As Donna LaScaleia prepares to depart as director of the Northampton Department of Public Works she has led for the last 10 years, I’d like to offer an appreciation of the work of that essential city department.

First, headlines that unfortunately you won’t likely see:

  • Northampton residents report “excellent” tasting faucet water
  • City’s tree warden helps homeowner save a valued old maple
  • A wintry Northampton awakes to 160 miles of plowed streets
  • Bedford Terrace residents pleased with new sidewalks
  • Cyclists report dangerous potholes filled
  • 3,300 acres of land around city reservoirs remain protected
  • City continues excellent stewardship of Connecticut River with clean discharges of wastewater and stormwater
  • Tons of city-collected compost delivered to area farms last week
  • No trash reported on downtown streets this morning
  • City levees prepared for flooding events
  • Bridge Street Cemetery mowed and trimmed
  • Fire Department reports plentiful hydrant water when battling home fire

The job of public works is to provide the infrastructure that allows everything else in a city like ours to happen — business operations, functioning households, schools and health centers, errands by car and bike, etc…

It’s the behind-the-scenes work that we take for granted. It’s not glamorous or sexy. It’s not studied by blue ribbon panels. Yet, it’s there for us, 24-7. All year long. Without missing a beat.

It happens because a smoothly functioning team of more than 100 DPW public servants make it happen. Water engineers, grounds crews, landfill staff, arborists, transportation engineers, equipment maintenance crews, water plant operators.

And for the last 10 years, sitting in the driver’s seat of this machine that keeps the city running, adjusting all the gears and levers as needed, has been Donna LaScaleia. She has earned the loyalty and respect of her department through hard work, commitment to excellence, and knowing when to use tough love and when to demand performance.

We’ll miss you, Director LaScaleia. Thank you for your years of dedicated service. We know the reliable, professional work of the valued employees of our DPW will continue.

Dennis Bidwell, former city councilor

Northampton