Hodgkins breaks ground on new public works building

By Carol McGowan

The Village of Hodgkins is getting ready to welcome a new public works office building at its facility off of 67th Street, east of East Avenue.

Village officials and public works employees gathered last month for a groundbreaking.

Hodgkins Mayor Ernest Millsap explained the history behind the Paul G. Struve Public Works Building.

“Fifteen years ago, when we still had Paul Struve with us, we named this building after him,” Millsap said. “Paul had been a trustee since 1985. He was a lifelong resident of Hodgkins with a line of relatives as far back as our founding in the late 1800s. Paul was the Chairman of the Public Works Committee for much of his time as trustee.

“He himself was the epitome of what we wanted for the Public Works Department. He was a hardworking guy who was dedicated to making sure the residents of Hodgkins knew that after a snow storm they could get a clean ride out of their driveway and get back in after a hard day of work. He contributed to the financial success of the village and made certain that Public Works grew with more dedicated employees and equipment that give our residents street sweepers to clean streets, leaf blowing in the fall, curbside pickup of trash, and Lake Michigan water at reasonable prices and immediate repair when, or if any leaks arise.”

Millsap went on the thank the entire department for maintaining the high level of competency that Struve started many years ago.

Struve passed away in 2022. He was a Village of Hodgkins trustee for 37 years.

Hodgkins Public Works Superintendent, Jody Kovel, explained that the new building will be updated, and the current garage itself will stay.

“A new office building will be constructed at the site, and it’ll be attached to the current Public Works garage. The previous office was demolished in March. The new construction is for office space only, there will not be any changes to the current garage. A temporary office has been built in one of our garage bays to conduct our normal day to day operations. Our new office will have new updated facilities, which will include bathrooms, kitchen, and locker room.

“The new building will have offices for our team to run our day-to-day operations. The village garage is used for storing our equipment, performing regular maintenance and repairs on our vehicles and equipment.”

His department, which consists of Public Works, Water and the Building Department currently has 11 members and they’re busy year-round.

On a daily basis, they’re checking to pick up any bulk items and yard waste and also check every street for any debris.

During the winter, not only do they plow and salt so their roads are safe for residents, businesses, and scores of commuters who live, work and drive to shop in the village daily, but they also plow the driveways of their senior residents, and clear snow from all sidewalks in town.

“Our team also responds for severe weather cleanup, road blocks and anything needed to ensure our Village and residents are safe,” he said.