Skills and Talent:
All employees are multi-skilled over a diverse range of duties and responsibilities. They are outstanding mechanics, equipment operators, welders, and fabricators, with hands on knowledge of roadway construction and street maintenance. Several employees hold Pennsylvania State inspection licenses and they all regularly attend training courses related to Highway Department operations to stay abreast and current of new work methods and changing technologies.
Department Responsibilities:
Employees perform routine and emergency street maintenance, repair storm drains and inlets, repair potholes and large area roadway repairs. Crews perform new construction of storm sewers and inlets and assist in all roadway reconstruction. They maintain the municipal trash containers and bins, maintain borough property, and service all Borough owned equipment and vehicles. Highway Department employees clean up vacant lots, board up vacant buildings and assist with cleanup at every Borough event. They install and maintain street signs, perform line and curb painting and work storm emergencies on a twenty-four call in basis. They plow snow in winter, perform curbside leaf collection in the fall and they are the “go to” personnel for most resident concerns or issues within Columbia Borough.
Summer Employment Opportunities
Each summer, the Public Services Department accepts applications from local college students who have an interest in summer employment with Columbia Borough. The responsibilities for summer hires range from curb painting to assisting the fulltime employees with sign replacement and street repair. The program runs from May through August and provides young adults with an excellent opportunity to gain experience in the field of Public Service.
Additional Duties: Yard Waste Program:
Working with DEP, the Highway Department established a yard waste program in 2003 that continues to grow and change. Several pieces of new equipment have made it possible to start a recycling program that turns unwanted debris into a highly valuable product. Crews have prepared the site at the Borough Farm on Blue Lane to begin processing and the site is now fully operational. Highway employees also maintain a drop-off facility at the Highway Department Shed that collects nearly 200 tons of tree limbs, grass clippings, shrubs, and other yard waste annually. The program expanded to include neighboring Boroughs in 2005. |
