Public Works

Do you have a Kitchener Utilities water heater? Parmi Takk is an engineer with Kitchener Utilities and oversees the gas meters for the utility as well as supports the Rental Water Heater program. Through her work, she ensures the meters are replaced when they come due. She’s been working at the City for ten years and enjoys being a member of a great team while providing excellent service to the community. As our city continues to grow, Parmi works behind the scenes to make sure residents continue to enjoy the services from Kitchener Utilities.

Do you use Kitchener's trails? Kitchener is an active community and our trails are used hundreds of thousands of times every year. Liz Christensen is a trails project manager and has dedicated her career to providing users with the best possible experience on our wide variety of trails. She’s the mastermind behind many of the improvements to the iconic Iron Horse Trail, which is part of the Trans Canada Trail that stretches right across the country. When the 13-year member of the City isn’t busy working on our trail network, she enjoys figure skating where she’s won international events.

Doug Hammer is a frontline staff member who delivers a variety of valuable services on behalf of Kitchener Utilities. Doug maintains natural gas and water services and does everything from installing and replacing water mains, maintaining water valves and fire hydrants, and performing water main flushing so that residents have clean and safe drinking water. When a water main breaks, whether it’s during the day or at night, Doug is on the scene for the repair, in any weather. The 16-year veteran takes pride in public service and says he enjoys doing something different every day and helping his community.

Whether you’re a driver or a cyclist, Kitchener’s transportation network is something we all rely on to get us from point A to point B. Faranak Hosseini is a project manager on the Transportation team that makes roads and active transportation more convenient and accessible for all ages and abilities. She’s been with the City for four and a half years and enjoys trying out new technologies and coming up with ways that make getting around the city safer for everyone. She’s proud to deliver a service that our community just can’t do without.

Washing dishes, doing laundry, and taking showers are all habits that seem second nature. But safe and reliable water services delivered to residents and businesses take around-the-clock work by dedicated staff from Kitchener Utilities. Dan Anstett is a Water Meter Technician Crew Leader and makes sure water meters are properly installed, replaced, and serviced across the city. The busy father of three boys has worked with the City for five years and has the unique experience of getting to see all of the new industrial and commercial buildings that are being built in Kitchener, providing advice on water meter installation. It’s an important job that often goes under the radar.

The City of Kitchener uses a variety of equipment to deliver services to the community. Weedwhackers, lawn mowers, snowplows, woodchippers, and chainsaws are just a few of the many tools staff use to keep our city looking the best it can. Just like what you keep in your garage or shed at home, sometimes our tools stop working and need to be fixed. That’s where Mike Bennett comes in. He’s a welder fabricator in the City’s fleet department and makes sure tools are working properly so frontline staff can use them safely. No two days are the same and Mike enjoys taking on new challenges every day. The biggest reward he gets is when a frontline worker’s job is made easier by the tools he fixes and improves.

You can’t see them, but Kitchener’s sanitary and stormwater utilities are at work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Hidden underground, our sanitary infrastructure collects wastewater from households and delivers it safely to a regional plant for treatment, while our stormwater infrastructure collects water runoff after a rainstorm or snowmelt. Jamie Ring is part of a dedicated crew that repairs this important part of our city. Jamie has proudly been working with the City of Kitchener for 15 years and enjoys coming up with ways to fix complex problems.

Kitchener is an active community with a vibrant sports scene. Every year, hundreds of sports clubs use outdoor spaces such as football fields, soccer fields, and baseball diamonds for games and practices. Lesley Swift is part of a small crew of dedicated staff members that keep these amenities in tip-top shape for our community to enjoy. Her job includes cutting grass, grooming baseball diamonds, and painting fields for different sports. Lesley has been with the City for 26 years, which she says has flown by because of the amount of fun she has. Her favourite part of the job is working with sports clubs and tournament officials to make sure the fields look their best before game time. She’s a loving mother of two kids and when she’s not at work she enjoys spending quality time with them.