Appreciation of Public Works Excellence

I want to express my appreciation for the excellent service that the Oliver Public Works provides to the citizens of this town.

On Friday morning I just happened to go downstairs into the basement to fetch something. I instantly noticed a small pool of water on the floor below our main shut-off valve. As home owners know, an un-noticed water leak could be the cause of nightmares. I instantly realized how fortunate we were to catch this when we did. Upon inspecting the plumbing to find the source, I saw a small but consistent spray of water coming out of the valve itself. How strange I thought as this was not a leak from one of the connections, but from the main body of the valve without seams or noticeable faults. I know from past experience that water works tirelessly 24 hours a day to escape the confines of our plumbing infrastructure to migrate to every place that we do not want it to go and it would not get better by healing itself.

I turned off the valve only to realize that this did nothing to slow the flow of water into our house. How am I to fix this then? I need to get hold of ” The Town” to shut off the water at the street, and this was Friday. I showed wife Sheryl what our problem was and she phoned the office to have someone drop by and shut off the water.
Despite the heavy workloads battling Snowmageddon, Marty showed up in 5 minutes and turned off the water at the street and we planned for his return via phone call when I finished the repairs.
I bought the plumbing pieces needed, slapped it back together pretty much problem free (always that great unknown) and Sheryl once again contacted The Town office. As always, the practical application of complementary Pink and Blue jobs.

A smiling Marty was here again in 5 minutes, and slowly opened the valve to gradually increase the pressure. The plumbing held, no geysers. Before we knew it, Marty was gone again.

Sheryl and I want to express our sincere appreciation for the excellent service provided. This includes: the direct service provided by Marty, who was congenial, competent and readily available; the Public Works office and crew who ensure that our public infrastructure continues to be a major benefit to all citizens in our community; The Town office and elected officials who decide, by way of policy, to implement actions that would be most important and beneficial to the citizens.

I believe that the Town of Oliver has, and continues to be, well served by the entities that I mentioned, and we should never take for granted what we all share, noting that a perfectly maintained civic infrastructure goes un-noticed because it works and looks the way that it is supposed to. This does not happen by random chance but instead the result of an efficient, well-oiled machine. This recent adventure is not an isolated incident as I have contacted The Town several times over the past 3 decades, and have always had a positive interaction.

Sheryl and I thank you immensely, because, if we lived in the Lower Mainland, we would not get the excellent Oliver service which would have resulted in us planning an indoor pool party for Saturday night. A big thank you!

 

Robin and Sheryl Hopkins