GRANVILLE – Even though fall has just begun, many Public Works Departments throughout the area are starting to prepare for the upcoming winter.
As the winter of 2015-16 brought very little amounts of snow, it has allowed departments to get a jump start on the preparation for this winter.
“It’s an ongoing process to stay prepared,” said Granville DPW Director Doug Roberts.
Roberts has already ordered his supplies of salt and sand that go out to bid to the HCOG (Hampshire Council of Governments).
Road maintenance is also a popular task to care of throughout winter preparation. According to Southwick DPW Director Randy Brown, his department has been patching up pot holes as well as making sure all of the catch basins will be all set for the plows during the winter.
“The light winter helped us get a head start on some of our road maintenance,” said Brown. “Hopefully the roads will be in a better condition this year.”
In an even more rural town like Tolland, there are very few catch basins for the plows, so working on specific roads has been an important priority for Tolland DPW.
The DPW Director, Ed Deming, singled out Bert Hill Rd. as a road that has always been tough to plow.
“You can’t clean it because of the differences of the road,” said Deming.
Southwick DPW Director Randy Brown is one of many DPW Directors throughout the area who are preparing for the winter. (WNG File Photo)
Tolland DPW is currently working on having Bert Hill Rd. fully repaved. Deming expects the road to be repaved at the end of October.
As Roberts has already ordered his salt and sand, he has seen the price of sand incrementally going up. Deming, who gets Tolland’s salt through a state contractor, Martin Salt, has seen the price stay steady in recent years.
In Southwick, the meaning of salt is as important as ever with the addition of the new salt shed that is being currently built and right behind the DPW garage.
With the new salt shed being able to hold up to three storms-worth of salt, is a major improvement from what the Southwick DPW was facing in the past.
“We’ve been able to squeak by,” said Brown. “Having the ability to store all the salt we need in our backyard is a tremendous relief.”
Another key component to preparing for the winter season is also making sure that the staff is all set and ready to go out on the roads when called upon.
With a population of around 500 people, Tolland’s staff consists of three workers including Deming himself. When a bigger storm arises, Deming knows who to call for reinforcements. The Selectmen and the Fire Chief will help out.
“I can call them and they’ll help out,” said Deming.
Granville DPW has a few more staff members than Tolland and Roberts measures storms a certain way. If a storm lasts more than 15 hours, Roberts calls in for more help.
“Then it becomes a whole different thing,” said Roberts. “Long duration events require a whole different strategy.”
Light winter or heavy winter, regardless, public works departments need to check their inventory and make sure their equipment will be ready for that first storm.
Having 12 guys on staff, Brown has 12 trucks, one for every staff member. For storms that are more than three inches of snow fall, Brown will ask some of his contractors to come in with their plows and trucks.
Being that most of Brown’s contractors have worked on the Southwick roads for some time now, he always expects they will come to help.
“They know when they’re (going to be) called in, based on the weather forecast,” said Brown.
Roberts has four trucks with wings for plowing and then has a couple smaller-sized trucks that can get the job done for smaller projects or storms.
Deming has two big trucks that are used as plows that are good enough to get the job done with big or small storms that come their way.
All three towns have their own problems that they have to adapt with but each department will continue to work different preparations for the upcoming winter.
