ANNUAL TOWN REPORT 2003

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

 

 

To the Residents of East Longmeadow:

 

The past year has once again been very busy and productive for the Department.  Outlined below are some of the more significant accomplishments/occurrences that took place during the year.

 

Sanitary & Stormwater Sewer Systems

Major improvements to the town’s stormwater collection system were made at five locations that include: Somers Road at house #91, Quarry Pond on Somers Road, St. Josephs Drive, East Village Road, and Mountainview Road.

 

On Mill Road a new catch basin was installed with discharge modifications at the stream.

 

Department personnel completed the new drainage system on Lee Street and the culvert at Watchaug Brook was replaced.  Lee Street will be resurfaced during the coming summer.

 

There are approximately 2,400 catch basins located around town that must be cleaned of debris.  With a fiscal year 2004 appropriation, we purchased catch basin cleaning equipment so our own personnel can perform the cleaning, which was previously done by an outside contractor.  This will result in considerable savings to the Town.

 

The department responded to 79 plugged sewer calls in addition to the regular cleaning and maintenance of the sanitary sewer system.

 

The stormwater detention basin in the Evergreen Drive neighborhood was refurbished.

 

Construction continues on the replacement of the Vineland Avenue sanitary sewer pumping station.  This facility is responsible for the transfer of the majority of the town’s wastewater to the Bondi Island Treatment Plant.  It is scheduled to go on line in February.

 

Work has been completed on a deteriorated section of sanitary sewer main that crosses Pecousic Brook behind Rocky’s Hardware store.

 

Resulting from resident petitions, the department extended the sanitary sewer mains on Athens Street and on Redstone Drive. 

 

Water System

The department continues to make improvements to the drinking water distribution system.  The water mains were replaced on Meadowbrook Road, Smith Avenue, Lee Street, Lombard Avenue, Roderick Avenue, Lyric Avenue, a section of Vineland Avenue, and Parker Street from Meadowbrook Road to Porter Road.  This work was performed by outside contractors by applying funds from Warrant Articles and the Water Revolving Fund.  These improvements will greatly increase the amount of water flow available to fight a fire and also improve water quality and system reliability.  There were 19 major water main breaks throughout the year, which were repaired by this department. 

 

Due to changing state and federal environmental regulations, the DPW has been designing a computerized alarm and control system to be installed at all of our water and sewerage pump stations.  Work is continuing on our SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system and should be completed soon.  As each station becomes operational, the ability to monitor and control these facilities becomes possible from remote locations, such as the Public Works office in the Town Hall.  The SCADA system will increase productivity and accuracy in our daily work. 

 

The Department is currently replacing the “visual read” water meters with “radio read” meters.  These new style meters have a radio transmitter attached to them, which broadcasts a signal.  Once the entire town is converted, the method of reading the meters will be to simply drive down the street with the receiver in the vehicle.  After capturing the readings, the receiver will be returned to the office.  Downloading of the readings will be done by a direct connection between the receiver and the computer billing system.  No manual entry will be necessary.

 

Advantages of “radio read” meters include:

• Faster meter reading
• Greater accuracy
• Increased operator safety
• Fewer re-reads
• Elimination of hard-to-read meters
• Tamper detection
• Improved customer service

 

In January of 2004, we will be going to quarterly water/sewer billing.  Advantages include:

• Improved cash flow
• Smaller payments for customers
• Quicker detection of customer “excessive usage”

 

Highways & Parks/Grounds

We are continuing working towards the construction of a bike trail that will run along the old railroad bed from Denslow Road to Maple Street.  Funding for this project is from a “State” grant.  A new sanitary sewer force main will also be installed at this location.  We have purchased two land parcels and are currently negotiating for easement rights on the remaining parcel.

 

Through a joint effort between the Board of Selectmen, Recreation Department, Police Department, and Department of Public Works, a set of Park Rules was established to assist us in the maintenance and management of our parks and playgrounds.

 

The infields at the two baseball/softball fields at Birchland Park School were completely rebuilt by the department.

 

At Baba Park, the department replaced the playground equipment.

 

At Heritage Park a new fire hydrant was installed.  Besides providing additional fire protection, it will be used to flood the pond for recreational ice-skating.

 

In an effort to reduce insurance premiums, smoke/fire detectors, which report to the Fire Department, were installed at the Service Building on Somers Road.

 

With a capital appropriation, the department purchased a “tub” grinder.  This equipment is used to grind all brush and trimmings that are brought to the Transfer Station, thus eliminating our need to pay for outside disposal charges.

 

Chestnut Street between Somers Road and Prospect Street was resurfaced.  The entire length of Westwood Avenue was repaved this year. 

 

Major roadway improvements are needed on Allen Street from Tanglewood Drive to the Hampden Town Line. With a fiscal year 2004 appropriation we received, preliminary designs are under way and will be submitted to the Massachusetts Highway Department for their review.  Several streets, including Elm Street, Allen Street, Mapleshade Avenue and Westwood Avenue are on the States Transportation Improvement Project (TIP) list for improvements.  Modifications include road reconstruction, sidewalk and drainage installation.  We are still awaiting approval of these projects.

 

Progress continues with the department’s participation with the Geographical Information System (GIS).  Tighe & Bond, our consulting engineers on this project, has been working on securing the services of an aerial photography company to proceed with the “flyover” of the Town in late March or early April of 2004.

 

The department received $292,153 in Chapter 90 funding. 

 

Personnel

Throughout the year, members of the Fire Department gave “CPR” and “Hazardous Material” training courses to our employees.  We would like to offer Chief Wallace and his staff our sincere thanks for their continued assistance and inter-departmental cooperation.

 

One retirement occurred during the year, namely, Ely Christenson, with 40 years of service. Our gratitude and best wishes go out to Ely.

 

Three employees resigned during the year:

• Walter Henry
• Melvin Cosme
• David Vautrain

 

There were three new hires to fill vacancies:

• Kevin Quick – Skilled Worker
• Neil Von Flatern – Skilled Worker
• Steven Moore – Mechanic

 

We would like to express our appreciation to the dedicated members of the East Longmeadow Garden Club and the East Longmeadow Jaycee’s for their volunteer work.

 

In closing, the Board of Public Works would like to thank its staff as well as the other Town boards, departments, and committees for there continued cooperation and assistance.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

John F. Maybury, Chairman

Daniel S. Burack

Michael A. Perkins