Department of Public Works

L-R Travis Chadd, Melissa Sonnek, George Hamand, Jared Eison

Director: Jared Eison
Public Works Clerk: Melissa Sonnek
Equipment Operator: Travis Chadd
Equipment Operator: George Hamand
Seasonal Road Tech: Vacant

Email: publicworks@houston-ak.gov

Hours: Monday – Friday 9-5

The City of Houston Public Works Department and its duties were established by Houston Municipal Code 2.26. Maintaining city accepted roads throughout the year is by far our biggest job function. Reviewing and issuing utility, driveway, and construction permits also takes a lot of time to make sure permits are issued in a timely manner and any conditions such as culverts, setbacks, and other potential items are addressed so they don’t create future problems for the citizens, landowner, or the city. We also maintain the facilities and code enforcement duties. We have almost a completely new crew as of fall 2023, except for our Equipment Operator Travis. We are organizing many aspects of the department to better serve the citizens of Houston. A lot of our equipment was either lacking, in disrepair, or not setup to fit our needs.  Our tentative goal is to have a multitude of these issues resolved by fall of 2024. We also instituted a new snow removal plan that reduces backtracking and lots of turnarounds so that it can be done more quickly and efficiently than some of the previous methods. The basic concept of this strategy will be applied to road grading after being modified to include more frequent grading of the main roads.

We are delighted to announce that all of our full-time positions are currently staffed. We now have two equipment operators to maintain the eighty miles of road within the city. These two operators are responsible for the entirety of the snow removal during the winter. Many of the road widths require multiple passes which effectively doubles the mileage. Snow clearing can be a monumental task at times, but the crew is willing to jump in and get the job done. Both operators are exceptional and have many years of heavy equipment experience. Equipment, building, and vehicle maintenance is another part of their regular duties, so they wear many hats.

The Public Works Clerk will be answering the phone when you call City Hall. The Clerk handles all of the permit applications (Utility, Driveway, and Construction) that are received along with greeting and interacting with the public when they visit City Hall. The Clerk also attends Planning and Zoning Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, and City Council meetings as needed. Our current Clerk is also writing grant applications and applying for grants that will improve the infrastructure for Houston residents, as well as grants that will enable us to better serve our citizens. We are also utilizing her skillset to create systems to more efficiently track permits and other paperwork to ensure faster service to the public. 

The Public Works Director manages the department personnel, budget, equipment, and building maintenance. The Director also reviews all utility, driveway, and building permits, conducts initial site inspections, and final inspections. The Director schedules the work load and day to day operations of road repairs or snow removal is a major part of the job. Keeping up on all the gas, diesel, and other purchases is another part of the director’s job. The Director also work’s to free up as much field time as possible for the equipment operators so they are able to perform their jobs rather than being bogged down with paperwork in the office. The current Director was a heavy equipment operator and a class-A truck driver so he assists the equipment operators when needed. The Director acts as the Code Enforcement Officer for the City and can issue citations when needed to correct violations.

Currently Public Works is also handling many aspects of the parks, in addition to their regular duties, as they are not currently staffed other than a seasonal campground host at the Little Su Campground.

HMC 2.26.06 Duties [Public Works]
The duties of the Public Works Department shall include supervision and responsibility of:

1. Road maintenance;
2. Utility permits;
3. Driveway permits;
4. Construction permits;
5. Maintenance, custodial services, repair, minor construction renovation and upkeep of all rolling stock, buildings, and lands; and
6. Other duties as assigned by the Mayor. (Ord. 09-20 § 4, 2009)

We had the opportunity for some quick fun during a group photo. We're not your typical stoic government workers and we are here to serve the Houston residents with a smile.




2023 Road Grader


2007 5-Yard Dump Truck with Snowplow


Clearing snow along the roadways


Winter Maintenance 



Loading Roadway Sand


Roscoe, our little winter time helper.