County names Craig Lane new DPW commissioner

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 29 January 2025 at 8:38 am

Photo by Tom Rivers: Craig Lane on Tuesday was appointed as Orleans County’s new commissioner of the Department of Public Works.

ALBION – The Orleans County Department of Public Works has a new leader. Craig Lane on Tuesday was named the new commissioner of the DPW, which oversees two divisions, highways and buildings and grounds for the county.

Lane has worked for the DPW for about four years following a 20-year career in Air Force where he was a logistics readiness officer.

Lane was hired as a motor equipment operator for the DPW. He was named deputy commissioner about two years ago and has been interim commissioner after John Papponetti left the DPW.

Lane oversees about 30 employees. The Highway Division is responsible for overseeing 196 miles of county highways, 64 county bridges, the fuel farm and snowplowing for the county parking lots.

The Buildings and Grounds Division is responsible for 20 buildings with 28 departments which include preventive maintenance, new construction and refurbishing along with a crew of janitorial services.

“It’s busy,” Lane said about the DPW. “I spent most of my formative years as a civil servant so this is a natural fit.”

Lane is a Clarendon native. He now lives in Gaines. He is president of the Holley Rotary Club, and serves on the Gaines Planning Board and is a commissioner for the Albion Joint Fire District.