Salem Observer : Department of Public Works

Increase in stolen road signs decreases safety, costs town money

Salem Editor — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:38:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Rick Russell is not just looking for a sign, he’s looking for 31 of them.

That’s how many street signs have disappeared around town since June 15, and Russell, director of the Salem Department of Public Works, figures the number is a low estimate, as more signs are reported missing or stolen each day.

Though a few street signs go missing from year to year, Russell has never seen anything like this and believes it may be the actions of an individual or the same group of culprits.

“It happens during the course of the year, where we’re missing a few, but this is more than prank,” he said. “It’s not just vandalism, but I imagine (it is also) destruction to town property.”

According to Russell, the department first noticed the uptick in thefts about a week ago when five signs disappeared in a single night across town. Since then, the problem has escalated, creating a headache for department employees and a potential public safety concern for town officials.

“Our police and fire departments depend on street signs. Not everybody knows every single street off the top of their head, especially if the Fire Department is responding to somebody having a heart attack. They have got radio communication, but when seconds count it helps,” Russell said. “You might have the police chasing somebody and they’re trying to give a location and they end up going by a street and there’s no signs.”

Capt. Shawn Patten of the Salem Police Department echoed Russell’s assessment and said that if caught, the perpetrators would be charged with theft.

“What needs to get out there is that this is a real public safety issue. There are so many streets and roads in town that (the thefts) can have an impact. If they’re trying to reach a side street during an emergency, it can have an impact,” he said.

According to Patten, officers on patrol have been notified about the rash of thefts and are on the look out for the perpetrators. Word has also been spread to the public to report any suspicious activity, Patten said. Authorities are urging anyone with information regarding the stolen street signs to contact the police department at 893-1911.

In the past, the signs most likely stolen were from those streets that bore the name of an individual or had a funny connotation, according to Russell. Some, like the sign for Easy Street, are taken all the time, he said.

Even before the latest rash of incidents, the popularity of some streets for thieves led the DPW employees to take extra precautions.

“We had one (street) that (the thieves) took 14 signs in one year. We did everything we could do,” he said. “We had the pole cemented into a half a yard of concrete, we greased the pole with axle grease, we welded the sign to the pole, and they got it. Everything we did and they ended up taking it.”

The thefts do not come without a price, according to Russell. Each sign costs the town about $100 to make, not counting the man hours put into the operation. Russell estimates that the number of signs stolen in the past month will cost the town more than $1,000.

“Twenty-seven doesn’t seem like a lot, but that’s the signs that we know about. There could be more out there missing,” he said.

New trucks top list for Salem second session

Salem Editor — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:36:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

A slew of appropriations are due to come before Salem voters on Saturday, March 14, as town officials look to residents to approve the purchase of a new fire engine, ambulance, dump truck and other service vehicles at the second deliberative session of Salem Town Meeting.

Officials are asking voters to agree to a five-year, $112,438 lease with an option to purchase a replacement engine for the fire department and additional equipment for the vehicle as well as a $60,006, fiveyear lease on a new ambulance also with equipment.

For the Department of Public Works, voters will weigh in on a proposal to enter a five-year $25,836 lease agreement for a new dump truck and a five-year $38,372 lease to replace two of the town’s salters. Public Works officials are asking voters to approve a $1 million appropriation to fund winter weather operations for the remaining year.

While voters were asked to approve the funding for two bridges on the annual ballot on March 10, another bridge replacement project is up for vote. Officials are looking to residents to approve a $468,000 appropriation to fund the reconstruction of the Pelham Road bridge over the Porcupine Brook.

According to officials, the current culvert is structurally inadequate and hydrologically deficient. Minor repairs that were completed following the Mother’s Day floods of 2006 have reached their functional life span.

Selectmen are also calling on voters to approve $193,890 for the purchase of three emergency generators following the December ice storm. One generator will keep power restored to the Wheeler Dam on Canobie Lake in the event of a loss of electricity and the other will allow the town to open an emergency shelter at the Ingram Senior Center.

Salem DPW tries to keep up as budget becomes depleted

Salem Editor — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:31:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

It’s been a long, cold winter for Public Works employees to weather as at least 14 different snowstorms have already melted through the entirety of the department’s $500,000 snow removal budget.

With spring in sight, officials have their fingers crossed in the hopes that the region stay free of snowfall until at least the second town deliberative session on March 14, when it will be up to voters to budget the department a further $500,000 for winter maintenance for the rest of this season and into November and December. Public Works Director Rick Russell is not concerned that voters would fail to approve his budget request for the next year – historically, residents have supported his department’s financial requests when it comes to public safety – but two tough winters in a row have been hard on his department.

In the meantime, Russell said the department could draw on money set aside in a trust fund to continue winter weather operations.

With 375 miles of road, 31 miles of sidewalk and 33 municipal parking lots that need to be cleared, Russell’s employees work up to 48 hour shifts with few breaks after each snow storm.

“Everybody is just out there from the start to the finish.They’ll have their breaks through the storm when we get a little lull. We got a couple of hours during the last storm when it wasn’t snowing too hard and the guys were able to take a lunch,” Russell said. “When it stops snowing, the thing is the contractors go home, but the town employees still have to treat the roads with salt and then we have the sidewalks that have to be cleared for school ... They just keep going. Sometimes it takes a couple of days after the storm. We could be working two or three days after the storm.”

According to David Wholley, Public Works operations manager, the department has gone through just over 8,000 tons of salt this season, spent about $800,000 in salt, sand and salt treatment, $250,000 in contracted plowing and is one snowstorm short of tying last years record high number of plowing operations.

What the figures do not reflect is the amount of extra work that goes into preparing for a snowstorm, from sharpening snowplow blades to maintenance work on the trucks, and cleaning up after them, Wholley said. Employees go out to help residents fix overturned mailboxes, clean off graves and shovel off walkways.

“It has been tough, it always is. (The staff) understand the incredible importance of providing public safety for the community that they work in,” Wholley said. “We do a good job, and I think the public demands that of us anyway.”

Still, with spring only weeks away, Wholley said there are some on his staff that are hoping for more snow. With the record for most plow operations within sight and with the coveted title of “Winter Warrior” – awarded annually to those employees who have worked through each and every snowstorm of the season – on the line, not every member of the staff is content for March to go out like a lamb.

“If it does snow again, and we’ve got to plow another operation, there’s actually probably over half the staff that’s actually hoping for two plow operations. They’re saying, ‘We’ve come this far, let’s at least tie it or break the record,’” Wholley said with a laugh. “Looking at the money we’re expending, I would rather just let the dogs lie and pull up anchor and leave it at that. I hope mother nature doesn’t accommodate them.”