Photo by Shirley Murtha
You can’t be much more of a native than to be born in a town and to live there all your life, but that is the case for retiring Director of Public Works Kirk Severance. His childhood education, grades 1–12, was right here, as were many of his early jobs. For the rest of his education, he never got far from home, taking classes at the University of Connecticut Transportation Institute and engineering and management classes at the University of Hartford.
As a youngster, Severance held the usual jobs in tobacco and grocery stores, working his way up to being employed at Ray’s Automotive and Latvis Construction. After a brief stint doing roofing and siding, he was hired by the Granby Department of Public Works in October 1984.
Although he started out as a general worker, he was soon named the foreman responsible for buildings, equipment maintenance, sewer and grounds. In a few years, he became the deputy director, and in 2014 he was named director of public works.
During his 42 years in the Granby DPW, many changes have taken place in the way the department does its work. An important one is that in the early days, spreading salt and sand on the roads could be tricky. “There were occasions where we needed to put chains on our tires and back up hills to get traction in order to treat the roads,” Severance notes. Now, different types of treatments are discharged in front of the rear wheels of the trucks, giving them traction and saving a lot of time that used to be spent installing the chains.
Among other modern conveniences, Severance notes, is that the trucks are now air conditioned and quiet enough that drivers no longer need to wear hearing protection. The old residential-type lawn mowers have been replaced by industrial types. Across the board, the department’s equipment “has become much more capable of handling all types of storms and emergencies.” Changes in technology have Severance laughing when he remembers a staff worker teaching him how to use a computer with LOTUS and DOS.
A director of public works is bound to have some significant memories. Severance recounted two. As the Halloween nor-easter Alfred intensified in 2011, he wanted all DPW workers to come into the building, but the snow and ice were already making driving treacherous. Trees fell in front of and behind DPW drivers on Canton and Barndoor Hills Roads. Other drivers attempting to rescue them had to free residents all along the way who were stuck in similar situations. “To be honest,” Severance says, “it was very intimidating to hear the electrical breakers popping on the poles and trees crashing everywhere.”
The other significant memory was that of being called by the Department of Transportation on a very cold day in February several years ago. The DOT was inspecting the Griffin Road bridge and had deemed it not safe for vehicles of any sort. Severance had to notify the town manager and all emergency services that the road would be closed immediately until further notice.
When asked what he liked best about the job, Severance replied, “I have enjoyed all aspects—especially helping a resident, figuring out how we were going to complete a project with the funds available and the manpower we have. I always enjoyed the challenge.”
What’s the most difficult part of the job? For Severance, it’s knowing that you can’t make everyone happy. “You do your best to make the right decisions for the department and the community, but you quickly learn that you cannot please everyone.”
Now that retirement is just days away (Sept. 14), Severance is thinking about his hobbies: golfing, fishing, hunting and working with his hands on various repair projects. He also looks forward to simply sitting on his porch, relaxing with his wife Connie, daughter Kelly, stepdaughter Katelynne and their two dogs. Sounds like a good and well-deserved plan.