City of Townsend Public Works Director Tim Rauser Retires
 | Author:
Nancy Marks, Reporter
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
City of Townsend Public Works Director Tim Rauser Retires
Nancy Marks
Reporter
Public Works Director Tim Rauser is going to “hang it up” after 29 years of service to the City of Townsend. Rauser turned in his resignation to the City Council at their regular meeting on September 19. His last day will be December 26th of this year.
Rauser, who was raised in the Crow Creek Valley, began his job with the city in 1994. He worked for Mayor Mary Alice Upton for 21 years, then for Mayor Mike Evans. As a young man, he worked for Cenex and part-time as a snowplow driver for the Montana Department of Transportation. “I was low man on the totem pole, so I had to get up at 3:00 a.m. to plow snow.” He remembered.
Rauser joined the Montana Rural Water Association and was named Rural Water Association Man of the Year in 2013. The organization connects public works directors of small towns to share ideas on how to better serve their communities with water and sewer systems.
Rauser said the best part of the job has been serving people. Automating the garbage pickup system for the city really pleased citizens. “Before the men worked five hours a day, five days a week picking up garbage. Now with the specialized garbage truck, one man can do the whole town in one day,” he said.
Rauser feels comfortable turning over the department to a new director and his crew Paul Rauser and Lee Lewis whom he trained to do most of the public works jobs when he retires.
When the city streets were redone in 2006, he and his crew were able to map and rehabilitate all the sewer lines, some of which had never been mapped. Repaving the streets was his biggest headache. The job took around a year and a half including paving the southside streets. In 2019 the new sewage lagoon went into operation. “The new facility will expand the city’s needs for another ten years,” he said.
It concerns Rauser about the lack of water pressure in the city’s system. If Townsend were to have a big fire or one of the water pumps would fail, the current water pressure would be compromised. The current water tower, built in 1958, in Memorial Park holds 200,000 gallons of water. The Council is working on another water source outside of town which would produce somewhere near 1.5 million gallons. “We need that for sure,” he pointed out.
As for his retirement, Rauser plans to stay licensed for water and sewer work and keep his certified driver’s license current. He’ll do a lot of fishing too.
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PhotoCredit: Photo Credits: Jenny Barnett
Image 1 Caption: Tim Rauser
Photo Credits: Jenny Barnett
