DPW chief off the hot seat

BOS pleased with summer plans

Any hint of the tone of last week’s Selectboard meeting, when the members appeared to be growing increasingly impatient with the work of the Department of Public Works (DPW) and its Director John “Hub” Hubbard, was gone when the board met with Hubbard at its regular meeting in the town office building last night.

Last Wednesday the board discussed complaints numerous residents have voiced about the DPW’s work over the last year and at the annual Town Meeting earlier this month, particularly concerning the state of the roads during the winter season.

But at last night’s gathering the members didn’t blink when Hubbard told them things would likely not be much different in the winter of 2008-09. “If you go into next winter with the same equipment we have now, and if you don’t contract some additional plow routes (with independent plow drivers) you’re going to end up with same criticism,” he said. “In a normal winter we’re just marginally covering the town.”

“We’ll look at that,” promised selectman Dave Nickerson.

Hubbard encouraged the three-man board to begin investigating the issue before the snow begins to fly later this year. “So at least we know that we’re going to go in some direction prior to that.

“There’s nothing more this department can do to improve its efficiency,” he added. “I’ve heard that it (the town) was covered before (by DPW plow operators) but I know what you need to get to get to the level of service these people (residents) are counting on.”

“My concern is that we’re getting what we’ve paid for concerning all of our guys (on the DPW staff),” said Chairman Andrew Livernois.

The comment was as close to the tone of last week’s meeting as the meeting ever got. Without Hubbard in attendance the selectmen appeared deeply concerned about the rash of criticism aimed at the DPW over the last year. “(We) need to get a handle on road maintenance,” Livernois said and selectman Steve Ober added, “This is the second and the last chance,” apparently referring to a previous meeting the board had with Hubbard earlier in the year.

Last night’s anticipated discussion between Hubbard and the selectmen actually began with Hubbard updating the members on his plans for the next few months — something the board had made plain it wanted to have in a detailed fashion.

The director said he hoped to get bids on paving the areas around town buildings accomplished over the next few months, including parking lots around the town office building, the Old Town Hall, the Sanbornton Congregational Church and the Sanbornton Library.

Town Administrator Bruce Kneuer reported a new problem discovered in recent days, which is that the drainage system in the Fire Department garage feeds directly into outside culverts. He said current pollution regulations mean the situation is probably illegal.

Hubbard said it would be a good idea to cap the drains. Then the water could be captured in a tank that would be periodically emptied.

Livernois said he was glad to hear that dealing with the problem would not slow down work on the paving around the buildings.

The chairman then turned his attention to the road maintenance, an issue he said concerns him and other town residents.

“Last year we did some rearranging of the projects we did but we kind of concentrated on construction projects,” Hubbard said. “But this year our goal is to visit every road in town that we maintain. And I’m going to dedicate a crew to that this summer… Our goal is to reach every town road this season.”

The three-man crew will be charged clearing out culverts, repairing ditches and doing other roadside work, he explained.

Livernois asked how the other three DPW staff members would be employed during the summer.

Hubbard said that one works the “roller” that helps flatten out the town’s many dirt roads and the other two would be “working on parts of these project and doing equipment maintenance in the shop.”

Ober asked if the DPW was considering hiring part-time temporary summer employees to help with the culvert work project.

Hubbard said at least one summer staff person who’d work with the department previously would be returning.

“It’s important to us,” the chairman emphasized. “We approved a lot of money for road reconstruction work at the Town Meeting ($450,000) and it’s important we do that but not lose our focus on maintenance work. We have two different movements.”

Hubbard then ran down a list of several other projects the DPW will be working to complete this summer including work in the Maple Circle area (which was washed out during a flash rainstorm several years ago), repairing the Shute Hill Bridge with the help of an outside excavating company, and work on Tower Hill, Lakeside Drive, Perkins Road and several other roads around town.

“In my eyes the residents of Sanbornton are trusting us four (the selectmen and the DPW director) to do the best we can do,” Livernois told Hubbard. “We want to make sure that when we get to Town Meeting next year we’re not going to be lynched. It’s like a second chance… I was overwhelmed (by what happened at the meeting).

“But this is a good plan,” he added. “I think people in this town will really appreciate it.”

“I think they do,” Hubbard replied. “I’m not trying to get elected, I’m not an elected road agent. But a lot of people have come up to us and thanked us. We don’t have the best equipment. We have some good stuff now but we can’t afford the best.”

“You know we’re appreciative of what you do,” Ober said.

Selectman Nickerson, who recently retired, offered to come down and offer any help to Hubbard that he could “Just give me a call,” he said.

Hubbard indicated that he would take advantage of the offer.