our City employees think differently.  When help is needed, help arrives and is freely given.  Whether help is needed between staff and departments, or whether help is needed in the community, our employees step up to the plate.  But it’s always good to know about these individual acts and we became aware of one such act involving two of our staff.

A local couple, Keith and Arlene Bubar, were out and about attending doctor appointments.  After returning home, Arlene was struggling to climb the long flight of stairs back into their home when she lost her footing, fell and was unable to get back up.  Keith was unable to get her back up from where she had fallen, so both were upset and wondering what in the world they could possibly do when a city truck passed their home and stopped to offer assistance.  Dan Verkist and Shane Wright, both Utility Workers in the Public Works department, not only assisted Arlene back to her feet, but also assisted and ensured Arlene and Keith were both safely up the stairs and back into their home. 

            Keith and Arlene, along with their son and daughter-in-law, Kevin and Laurie, all want to express their thanks and gratitude to both of these wonderful, outstanding people for stopping and assisting in a time of need.

            Congratulations!