ROCKLAND — Greg Blackwell’s to-do list is longer than yours. As director of Rockland’s Public Services Department (formerly known as Rockland Public Works,) Blackwell is the city’s go-to guy when it comes to clean-up, and this year’s tough winter season has left plenty to do.

“We are getting started with our street sweepers; that’s phase one. It’s hit or miss this time of year,” Blackwell said.

He explained that the sweepers can only run when the weather is warm enough to keep the sand, grit and other debris from freezing.

“We are trying to clean up the streets as quick as we can before the wind starts blowing everything into the catch basins and creates more of a mess.”

Sending out crews to clean out the catch basins and drains along Rockland’s streets is next on Blackwell’s agenda. Armed with shovels, rakes, hoses and determination, the crews’ first priority is to minimize the amount of winter sand and debris that ends up at the water treatment plant.

In addition to cleaning up the streets, Blackwell’s team is also responsible for straightening, reinforcing and reattaching all the signs and markers damaged by snow and ice over the winter. They also have been known to help out homeowners whose mailboxes were damaged in winter storms.

“We like to help out residents with mailboxes and lawn damage. It’s a goodwill gesture to the residents of the city,” Blackwell said. “We are all trying to do our part to keep the city looking its best.”  

While dealing with the exceptionally heavy snowfall kept his crews from some of the season’s routine tasks, such as trimming tree limbs in the right-of-way, the real impact of the past few month’s severe winter weather isn’t coming from above the sidewalks, but from beneath the streets.

“We had the coldest temperatures ever recorded for February,” said Blackwell. “Those cold temperatures really drove the frost down deep. It’s going to be a tough pothole season.”

Potholes and pavement cracks is a perennial problem for Blackwell, and he’ll begin patching them up as soon as the weather permits. Oh, and don’t forget repainting the roads and parking lots. And mowing...

Not all of Blackwell’s tasks are behind the scenes, however. His department is also responsible for some of the city’s most visible signs of spring: the return of sidewalk trash cans, the sudden sprouting of pedestrian crossing signs, and the reappearance of picnic tables in Rockland’s parks and other public places. Public Service crews also work with other city department to help set up the floats in Rockland Harbor and Chickawaukie Lake.

Clearly, there’s a lot to be done, but Blackwell isn’t discouraged. He’s thankful that his team was able to take care of the damage from last November’s storms before the heavy snows hit, and once the white stuff is gone, it’s game on.

“I’ve recorded snowfall in Rockland since 2001, and this winter was the highest I’ve seen: 116 inches,” Blackwell said. “There’s still some melting that needs to happen before we know exactly what we have to deal with, but we’re ready.”