Department of Public Works Director David Smith has been on the job for only about a month, but already he has plans for improving the department. The Press caught up with him at “Meet the Crew” day, an event held at the DPW on Nov. 27 to encourage residents to connect with department staff. Smith said that event, which was well attended, was part of his plan to improve residents’ awareness of what DPW workers do besides plowing roads and whacking weeds.
At the top of Smith’s agenda is providing education for his staff. He said training at the DPW “has been lax, and that doesn’t sit well with me.” He plans to enroll the staff in classes offered by Baystate Roads, a Local Technical Assistance Program funded by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. The program provides a multitude of classes and workshops for roadway professionals. While there are plenty of classes on winter operations, including the latest techniques for snow and ice removal, the program goes much deeper, covering topics such as principles of drainage, pavement management, and culvert design.
New Department of Public Works Director David Smith (left) shakes hands with Christopher Chalifoux as Laura Chalifoux (far right) and Eve Wittenberg look on. The DPW held an open house, Nov. 27, at which hot dogs and popcorn were served. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
The Baystate Roads program offers two levels of certification based on workshop hours completed. “Roads Scholar” awards are given to participants who complete 35 hours of workshops; “Master Roads Scholar” awards go to those who complete 110 hours. Smith said none of the current DPW staff has ever taken any of the Baystate classes, but his goal is to get all of them to the Roads Scholar level.
Smith has also begun holding staff seminars on using safety equipment. He said the department purchased various pieces of safety equipment recently, but none of it had been used. As far as he is concerned, using safety equipment is a requirement, not an option, and he said he will continue to work with his employees to improve safety practices.
Moving to all-salt road treatment
One of Smith’s plans for this winter is to convert from treating roads with a 50-50 mix of salt and sand to all salt. He said salt application, if done properly, would require less salt than the town is currently using in the sand and salt mix. Timing is critical—the time to salt the roads is before a storm, not after, he said. The staff also needs to be trained in spreading techniques so that the salt is placed only on the road, not on the sides of the road. He said sand shouldn’t be applied before a storm because it’s an insulator, and it prevents snow and ice that sit on top of it from melting.
Smith added that treating the roads before a winter storm means conditions will take longer to deteriorate. He said some DPW plow operators live as far away as Ashby, and by the time they get to Harvard, a few inches of snow may already have fallen. A layer of salt under the snow will help melt it and keep the roads from becoming instantly slippery. Once snow has fallen, Smith said, it’s cheaper to plow the roads than to try to burn the snow off with salt. He said his employees have told him that using all salt won’t work in Harvard, mainly because of the hills. But he is determined to show them it can work.
The town currently has some sand-salt mixture left over from last winter, but once that stockpile is gone, Smith said he will switch to all salt. The entire salting crew, six workers in all, will be taking classes to learn proper placement before the switch.
As far as maintaining the town’s athletic fields goes, Smith said he had someone look at the Depot Road soccer fields and recommend what could be done to repair them. “You can tell where they’re kicking goals from,” he said, adding that the fields need to be rested so that they can recover.
The next public relations event that Smith has planned is in the spring, to kick off American Public Works week. There will once again be an open house at the DPW, with games and touch-a-truck for kids. He also plans to set up tables of equipment with posters describing what each piece is and what it does. There will be a quiz, he said, with ice cream at stake. “But everyone will get an ice cream,” he said with a smile.
