Dept of Public Works History

Planning for the Village of Ferndale dates to 1917. As Chris Hammer described in the 2012 85th Anniversary booklet, five residents, elected to the charter commission on December 12, 1917, wrote Ferndale's original village charter: Dr. Elbert Chase (chairman), Lovell Turnbull (vice chairman), Gordon Damon (secretary), Otis Morse, and George Hall. The charter included provisions that addressed police and fire protection, speed limits, at-large chickens, and ambitiously, the establishment of an airport and subway stations "when the time comes."

In April 1918, Ferndale residents voted to accept the charter and elected the first village commission: Lovell Turnbull (president), John Graves (clerk), Gordon Damon, James Hendershot, George Hall, and G. Harold Leever. The largest problem facing the first commission was that of infrastructure, particularly the poor streets and drainage problems.

On January 13, 1919 the village used a resolution to form a "Board of Public Works". President Turnbull wrote an article in the December 10, 1930 Ferndale Gazette describing that idea:

“The Commission having been duly elected and installed ( without a dime to do business with ) required that I began to fulfill my obligations as presiding officer of the village.

I recall the necessity of a Board of Public Works. The village Charter provided that such a board could be composed of Village Commissioners, so we created a Board of Public Works. I appointed the four Commissioners as follows: ‘Daddy' Hall to be overseer of the southwest quadrant of the village, all that territory west of Woodward avenue and south of Nine Mile road; Mr. Hendershot, east of Woodward avenue and south of Nine Mile road; Mr. G. Damon, north of Nine Mile and west of Woodward avenue; and Mr. G.H. Leever, north of Nine Mile and east of Woodward.

Mr. Damon soon resigned and was succeeded by Ray Walters. We were housed in a 10x12 real estate office, loaned us by Geo. Badder, on the south side of Woodward at Nine Mile.

The residents of the four sections of Ferndale were requested to make their wants and wishes known to their respective member of the Board of Public Works, and they in turn would present them to the commission”

Needless to say, this organization, and Ferndale's rapid growth, quickly overwhelmed this arrangement. Residents complained that the commission was not working quickly enough, especially regarding road improvements so they elected a new Commission.

The second commission, elected in 1920 initially continued with the Board of Public Works concept, appointing all members of the regular commission to that board. They arranged separate meetings to focus on the Public Works tasks. It quickly became apparent that this concept would not work, so they abolished the Board of Public Works on January 29, 1920. Instead they would revert back to direct communication with the clerk and departments.

By late 1920 the positions were: Superintendent of Water Dept G.H. Leever; Superintendent of Street & Drains Charles Kneschtel; Superintendent of Lighting & Signal Systems Wm K. Korff. This arrangement fared even worse! Residents' complaints culminated in a special election. Residents voted to recall every commission member. L.O. Berry, a meat packer and retired wrestler, was elected president of the commission after the recall.

On April 6, 1921 the newly elected commission, under President L.O. Berry, created the Department of Public works with Raymond W. Donahue as the first Department Head (who was also a village Commissioner). This was the birth of the DPW structure we recognize today.

This was right at the start of Ferndale's phenomenal growth. The major projects going on simultaneously include widening Woodward, building sewers, laying gas lines, paving roads & sidewalks, and converting farms into subdivisions. The amount of work is difficult to imagine – especially given the basic equipment available. A good example of the staggering change was published as a chart 1943's 25th Village Anniversary Book as shown below:

The first road to be paved was Leroy in 1924. The first City Manager (Carl H. Peterson) was appointed in spring 1924. Gas mains started to be laid in April 1925 and by Jan 1, 1931 at least 95% of Ferndale homes had gas available (53+ miles of gas line). Garbage collection started by contracting with C. L. Smith Co in March 1926.

Also in 1926 the search was on for a city yard. A piece of abandoned property at East Cambourne and Paxton streets was selected and condemned. Once the city owned the lot, construction of a warehouse and garage started in the Fall 0f 1926. By Spring 1927 the facilities were ready to use.

In 1927 Ferndale detached from Royal Oak Township and became a city. The building and maintenance of Ferndale's public infrastructure would help the city whether the depression years, wars, social upheaval, budget cuts, and many more challenges. The DPW also enables many celebrations and public events.

As shown in the images below, the hard work and dedication of Ferndale's DPW makes life easier and more enjoyable for all!