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Guide to the La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the Director of Public Works Records, 1885-1990 (bulk 1955-1990)
La Crosse Series 016
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Abstract
- Records of the City of La Crosse Public Works Department, 1885-1917; 1955-1990. These materials include Administrative and Board Materials and Departmental Records. Administrative and Board Materials relate directly to the Office of the Director of Public Works and the management of the department. Departmental records consist of information about several of the departments that Public Works oversees. Administrative and Board Materials are made up of three sub-series. The first is Board of Public Works, which contains minutes (including attachments) (1885-1917; 1964-1989), correspondence, finding and orders, and parade permits. The second is Director’s Files, which consist of a wide variety of miscellaneous information obtained from the Office of the Director of Public Works, including copies of some Common Council records. The third and largest sub-series is General Public Works materials, which is made up of Planning and Projects, La Crosse County Landfill and Refuse and Recycling materials. Planning and Projects, the bulk of this sub-series, consists of information on twelve projects that involved Public Works. Departmental Records consist of materials from the Municipal Transit Utility, the Parking Utility, Streets & Highways and Water and Waste Water Utility. These materials include minutes from the Municipal Transit Utility Board, Parking Utility Board and Sanitary District #1 Board as well as a wide variety of other records relating to the departments.
- Collection Title
- La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the Director of Public Works Records
- Date of Materials [bulk]
- Bulk, 1955-1990
- Date of Materials [inclusive]
- 1885-1990
- Creator
- La Crosse (Wis.). Office of the Director of Public Works.
- Call Number
- La Crosse Series 016
- Amount
- 28.2 cubic feet
- Physical Description
- 70 archives boxes, 1 flat box, 50 oversize sheets
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- La Crosse Public Library Archives
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the Director of Public Works Records, La Crosse Series 016, La Crosse Public Library Archives, La Crosse, WI
Historical Note
The Board of Public Works consists of the Mayor, Director of Finance and Purchase, City Attorney, City Engineer, one Council Member and the Director of Public Works. The Board has been given certain authority and duties enumerated in the Municipal Code and Wisconsin State Statutes.
The Board of Public Works also serves as the Water Utility Board, Parking Utility Board, Sewer Utility Board, Sanitary District #1 Board and, with the addition of the City Planner and two citizen members, as the Municipal Transit Utility Board.
In general, it is the duty of the Board of Public Works, under the direction of the City Council, to supervise all Public Works projects and to regulate, control and supervise the Water Utility, Waste Water Utility, Parking Utility, Municipal Transit Utility, Highway Department, Inspection Department, Engineering Department, Grounds and Buildings, Refuse and Recycling, Maintenance Shop and Sanitary District #1.
The office of the Director of Public Works is responsible for the management, supervision and coordination of all Public Works projects, operations and departments under the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Works. This office provides direct employee supervision of Refuse and Recycling, Grounds and Buildings and Parking Utility Maintenance, and oversees the supervisors of the other Public Works Departments.
Additional duties of the Office include preparation, bidding and administration of contracts for refuse collection, recycling, HVAC systems maintenance and elevator maintenance. Specifications are prepared and bids taken for purchasing vehicles, heavy equipment, salt, gravel, bituminous hot mix for pavement, ready mix cement, chlorine, fluoride and other major purchases. The superintendents of the Waste Water and Highway Departments report daily on the operations of their departments. Tracking and invoicing of leased parking spaces, budget preparation for all Public Works departments, parade permits and a variety of other tasks related to Public Works are also handled by this office.
Scope and Contents
Records of the City of La Crosse Public Works Department, 1885-1917; 1955-1990. These materials include Administrative and Board Materials and Departmental Records. Administrative and Board Materials relate directly to the Office of the Director of Public Works and the management of the department. Departmental records consist of information about several of the departments that Public Works oversees.
Administrative and Board Materials are made up of three sub-series. The first is Board of Public Works, which contains minutes (including attachments) (1885-1917; 1964-1989), correspondence, finding and orders, and parade permits. The second is Director’s Files, which consist of a wide variety of miscellaneous information obtained from the Office of the Director of Public Works, including copies of some Common Council records. The third and largest sub-series is General Public Works materials, which is made up of Planning and Projects, La Crosse County Landfill and Refuse and Recycling materials. Planning and Projects, the bulk of this sub-series, consists of information on twelve projects that involved Public Works.
Departmental Records consist of materials from the Municipal Transit Utility, the Parking Utility, Streets & Highways and Water and Waste Water Utility. These materials include minutes from the Municipal Transit Utility Board, Parking Utility Board and Sanitary District #1 Board as well as a wide variety of other records relating to the departments.
Arrangement
Arranged in two series:
Series 1: Administrative and Board Materials
Series 2: Departmental Records
Administrative Information
Publication Information
La Crosse Public Library Archives 1994-1998
800 Main St.La Crosse, Wisconsin, 54601
(608) 789-7136
archives@lacrosselibrary.org
Acquisitions Information
(Accession no. 1994.001, 1998.003) Donated by Bob D. Schroeder, Public Works Director, and Pat Caffrey, Deputy Director of Public Works, May 1994; older Board minutes 1885-1917 from Teri Lehrke, City Clerk, April 1998.
Processing Information
Processed by Anita Taylor Doering and Carrie Seib, May-August, 1994; additions processed by Anita Taylor Doering, Aug. 1998.
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
- La Crosse (Wis.). Office of the Director of Public Works.
Subject(s)
- Capital investments--Wisconsin--La Crosse
- Municipal government--Wisconsin--La Crosse
- Public records--Wisconsin--La Crosse
- Public works--Wisconsin--La Crosse
OCLC Number
42450240
Collection Inventory
(Series 1) Administrative and Board MaterialsScope and ContentsThe Administrative and Board Materials are made up of three sub-series: Board of Public Works, Director’s Files and General Public Works Materials. Board of Public Works materials include minutes and attachments (1964-1989), correspondence (1955-1982), finding & orders (1960-1990) and parade permits (1981-1990). The minutes make up a large part of the Board of Public Works materials and are complete with attachments of relevant materials. Eventually an index to these minutes will be available. One folder is the extent of the Board of Public Works correspondence. Much of the Board's correspondence is included in the attachments to the Board minutes. Finding & orders contains legislation adopted by the Board of Public Works for changes in parking and street regulations. The finding & orders also include some accident and repair information related to parking and street regulations as well as pertinent correspondence and other attachments. Parade permits consist of permits for parades on La Crosse streets, including requests for street blockage and date and sponsor of the event. Original minutes of the Board of Public Works (without attachments), finding & orders, and parade permits are in the City Clerk's office. These are maintained permanently except parade permits, which are destroyed after 7 years. The Director’s Files are made up of a wide variety of materials from the Office of the Director of Public Works. They include such things as information on projects, a few studies and reports, some correspondence and various other materials. Most of these numerous files contain a small amount of information on their designated subject. The Director's files also contain some Common Council materials that affect Public Works. These include Common Council Committee on City Government (1972), Common Council Agendas (1981-1989), Common Council Proceedings (1966 Dec-1977 Dec), Common Council Referred Matters (1966-1987) and Common Council Resolutions re: Public Works Projects (1954-1983). The City Clerk's office permanently maintains all original records of the Common Council. The General Public Works Materials make up the bulk of the Administrative and Board Materials. General Public Works Materials include Planning & Projects, La Crosse County Landfill and Refuse & Recycling. Planning & Projects, the largest section of records, consists of City Plan Commission Minutes (1966-1978), La Crosse Area Planning Committee Minutes (1974-1978), and Contracts and Project Files. Twelve projects are included in Contracts and Projects Files, as well as some general material related to bridges, current projects, and miscellaneous projects. The twelve projects are City Hall, Copeland Avenue Overhead, Gillette Street Overhead, Green Acres Overhead, Harry J. Olson Senior Center, La Crosse Center, La Crosse Center Parking Facility, Market Square Parking Facility, Mary E. Sawyer Center, Municipal Service Building, ORC Industries and the Rose Street Project. These files contain contracts, studies, project handbooks, equipment & furniture information as well as specific materials related directly to each project. The City’s Engineering Department is responsible for permanently maintaining drawings, contracts, and change orders for city owned facilities. La Crosse County Landfill materials include Sludge Disposal (1980 Mar-1981 Mar), Solid Waste Management Committee Minutes (1980-1989) and Study Committee information (1974 Aug-1979 Sep). The La Crosse City Landfill was abandoned and the city now uses the county landfill. La Crosse city landfill materials are included in Refuse and Recycling landfill materials. Refuse & Recycling materials include Incinerator (1965-1981), Landfill (City of La Crosse) materials (1964-1987), Photos (n.d.; 1946-1978), and information on the Resource Recovery Facility (1979-1988). Materials on city landfill abandonment are located in the Office of the Director of Public Works. |
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(Subseries 1.1) Board of Public Works |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Correspondence, 1955-1982 |
1 | 1 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Finding and orders, 1960-1990 |
1 | 2-6 | ||
| 2-3 | ||||
| 4 | 1 | |||
| Box | ||||
|
Minutes, 1885-1989 |
55-71 | |||
| Box | Box | Folder | ||
|
Parade permits, 1981-1990 |
5 | 4 | 2-5 | |
(Subseries 1.2) Director's Files |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Annual report of building statistics, 1968 |
6 | 1 | ||
|
Buildings |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Bridgeview Plaza |
6 | 2 | ||
|
La Crosse Tribune |
6 | 3 | ||
|
Lutheran Hospital, 1968-1981 |
6 | 4 | ||
|
Western Wisconsin Technical Institute (WWTI) Health Science Building project, 1968-1970 |
6 | 5-6 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Citizens Study Committee of Metropolitan Problems, 1972 |
6 | 7 | ||
|
Common Council Committee on City Government, 1972 |
6 | 8 | ||
|
Common Council |
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| Box | ||||
|
Agendas, 1981-1989 |
7 | |||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Proceedings, 1966-1977 |
8 | 1-3 | ||
| Box | Folder | Box | Folder | |
|
Referred matters, 1966-1987 |
8 | 4-6 | 9 | 13 |
| Box | Box | Box | Folder | |
|
Resolutions regarding Public Works projects, 1954-1983 |
10 | 11 | 9 | 4-8 |
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Correspondence, 1966-1975 |
12 | 1 | ||
|
Department of Weights and Measures annual reports, 1966-1967 |
12 | 2 | ||
|
Doerflingers window display, 1986-1987 |
12 | 3 | ||
|
Equipment, 1967-1978 |
12 | 4-6 | ||
|
Fish Control Lab, 1970-1978 |
13 | 1 | ||
|
Highway sign safety grants, 1972-1977 |
13 | 2 | ||
|
Insurance inventory, 1962 |
13 | 3 | ||
|
Interstate Industrial Park, 1972-1973 |
13 | 4 | ||
|
La Crosse Government Cooperative Data Processing Committee, 1973-1977 |
13 | 5 | ||
|
Losey Boulevard Improvement Proposal, 1957 |
13 | 6 | ||
|
Municipal Dock annual statistics, 1960-1967 |
13 | 7 | ||
|
Myrick Park marsh fill, 1972-1973 |
13 | 8 | ||
|
News releases, 1955-1980 |
13 | 9 | ||
|
Programming & Planning final report, 1962 |
13 | 10 | ||
|
Sewer and Water connections and disconnections |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Harborview, 1969-1973 |
13 | 11 | ||
|
Valley View Mall area, 1978 |
13 | 12 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Valentino's, 1981 |
13 | 13 | ||
|
WWTI advisory committees, 1969-1976 |
14 | 1 | ||
|
Wisconsin State Highway Commisssion report of expenditures, 1954-1979 |
14 | 2 | ||
(Subseries 1.3) General Public Works Materials |
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|
Planning and Projects |
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| Box | Box | Box | Folder | |
|
City Plan Commission minutes, 1966-1978 |
15 | 16 | 17 | 1-2 |
| Box | Folder | |||
|
La Crosse Area Planning Committee minutes, 1974-1978 |
17 | 3-5 | ||
|
Contracts and project files |
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|
Bridges |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Design investigation, preliminary and construction plans, 1978 June |
18 | 1 | ||
|
Railroads |
18 | 2 | ||
|
Statement of qualifications, 1978 June |
18 | 3 | ||
|
Miscellaneous, 1974-1979 |
18 | 4-6 | ||
|
City Hall |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Balancing report, 1970 June |
18 | 7 | ||
|
Construction reports |
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| Box | Folder | Box | Folder | |
|
Daily, 1968-1969 |
18 | 8-9 | 19 | 1 |
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Weekly, 1968-1970 |
19 | 2-3 | ||
| Box | Folder | Box | Folder | |
|
General materials and correspondence related to building construction, 1966-1970 |
19 | 4-5 | 20 | 1 |
|
Interior furnishings contract bids, 1969 March |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Gregory Office Equipment Company |
20 | 2 | ||
|
J&L Office Supply |
20 | 3 | ||
|
La Crosse Office Equipment |
20 | 4 | ||
|
Metropolitan Office Equipment |
20 | 5 | ||
|
Rowley Office Supply |
20 | 6 | ||
|
Swartz Office Supply |
20 | 7 | ||
|
Tuohy Church Furniture Company |
20 | 8 | ||
|
Specifications, HSR & Associates, 1969 February |
20 | 9-11 | ||
|
General materials and correspondence related to furnishings, 1969-1971 |
21 | 1-3 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Telephone services, 1968-1977 |
21 | 4 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Copeland Avenue overhead, 1979-1984 |
21 | 5-6 | ||
|
Gillette Street overhead |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Statement of qualifications, 1978 January |
2 | 1 | ||
|
Study, 1979 February |
2 | 2 | ||
|
Green Acres overhead |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Replacement study, 1979 February |
2 | 3 | ||
|
Miscellaneous, 1977-1984 |
2 | 4-5 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Harry J. Olson Senior Center contract, 1978 May 11 |
2 | 6-7 | ||
|
La Crosse Center foundation work, 1978 September |
2 | 8 | ||
|
La Crosse Center Parking Facility |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Electrical construction specifications, 1980 March 17 |
24 | 3-4 | ||
|
Mechanical construction specifications, 1980 March 17 |
24 | 5-6 | ||
|
General construction specifications, 1980 May 9 |
25 | 1-2 | ||
|
Market Square Parking Facility |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Dedication, 1962 |
27 | 1 | ||
|
Specifications for the repair, resealing and protection (...), 1980 July 23 |
27 | 2 | ||
|
Mary E. Sawyer Center |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Construction administration handbook (HSR & Associates), 1979 May |
27 | 3 | ||
|
Parking lots, 1955-1956 |
27 | 4 | ||
|
Parking ramp, 1954-1961 |
27 | 5-6 | ||
|
Project handbook (HSR & Associates), 1978 April |
27 | 7 | ||
|
Site plan (HSR & Associates, Inc.), 1979 April |
27 | 8 | ||
|
Surface investigation (Warzyn Engineering, Inc.), 1978 May |
27 | 9 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Miscellaneous materials, 1967-1984 |
24 | 1-2 | ||
| 25 | 3-7 | |||
| 2 | 9 | |||
| 27 | 10 | |||
| 23 | ||||
| 26 | ||||
|
Municipal Service Building |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
General materials and correspondene related to building construction, 1967-1979 |
27 | 11-13 | ||
| 28 | ||||
| 29 | 1-2 | |||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Equipment, 1875-1977 |
29 | 3 | ||
|
Furniture |
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| Box | Folder | |||
|
Contracts, 1976 September 4 |
29 | 4 | ||
|
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(Series 2) Departmental RecordsScope and ContentsThe Departmental Records series of the Public Works records is made up of four sub-series: Municipal Transit Utility, Parking Utility, Streets & Highways, and Water and Waste Water Utility. Municipal Transit Utility materials contain Municipal Transit Utility Board Minutes (1974-1990) and a map of Bus Route lines, 1971. Parking Utility materials contain Parking Utility Board Minutes (1974-1990), Annual Reports (1952-1975; 1979-1987), Monthly Reports (1960-1964; 1969-1981; 1985-1989) and Subject Files which contain a variety of information on the Parking Utility. Streets & Highways materials consist of city-county street program administrative files (1969-1974), and street department monthly statistical reports on street sweeping (1962; 1963-1971; 1973-1974). The city-county street program administered street projects jointly funded by both the City of La Crosse and La Crosse County. The program was abandoned in 1990. Original minutes of the Municipal Transit Utility and Parking Utility are maintained permanently in the City Clerk's office. The last sub-series, Water and Waste Water Utility, makes up the bulk of Departmental Records. It is divided into Water Utility Board Minutes (1975-1981), Water Department Materials and Waste Water Department Materials. Water Department Materials consist of various contracts for work, reports on city water issues and architectural drawings. Waste Water Department Materials include Sanitary District #1 board minutes (1974-1990) as well as contracts for work, reports on city waste water issues and correspondence with the Department of Natural Resources (1966-1981). Waste Water also includes several architectural drawings. For further information on Water and Waste Water Utility, see La Crosse Series 15 for the Water and Waste Water Utility records. Original minutes of the Board of Sanitary District #1 are maintained permanently in the City Clerk’s office. |
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