Department of Public Works
The Department of Public Works began Year 2012 in the same manner as it ended Year 2011; with the continued arduous and time consuming cleanup of brush piles and downed tree limbs along town roadsides as a result of storm “Alfred” which occurred on October 29th, 2011. This monumental task utilized every division of the Department who collectively conducted a massive town-wide cleanup that spanned every mile of roadway within the Town of Belchertown. By the end of February 2012 the Department completed 100% of this task; though the long-lasting damage from storm “Alfred” will not soon be forgotten.
Since the onset of “Alfred” the department has been working together with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), providing them with the necessary documentation pertaining to “Alfred’s” cleanup costs for reimbursement. On Monday, April 2, 2012 FEMA Representative Jim Ryan was assigned to the Town of Belchertown to collect “Alfred’s” damages/costs incurred from the Department of Public Works and the Town Accountants Office who produced this mile-high data required to meet all FEMA regulations. The town began receiving reimbursement by mid June 2012; depicted categories of work conducted their associated costs and allocated reimbursements for the Department of Public Works is as follows:
FEMA- Storm "Alfred"
Category / Date Awarded / Services Performed/Conducted / Eligible / Reimbursements75%
CAT B
Snow Removal / 4.30.2012 / Materials, Contract Services,
Direct Administrative Costs / $56,506.35 / $42,379.76
CAT A-
Debris Removal / 7.20.2012 / Hired Services / $512,235.08 / $384,176.31
CAT F-
Sewer Equipment Damages / 7.25.2012 / Wastewater Treatment Plant-
Contract Services for repairs/replacement
of damaged/destroyed components and
related power outage/interruption.
Equipment purchases for storm damage(s) / $2,500.00 / $1,875.00
CAT E-
Town Vehicles / 8.9.2012 / Damages to DPW municipal vehicle fleet, commercial repairs & parts. / $1,494.88 / $1,121.16
Totals: / $570,236.31 / $429,552.23
One last note regarding Storm “Alfred”, while several neighboring cities and towns opted to hire out- of- state contractors to conduct and/or assist with their towns’ cleanup from Storm “Alfred”, the Department of Public Works acted on its own accord and foresight to retain our town’s private contractors to assist with this monumental cleanup. By doing so, the Department was able to save thousands of dollars and remained in control of its daily tasks and work schedule. The Department wishes to thank all private contractors for their valued services during this time of crisis and their major assistance and contribution towards restoring the Town of Belchertown to its rural hometown community prior to “Alfred’s” historical destruction.
Even with the Department’s ongoing recovery efforts from Storm “Alfred” we still managed to conduct Green Community work since the towns’ designation in year 2010. On January 23, 2012 the Town of Belchertown’s Board of Selectmen accepted the adoption of the revised “Fuel Efficient Vehicle Policy” which governs the replacement of all non-exempt municipal vehicles under the Green Communities Program. First enacted on April 27th, 2010, this report requires the continued inventory of all town government vehicles’ monthly consumption of fuel (i.e. gas/diesel). In addition, the Department continues to maintain reporting kilowatt usage from every town owned building and fuel oils consisting of propane and oil consumption. The Department has been maintaining these statistics on a monthly/yearly basis since its baseline year began in 2008-2009.
The Department is proud to announce that the Town of Belchertown was the first town to submit its Green Communities Annual Report to the Department of Energy Resource, (DOER) on November 8th, 2012 and in advance of the required deadline of November 30, 2012. The Departments efforts towards saving energy have not only met the required 20% goal in decreased consumption but are proud of submitting a 24.4 % decrease in just our third year of reporting. The Department will continue to track and monitor the towns’ energy usage until year 2013 as a requirement for the town to maintain its Green Community status and it is expected that our efforts towards energy savings will be further produced along the way.
In addition, the Department of Public Works continues to be a key player in the ongoing work with Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. Projects that were conducted during year 2012 is as follows:
Building Project Project Cost
Town Hall Vending Machine Miser $ 440.00
Town Hall Lighting Controls $ 547.00
EMS Smart Thermostat $ 983.00
EMS Lighting Controls $ 2688.00
Recreation Center Smart Thermostat $ 3933.00
Recreation Center Boiler Replacement $ 138,867.00
Recreation Center Building Envelope $ 31,639.00
Freedom Hall Boiler Replacement $ 138,350.00
Freedom Hall Building Envelope $ 30,844.00
Police Station Building Envelope $ 30,127.00
Police Station Lighting Controls $ 5772.00
Police Station Ducted Return from Plenum $ 62,033
WWTP Installation of Drives $ 21,404.00
WWTP Exterior Lighting $ 14,147.00
GRANTS
The Community Preservation Committee received two project applications from the Department of Public Works in 2012. The first project consisted of the Restoration of the Tower Clock located in the Old Congregational Church on Park Street. The scope of this project entails the historic restoration and preservation of the clock which is believed to be one of only seven clocks in the country remaining with a very rare movement. As of this report, the Department is actively searching for a contractor with the necessary expertise and technical ability needed for its proper restoration. The restoration of this clock will benefit the Town of Belchertown’s residential community as well as visitors passing through our scenic town.
Our second application consisted of the Repainting and Restoration of the Old Town Hall located on Park Street. The scope of this project entails the preservation (i.e. painting and restoration of the exterior of the building and its wooden windows. The Department was able to retain Kronenberger & Sons Restoration, Inc. from Middletown, Ct, on August 10, 2012 and by mid-November the incessant scraping of the old paint had been completely removed from the Old Town Halls surface, but the impending cold weather prohibited further work of primer and final exterior paint coat finishes. Work will resume in early Spring 2013 and the Department looks forward to seeing this project brought to fruition by preserving another town historic landmark.
ROADWAYS & RECONSTRUCTION
Moving into the areas of roadways and reconstruction, the Department’s efforts seeking the Reconstruction of Route 181 have ebbed despite the fact that the plans advanced fully to the 100% phase by early 2012. In addition, the residents of Belchertown voted unanimously to authorize the Board of Selectmen to approve this “Transportation Improvement Project” which is to include repairs, improvements, reconstruction, sidewalks, and drainage to name a few. Due to revisions and further approval by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, (MASSDOT) this near 5.6 mile stretch of roadway requires the procurement of easements and right-of-ways from those residents located within this scope of work. In September 2012 the Department retained Crowley Appraisers & Associates, Inc. from Wilbraham, MA to provide appraisal services to those remaining residents with easements located in the towns’ Right of Way. Then on Monday, October 22, 2012 a Mass. Department of Transportation (MADOT) meeting was held with DPW Director Steve Williams and Brian Brosnan representing the Engineering/Consulting firm VHB, Inc., to which the Department was, notified of yet several more changes and requests thereby throwing yet another detour into this already delayed project. The Department remains confident and steadfast with its efforts towards getting this project underway; which is now scheduled into year 2013- 2014.
Antipodes to the Route 181 project we were successful to progress into the final design stages for the improvements to the towns Main Street/Maple Street/Jabish Street Intersection Project and estimated final project cost of $ 679,884.58 (1.3.2013). Work began during the week of September 17th, 2012 with improvements being made throughout the intersection which will provide an exclusive left turn lane to the South Main Street northbound approach and reconfigured lane assignments on Maple Street eastbound. Also, this project is to include new signal equipment, minor widening of South Main and Maple Streets, new sidewalks and wheelchair ramps, new and reset granite curbing, cold plane-overlay and new striping and signage. With work ongoing as of this report, it is expected that completion will occur during 2013-2014, with results geared towards alleviation of the towns’ center congestion due to a newly designed intersection allowing for a more free flowing passage of vehicles.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
The Department of Public Works continues reviewing the Stormwater Management applications annually, thus completing 22 applications for year 2012. The Departments Annual Stormwater Training for all divisions was held on Wednesday, March 28th, 2012 and conducted by Jennifer Cavanaugh, project engineer from Fuss & O’Neil who documents and records the Departments activity for the year and in order to maintain compliance. In addition, an additional Stormwater Management meeting was held on April 12th, 2012 with the overseeing committees present; Board of Health, Building Inspections and Conservation.
EARTH DAY
The Department celebrated its annual Earth Day event on April 22, 2012 by offering town recyclable orange trash bags for residents wishing to partake in the collection of curbside trash. A total of 171 trash bags were given out to 16 participants who collected trash in various locations throughout the town. All trash was disposed of at the towns’ Transfer Station. The Department wishes to thank all town residents who participated in this years Earth Day event and appreciates your effort towards keeping our community green.
SAFETY
Our Safety Committee was active this past year as well. They organized departmental training in several topics including: Work Zone /Traffic Safety, CPR, Confined Space, Lockout/Tag out, Fall Protection, and OSHA 10. They also completed a walk through of the DPW buildings to insure safe work practices and improvements were being implemented.
VEHICLES & EQUIPMENT
In the areas of vehicles and equipment in 2012, the Department was able to purchase the following vehicles and equipment as listed below:
Backhoe $115,000.00
Cat 928F Wheel Loader $ 79, 860.00
One New 2013 Cab & Chassis w/combination Dump/Spreader Body & Plow Package: $ 157,395.00
The following list comprises of the Departments surplused vehicles and equipment:
1995 Caterpillar Wheel Loader
1986 Ford Dump Truck
1997 Ford Taurus, 4 Door
1967 Kohler Generator
1984 Lindsey Air Compressor
1999 Snyder, 2,500 gallon brine storage tank
2005 Vertical brine storage tank
The Department’s individual divisions also completed a variety of other projects that I will describe
below:
HIGHWAY DIVISION
In February 2012, four months past Storm “Alfred’s” destruction, the Department completed 100% of brush and tree removal. DPW crews worked around the clock and side by side with private contractors to tackle the ongoing collection of brush, twigs, and small branches that fell as a result of this storm. In addition, the treating of the towns roads continued with de-icing agents and snow plow removal.
On July 26th, 2012 the New England Central Railroad requested the assistance of the Department to
conduct upgrades to the existing railroad crossing located on Bay Road in Belchertown. The Department had to close Bay Road from Allen Street to Rita Lane detouring traffic so this work could occur. In addition, the Department assisted with paving alongside the New England Central Railroad tracks to complete required upgrades and was able to re-open road passage again on July 27, 2012 to all thru traffic.
In September, 2012, the Highway Division bid a fond farewell to one of its own, Thomas Hathaway, who entered into retirement after serving in the DPW as a Highway Laborer/Driver. The Department will miss his dedication to the Department.
Then on October 29th, 2012, exactly one year from the destruction of storm “Alfred” a perfect storm hit the New England coastline entitled hurricane “Sandy”. Once again, Gov. Deval Patrick declared a State of Emergency closing schools and ordering all cities and towns to prepare for the potentially worst hurricane to hit the entire eastern seaboard; bringing damaging gale force winds, torrential rainfall, heavy inland flooding and even the potential for snow. The Department had been tracking this storm since its birth down in the eastern Caribbean Islands and its destructive path up the east coast. DPW crews had already been placed on standby notice awaiting the cleanup that consisted of fallen trees and heavy limbs along with heavily flooded basins, storm drains and street flooding upon “Sandy” making landfall. Overall, the Town of Belchertown fared well as the storm moved inland at a much faster pace than expected sparing our town and its surrounding area from the worst of hard hit damages.
Alongside the triad of storms, “Irene”, “Alfred” and “Sandy”, we incurred in 2011-2012, the Highway
Department still managed to conduct its yearly maintenance consisting of crack sealing, drainage repairs and clearing of brush and removal of accumulated silt in various detention basins throughout the town.
This Department strives endlessly towards keeping our roads well traveled and maintained during all seasons of the year. During the 2011-2012 snow removal season our average expenditure per inch of snow removed from the roadways was $4,556.00 approximately 21.10 % higher than the 2010/2011 season ($ 3,762). The total cost for the season: $ 134,403.97.
The months between the snow seasons were spent performing the normal array of activities that included clearing vegetation from the roadsides, installing signs, cleaning catch basins, sweeping, line painting, repairing equipment, and preparing roads for resurfacing. In addition, the crew repaired potholes during eleven months of the year, shoveling approximately 903.64 tons of blacktop. That’s enough to pave a ten-foot wide strip one inch deep over 2.72 miles
The Division was responsible for the following resurfacing/reclamation
projects with bituminous concrete overlay and lane markings
Street Ft. Cost
Turkey Hill Road 1500 ft. $40.000
Barrett Street 1000 ft. $42,000
Orchard Road 1425 ft. $45,000
Allen Street 1770 ft. $20,000
Underwood Street 1770 ft. $22,000
Gold Street 2375 ft. $78,000
North Liberty Street 4600 ft. $95,000
Eskett Road 2435 ft. $30,000
North Washington Street 1220 ft. $24,000