Milford Seeks New Public Works Head

With about 250 centerline miles of road in Milford – and nearly 1,000 streets – the city’s department of public works is “a very busy department,” says Mayor Ben Blake.

Bruce Kolwitz, the former director of the department, retired Nov. 1 after more than 20 years at the post.

To temporarily fill the vacancy while the city looks to hire a permanent replacement, Blake appointed longtime highway and parks division foreman Rich Tomasco to serve as acting director.

“It’s a difficult position,” said Blake, adding that with more than 150 employees, the department is one of the largest in the city.

The public works director oversees such divisions as wastewater, engineering, and highway and parks, which is where the responsibility of plowing falls. As winter lingers, Blake is confident Tomasco, who came from the latter division, will handle the business of plowing well.

As far as prospective candidates for the full-time gig, Blake, who will make the eventual appointment, said “familiarity with the city” is a preferred quality.

“Bruce certainly knew Milford very well,” Blake said of the former director who started under Mayor Frederick Lisman. But the city is accepting both in-house and outside applications, he added.

Blake said the next public works director will tackle many drainage projects in 2014.

"There are a lot of drainage issues in a lot of sensitive areas," the mayor said.

The deadline to apply for the position is Dec. 20. The compensation is listed as $87,871 to $102,698. For more information, including specific qualifications and details on the opening, see the attached PDF in the photo gallery of this article.