Director’s dedication to job not overlooked

Ray Olsen awarded American Public Works Association’s Superintendent Award

By: Joseph Harvie
   Clean roads, beautiful parks and maintaining a fleet of township vehicles, are just some of the things Ray Olsen is responsible for.
   It’s part of his job as township Public Works director, a job that he is one of the best at.
   In November Mr. Olsen was awarded with the American Public Works Association’s New Jersey Superintendent Award for "long-term dedication to the public works industry," according to a letter from the APWA.
   "It really is an honor," Mr. Olsen said Dec. 12. "But I look at it as an award for the township. It says that we have pretty good people, and not just because it was me, working in the township. It reflects the people under me. We have quality employees who are dedicated and proud of their jobs."
   A humble man, Mr. Olsen said he has a hard time talking about winning awards, but said the fact that someone in his office nominated him for it makes it worthwhile.
   "I guess they like what I’m doing," Mr. Olsen chuckled.
   In his 38-year career with the township, Mr. Olsen has done it all. He started out as official "grass cutter" for the township, when there were eight people working in the Public Works Department.
   "I used to cut the grass around the municipal building, which isn’t there anymore, it’s a parking lot," Mr. Olsen said. "Then a couple months later they found out I was good at math so I ended up doing payroll."
   The Department of Public Works is in charge of park, road and detention basin maintenance in the township. It also oversees recycling and trash collection, and helps with shade tree plantings through the township Shade Tree Commission.
   In 1995, he was promoted to director of Public Works and now has 53 people working for him.
   Mr. Olsen was busy Tuesday, preparing to get township trucks converted from being able to pick up leaves to snow removal. He said eight of the township’s 10 trucks have had salt spreaders attached to them, but the remaining two are still being used to pick up leaves.
   "We are one week ahead of schedule on leaf pickup," Mr. Olsen said as he knocked on his wooden desk. "But that’s because we haven’t really had any snow yet, so far."
   The lack of snow has even allowed the Department of Public Works to collect the township school district’s leaves, Mr. Olsen said.
   "First we finish our leaves, and then we go out and collect the Board of Ed’s," Mr. Olsen said.
   With the township’s leaf-collection program coming to a close, Mr. Olsen said preparations for the snow removal program have begun.
   "First we check out all of the equipment and vehicles when we take them out of storage," Mr. Olsen said. "We always check them before we put them away, but it never hurts to double-check."
   Once all of the equipment is checked, the next step is ordering spare parts for the plows, and once that’s completed the department makes sure they have an up-to-date list of roads the township is responsible for keeping clean, Mr. Olsen said.
   Once the road list has been updated, newer employees go out on training exercises in Reichler Park.
   "We put a newer guy in the truck with a veteran and let the new guys get used to the trucks," Mr. Olsen said.
   He said that preparation is the key to keeping the township roads clear during snowstorms.
   "You have to be prepared," Mr. Olsen said. "And you have to be dedicated. We take pride in our snow-removal program. The people expect the best from us, and it never hurts to do your job right. And that sense to do the best job possible is being passed down from the older guys to the newer guys."