2002 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
To
the Honorable Board of Selectmen:
I
would like to recognize Edward Jacobson, former Highway Superintendent, for 18 years
of service, Peter Huie, former Town Engineer, for 10 years of service, Scott Habelt,
for19 years of service, and John Siscoe, for 3 years of service. Their
dedication and hard work to the Town of
The
D.P.W. was faced with an ever-increasing dilemma of the Town growing, with many
new miles of roadway and requests for services, and with the budget being cut
and staff being reduced from 38 positions to 34 in FY 2003. Nine positions have
been eliminated over the past two years.
The
consulting firm of Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc. of
E.T.L.L.
Corp. of
The
Assistant Town Administrator, Martha White and myself, have attended the
monthly Landfill Committee meetings and progress meetings with the engineer and
contractor.
Weekly
meetings have been held with the Assistant School Superintendent, Michael
Green, Building & Grounds Supervisor, Paul O’Neill, and myself,
to review and prioritize the weekly maintenance of the six school buildings.
This practice has enabled us to provide tight controls of the limited budget
and staff resources that we have.
D.P.W.
personnel responded to 19 winter sanding operations, utilizing 8 sanders, and 6
plowing operations, using 23 pieces of town equipment, and 23 pieces of hired
equipment to cover the 388 streets of the community (over 126 miles of
roadway).
The
D.P.W. has begun preparation of the E.P.A. Phase II Stormwater Management Plan
for the Town of
Robert
Dunn, of the Engineering Division provided support to the Planning and Zoning
Board, Conservation Commission and the Department of Public Works, as follows:
Planning
and Zoning Board- Review of subdivisions plans, review of storm water
management designs and calculations; review of site plans, preparation of
Street Inspection Reports and Roadway Cost Estimates; site investigations and
inspection of subdivisions.
Conservation
Commission- Review of Permit applications; Determination of Conservation
Commission jurisdiction; assuring compliance to Conservation Commission Order
of Conditions; identifying violations of the Wetland Protection Act and the
Wetland Protection By-Law.
Department
of Public Works-
Design, plans, specifications and construction management of
water main, roadway reconstruction and sidewalk construction projects; obtaining drainage, roadway and
utility easements, management of Chapter 90 funds: and serving as engineering
advisor to the DPW Director.
In
addition, the Engineering Division conducted special drainage studies, and site
investigations of drainage problems throughout the town along with recommend
solutions, and accomplished surveying needs of the DPW which did not require
PLS Stamping. Special projects requiring engineering input as requested by the
Town Administrator, Board of Selectmen, other Town Offices and also the general
public are also included in Engineering Division activities.
Major
accomplishments of the Engineering Division this year included the development
of plans, specifications
and construction management of
the Central, Depot and
Allen
Road- Construction management of 6000- feet of new bituminous
concrete Sidewalk and berms and installation of
6000-feet of new bituminous concrete roadway wearing surface.
Church
Street- 3673-feet of new bituminous
concrete roadway wearing surface.
Rockland
Street- 8735-feet of new bituminous
concrete roadway wearing surface
Chestnut
Street- developed plans and obtained
Permits for the installation approximately 1300-feet of a new 12-water main
between Oak Leaf lane and
Central,
Depot and
During
the year the Engineering Division worked on the following:
Conservation
Commission- 783 separate actions for
the Conservation Commission consisting mainly of the review of permit
Application, jurisdiction, applicability, compliance’s and violations of the
wetland Protection Act and Chapter 227 Code of the Town of Easton.
Planning
and Zoning Board- 400 separate
actions consisting mainly of reviewing subdivision and site plan, preparing
Street inspection and roadway cost estimates, and site investigations and
inspections.
Building
Inspector and Zoning Enforcement Officer,
this year worked on 287 requests. This mainly consisted with street opening
requests and wetland jurisdiction.
Board
of Health –91 request consisted of
the location of any wetlands on the property where septic system repairs are
proposed.
Zoning
Board of Appeals- 21 requests consisted
of the location of any wetlands within 100-feet of the property.
Board
of Selectmen/Town Administrator- 52
separation actions consisted mainly of utility pole relocations, Streetlight
request, Stop/No Parking and yield signs, review of road race application,
Class II license renewal and participated in the town wide code enforcement
committee and the Smart Budget Dollars committee. Provided engineering
assistance in the preparation of the street acceptance policy.
Technical
Assistant, Maurice Goulet, provided support to the following departments:
DPW:
PowerPoint Presentations (Security
& Terrorism)
Purchase Street Water Main Project
Chapter 90 Program (Roadway
& Sidewalk Improvements)
Foundry Street Reconstruction Project Coordination (Norton Town Line to
Depot Street Reconstruction Project (
Coordination of DPW Safety Committee
Safety Jamboree (Safety
Week Program)
Acquisition of
Coordination of Town Surplus Equipment Bid
TOWN ADMINISTRATOR:
Town Meeting and Special Town Meeting Presentations
ASSESSORS
Update of Property Tax Maps
SCHOOL / POLICE:
Revisions to
FIRE:
Update of Fire District Map
PLANNING & ZONING:
Update of Town Zoning Map
I
would like to extend my appreciation to the entire staff of the D.P.W. for
their tireless commitment to providing quality service to the community.
Robert
Dunn and Maurice Goulet have provided me with exceptional technical assistance
during each project that we have undertaken.
Jack
Marsh, James Luke, and Paul O’Neill have performed beyond their supervisory
categories to complete each task with limited funds.
The
office staff: Jan Jacobson, Shirley Tufts, Peggy Hannigan, and Pam Almeida have
maintained a positive attitude while dealing with difficult issues on a daily
basis.
Respectfully
submitted,
Wayne
P. Southworth, D. P.W. Director
(508)
230-0850