Engineering and Water Resources

The Engineering Department in the Town of Grand Island was initially established in the late 1950's, and has been in existence ever since- Because of the foresight of earlier Town Boards in recognizing the importance of Engineering, the Town has developed a sound infrastructure system, with the majority of the records and drawings for all these improvements on file in the Engineering Department.

There are currently a total of six employees in the department with a combined knowledge of over 100 years of experience in the various operations of the Department.

The Engineering Department, while one of the smaller departments, is responsible for the widest variety of duties of any department in Town requiring extensive knowledge and experience in Engineering Principals, Construction Management and Administration, Contracts, Specification Writing, Local, State, and Federal Regulations, SEQRA, Subdivision and Site Plan Review Process, and Computer Technology.

The following is a summary of the duties typically handled by the department:

• Review and coordinate subdivision approvals with the Town Board, Planning Board and other County agencies supervise the construction of new subdivision infrastructure. These improvements include sanitary sewers, storm sewers, water mains, and roadway construction.
• Review and coordinate Site Plan Approval with the Town Board, Planning Board, and other County agencies for new multifamily, business, and commercial developments.
• Coordinate compliance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) for any new projects being proposed for review and approval by the Town Board.
• Provide in-house design and construction administration services for Capital Improvement Projects being proposed by the Town.
• Coordinate, review and supervise Consulting Engineers/Architects retained for larger Capital Improvement Projects that require larger staffs and expertise to prepare contract documents, specifications, and construction administration.
• Provide advice to the general public on numerous requests dealing with wetlands, flood plains; flood insurance; drainage; utility location, SEQRA, approval processes, etc. and also investigate complaints dealing with drainage, construction activities, filling or regrading, etc.,
• Provide technical assistance to other departments including Highway, Wastewater, Water and Recreation.
• Prepare and administer annual Drainage Program for creek cleaning and storm sewer improvements.
• Administer and coordinate the Traffic Signal Program, preventive maintenance, and emergency repairs.
• File and maintain over 2,000 maps and numerous records of all Town owned buildings, facilities, roadways, and underground utilities.
• Prepare and manage Preventive Maintenance Programs for the HVAC systems at the larger Town facilities.
• Administer the Town's responsibility for building compliance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Program
• Coordinate and assist in the preparation of grant applications by providing conceptual drawings, cost estimates, and project descriptions.
• Develop and update the Towns Pavement Management System and prepare bid specifications and administer the annual Highway Resurfacing Program.
• Prepare and maintain standard construction specifications and details to be utilized by developers in the construction of subdivisions.
• Establish and maintain a Sanitary Sewer Computer Modeling and Flow Monitoring Program.
• Coordination and administration of computer technology for the Town including the maintenance of the network, troubleshooting individual PC'S and coordinating with outside technical assistance, along with maintaining the Towns Web Site.
• Geographic Information System (GIS) planning and implementation coordination by developing database for inventory of infrastructure, advise other departments on setting up database and coordinating and managing digital orthophotos.
• Emergency response by providing technical assistance during natural disasters (ice storms, wind storms, power outages, etc.) to various departments.

If you have any questions, or need further information in any of the above areas, please feel free to stop by our office located in the Town Hall at 2255 Baseline Road, Grand Island, or call either John Whitney, Town Engineer, at (716) 773-9600 ext. 629 or Engineering at (716) 773-9600 ext. 635.