New Othello Public Works Director says job requires attention to detail

OTHELLO — New Othello Public Works Director Robin Adolphsen said it’s her department’s job to make sure city services are running smoothly. That takes, she said, a lot of attention to detail. 

“Each of our departments has a different lead, and those guys I lean heavily on to do their job. So if there’s something going on in the streets (department) — there’s a pothole, the alleys need maintaining. We have some gravel roads; if those need maintained then my streets lead goes out and makes sure that he fixes and maintains them, and he lets me know what he needs from me,” she said. 

Add in the city’s water system, its sewer system, its parks and other infrastructure, and the public works department has a lot going on. Adolphsen was named as permanent public works director earlier this month, after taking over as the interim director in July. She was hired as Othello city engineer in April. 

Adolphsen said part of her job is to plan ahead. 

“If there’s something that happens with the day-to-day maintenance, the leads do a great job and they’re maintaining it,” she said. “But if there are capital improvement projects, then they bring those to me. I take them to the (Othello City Council) and request a budget. (If a request is approved) then I run the contracts.” 

The city engineer reviews public works requests, she said, and that’s one reason combining the two jobs was considered by city officials. 

“They really go hand in hand,” she said. “A lot of other cities have gone to having a singular public works-city engineer (position). It (helps) me know that my public works guys are being overworked, so don’t do quite so many capital projects that require their time. And budgets as well. There aren’t two people having to communicate and maintain a budget.” 

The city engineer is responsible for overseeing all the infrastructure, she said. 

“Any project that happens within the right of way, we have to have inspections done,” Adolphsen said. “Any new development, any (utility) connections. On the capital improvement side, all the projects that are going to need an engineer stamp, I have to review and run those contracts.”  

Othello has a lot of projects in the works, she said, some connected to the city’s growth, some that need updating.  

“Most of them are still in the preliminary phase but we’re looking ahead, so we have to start making decisions now for what we want those projects to look like,” she said. 

The city’s water plan requires an update, and city officials want to make sure there’s enough water available for new development. 

“Othello is in desperate need of more housing, so we need to make sure we have enough water for them,” she said.  

Part of that is a long-term plan to treat surface water from the East Columbia Irrigation District system to make it usable for consumption. Part of that is a project to add treated water to the city’s aquifer. City officials are working on the preliminary design of a recharge facility, Adolphsen said. 

A construction timeline is dependent on funding, she said, but city officials hope to have a facility within five years.  

The city’s sewer treatment facility has reached the point where it’s being studied to determine how it will accommodate growth, and city officials want to change where the treated water is discharged, she said. 

The facility plan should be completed by 2025, she said, and city officials tentatively are planning to start construction in 2026, although that timeline depends on funding.  

Then there’s the Othello Community Pool, which was closed last summer when severe damage was discovered. Some of that may be covered by the city’s insurance, so city officials are waiting for that review to be completed. 

A native of Sequim, Adolphsen said her interest in engineering dates back to high school and the need to start thinking about a career. 

“I was planning to be a (veterinarian),” she said. “I was headed down that road as a senior. Then I went and worked for a vet, and decided that was not my path.” 

A college counselor suggested her interest in math and science might make her a candidate for a career in engineering. She wasn’t sure what a career in engineering entailed, she said, but she decided to try some classes. 

“I fell in love with it, and I have never changed direction,” she said.  

She likes the stability of engineering concepts, she said. 

“It doesn’t change. In city engineering, you always need pipelines, you always need water, you always need sewers. And when you’re designing those, it’s always the same. There are variables you can change, but you’re pretty solid and steady on how (the engineering) works.”