Service Department

Some of the many tasks the Service Director is responsible for include…

• As the supervising authority for the City Building and Engineering Departments the Service Director is charged with the construction, improvement, repair and maintenance of streets, sidewalks, alleys, lanes, and bridges.
• As the supervising authority for the City Utilities departments, including Water Treatment, Waste Water Treatment and Water Billing, the Service Director is responsible for overseeing the operation, maintenance, repair and improvement of the water treatment plant, water distribution system, wastewater treatment plant, sanitary sewers, drains, ditches, culverts, streams, lakes, and watercourses.
• The Service Director also oversees the maintenance and upkeep of all City owned buildings and facilities which are dedicated to public use. The Service Director also works closely with the Mayor in many other areas involving the daily management of city facilities and resources.

Our Mission

To serve the residents and businesses in the community and insure that they receive prompt and courteous service in all matters dealing with public services, infrastructure, and in compliance with all related ordinances.

A message from
the Service Director

As Service Director for the City of Ravenna, I would like to welcome you to the City’s Service Department webpage and briefly highlight each department that is managed under the supervision of the Service Director.

Administrative Assistant: One full-time front desk assistant for the offices of both the Mayor and Service Director.

Street Department: The department is staffed with 12 FT operators, one FT mechanic and one FT utilities operator for water distribution. The residents of the city are provided many services throughout the year including free lawn and leaf bags for pick up and crews will deliver them during the bi-weekly pick-up cycle (the department’s curbside yard waste recycling program is second to none in Portage County), annual city-wide leaf pickup program and free compost/mulch giveaways during the summer months.

Of the approximately 100 lane miles of city streets, services include snowplowing, spot improvements and maintaining the city’s storm and sanitary sewer systems and street sweeping operations. The residents of the city are very fortunate to have this dedicated group of employees that perform these tasks each day of the year in all types of weather elements.

Wastewater Treatment Plant: The department is under the direct supervision of the facilities superintendent. With an upgrade of $4.7 million in 1992, the facility is designed to treat an average flow of 2.8 million gallons per day. We are proud to say that there haven’t been any EPA violations in the last year. In the last 5 years, all 3 clarifiers have been rebuilt and new roofs have been put on both the new and old administration buildings, the draw shack, the Diamond Street lift station and the plant’s press building. The Superintendent has been very successful at keeping the plant’s budget to what it has been for the last 15 years due to technology upgrades and staff reduction through attrition only.

Water Treatment Plant: Over the years as drinking water standards have increased, this in turn dictates the need to consistently improve our Water Plant facility to meet these new standards. Improvements made to the plant over the last several years include: new carbon feed system which helps to reduce taste and odor compounds, a clear well aeration system which reduces disinfection by-products, installation of a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA). The system consists of software and hardware elements that allows the operator to control processes locally or at remote locations to monitor, gather and process real time data. We are proud to say that the city has consistently maintained and/or replaced many processing equipment components in the plant that are required in order to provide safe drinking water. Our modern facility allows the staff to meet and/or exceed drinking water regulations, which has consistently provided safe drinking water to both residential and commercial customers.

Water Billing & Meter Department: The Utility Billing Department consists of a supervisor and (2) utility billing clerks. There is also a meter reader that reads meters each month, perform shutoffs as needed and other miscellaneous tasks as required. The Utility Billing Department staff and meter reader strive for excellent customer service. The Utility Billing Department has a new and improved online platform that offers more payment options and lets customers view even more information about their account than ever before.

Engineering/Building Departments: Our Engineering Dept.’s general duties include maintaining municipal separate storm sewer system compliant with the Ohio EPA; maintain a Class IV compost facility compliant with the Ohio EPA; commercial and residential site plan reviews; the design, construction and project management of the City’s annual paving program, the design, construction and project management of the City’s stormwater improvements program, supports other city departments and performs the inspection of residential storm, water and sewer lateral repairs. The Engineering Dept. continues to search for and apply for various grants to assist in funding various projects within the City of Ravenna.

The City’s Building Dept. is certified through the State of Ohio to operate as a code compliant building department and is responsible for following all Ohio building codes for both residential and commercial. This department reviews plans that are submitted for both zoning and building code, issues permits and inspects the work. Reports are generated on a yearly basis and submitted to the State. The Building Dept. is also responsible for maintaining the city’s rental list, inspecting rental units on a biennial basis, identifying and issuing property maintenance violations and following up on the those issues in a timely manner.

In closing, each and every department strives each and every day to bring the residents of the City of Ravenna, the best customer service possible.

Thank you,

Tim Contant
Service Director