City Engineer Reed Schwartzkopf resigns

Jamestown (CSi) Reed Schwartzkopf has announced his resignation, immediately, as Jamestown City Engineer. The City Council accepted his resignation, dated December 14, 2015. His letter read that Schwartzkopf appreciated the opportunity to work with city officials, and wished the city well.

The Jamestown City Council met in Special Session Monday morning at City Hall. The meeting was geared for the council to take such action as necessary concerning personnel issues and, or city staffing. All members were present.

Security concerns have been addressed.  He turned in his City Hall keys, and computer passwords were being changed.

Schwartzkopf has held the position since June, 2008.

Jamestown Mayor Katie Andersen said the resignation came after city officials performed an annual job performance review.

At the meeting she said that the city will decide on it’s next move to temporarily fill the full time position.

She added that the city has contracts for engineering services, that will be implemented by the City Administrator, in the interim.

The meeting was shown live on CSi 67 followed by replays.

Schwartzkopf had supervised two staff in the engineering department and oversaw the public works department, including the street, water, sanitation and solid waste departments.

During the years of flood fighting in Jamestown in 2009, 2010 and 2011, Schwartzkopf worked on behalf of the city, with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, along with the National Guard, and other agencies in sandbagging efforts along with volunteers to protect the city when the water flows released by the Jamestown and Pipestems Dams were at a record high, leading to high James River flows and levels through Jamestown, that over-flowed the river banks.

In August of 2011 due to excessive rain north of Jamestown, sandbagging took place in Jamestown, primarily under Schwartzkopf’s direction.

Stutsman County Emergency Manager Jerry Bergquist adds, that in 2009 Schwartzkopf was integral in the flood fight, due to his hydrological knowledge of water control. He said in 2009 Schwartzkopf found errors in the Corp of Engineers computations of water flow. Bergquist added that if the error was not caught and changed, that the north part of Jamestown would have had the dikes over-topped causing severe flooding.

Schwartzkopf also worked with FEMA officials concerning federal help and securing federal funding for the flood fight.

His knowledge also was invaluable in the flood fight, working with engineering firms and contractors, concerning the sanitary sewer lift stations issues with flood water, and later, in replacing a large lift station at the Jamestown Business Center parking lot, and other issues to control problems with the sanitary sewer becoming infiltrated with flood water, and subsequent replacing of a large section of the city’s sanitary sewer piping.