BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

POTSDAM — The village’s summer public works projects schedule is moving along at pace, said Village Department of Public Works Supervisor Greg Thompson.

“We’ve been extremely busy over the course of the last few months,” Thompson told the village board at their meeting July 15. “We came into our normal construction season with a very ambitious agenda to say the least.”

“I’m happy to say that at this time we are beginning to see positive progress being made,” Thompson said.

The supervisor said the village should be able to complete all of the projects on the list prior to the end of the building season.

Thompson said recent projects include construction of the batting cages at Sandstoner Park, the ongoing installation of the new parking signs throughout the village, and the start of construction of about 750 feet of sidewalk on outer Main Street.

The DPW is also engaged in painting of parking spaces, stripes and street curbs.

Milling and paving on Pine Street, May Road, Main Street and Canal Street was also on the docket for the DPW.

“I know there have been comments from people who have hit manhole covers. I apologize, we are trying to get orange paint on them so they are more visible,” Thompson said.

He said the problem the DPW faces is that some streets have to be milled before they can be painted in order to maintain a “curb reveal.”

“And we have to take the milling machine when we can get it, and a lot of times that’s somewhat earlier than we can pave,” Thompson said. “Our apologies if its been an inconvenience to anyone.”

In addition to the street work, the DPW is also conducting ongoing brush pickup, park and airport upkeep, point and patchwork on the facade of the civic center, and dealing with multiple water main breaks earlier this season.

Thompson said the crews have also taken down five trees that were in various states of degradation, prepped Sandstoner Park for the summer, assisted (when necessary) the firm charged with testing the lead service laterals, and installed the kayak/canoe launch in Ives Park.

The village’s DPW crews also take care of street sweeping, sewer system maintenance, needed repairs and renovations at the municipal buildings, and pothole patching.

“And honestly, that’s not even everything. As you can easily see there is a lot more to our DPW than paving roads and plowing snow,” Thompson said.

“Our crews work extremely hard and we take a lot of pride in the upkeep and the care we give the village of Potsdam,” Thompson said. “No matter if its 20 below or a 100 degrees, snow, ice or extreme sun, my guys are out there and they are getting the job done.”

“It’s been a tough year with the resignations and retirements of several longtime employees, and the looming reality of several more we believe will be leaving in the near future. As we move forward I would ask the board to be patient and understanding. Many of these projects cannot be completed overnight and when we are expected to work on several at one time that just complicates matters for all of us,” Thompson said.

“We are very fortunate to have the crew we have and I’m very confident we will complete that long list of ‘to do,’” the supervisor said.