New public works building signals new era

The new Creston public works building has been finished, with a sleek color change and tall garages. The building takes up 9,680 square feet and is located on the same lot as the old public works building at 1100 E. Mills St.

In 2021, Creston residents voted for $3 million to be allocated to the project, with the funds coming from the state road use budget. The new building will help public works get to projects faster and more efficiently.

Street superintendent T.J. Parsons gave an introduction to the building during a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, June 12. He was “very pleased” and praised the new benefits the building will have for city maintenance.

“We have a lot more room in this building, we can get our equipment inside and out of the weather,” he said.

The old Creston public works building had fallen into disrepair after five decades of use, with water leakage and a deteriorating structure speeding the process. The building will be demolished and the space repurposed as a storage unit containing public works bulk materials like salt and sand.

“We’ll tear it down and save what we can,” said Parsons.

One major feature in the new building are tall garages, allowing equipment to be stored indoors to protect them from the elements. Previously, tall equipment would be forced to stay outside the building, causing faster deterioration of equipment.

New bays in the building will help streamline the service process, including five service bays, a welding and tire sector and a wash bay for powerwashing vehicles. New offices and a break room have also been built into the building. Employee training now has a dedicated location with these new features.

Principal Architect of FEH DESIGN Cory Sharp designed the new building and offered praise to the city of Creston and public works employees.

“The clients here at public works were really unique,” said Sharp. “I like to tell my friends, we get into construction, and all these guys want to do is be a part of the process... They did a whole bunch of stuff to save the taxpayer some of the money on the project. You don’t get a client like that very often.”

Public works helps perform maintenance on equipment throughout all of Creston, servicing police, fire and waste vehicles. Seven different departments of the city receives service out of the public works building.