Ragucci: Snow removal fund is melting away
Published on December 19th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - Stoneham weathered two significant winter storms without major incident last week, but the sting from costly cleanup efforts left town officials worried over thinning snow and ice accounts.
According to Town Administrator David Ragucci, public works and police officials did an extraordinary job in responding to last Sunday's Nor'easter and the fast moving storm that dumped an estimated 11 inches of snow in the area three days earlier.
However, Ragucci warned that as much as 56 percent of the town's snow removal funding has melted away in the aftermath of this month's wintery weather. And with the official start of winter still days away, town officials are predicting that the accounts will run into arrears.
"I thought we did very well. We got very few complaints from the residents and the neighbors were cooperative for the most part," said the Town Administrator, who praised the cooperation between citizens, snow removal crews, and public safety officials during the two snow storms.
"We are concerned about the budget, of course. This storm cost us somewhere between $60,000 to $70,000. We budgeted $178,000 for the year, and we've already gone through $90,000 to $100,000. And we're not even at winter yet."
According to Police Chief Richard Bongiorno, he stationed officers at key intersections throughout the town during the more troublesome Thursday storm last week.
Although commuters experienced gridlock across the Commonwealth during the storm, where 1 to 2 inches of snow fell per hour during peak hours, Bongiorno felt that the town fared quite well, given the lack of any major traffic incidents.
The police chief, who also praised local residents for their cooperation, estimated that about 15 to 20 cars were towed during both snow events.
"We didn't do too bad at all. We were fortunate where we had adequate staffing for both storms. So we didn't incur any overtime," the chief said. "We didn't have any major problems to cope with or any major emergencies to handle, although traffic was obviously at a gridlock."
"We kept our units stationary at major intersections and they would take any calls for service from those intersections. I think that helped us a little bit to keep the east and west traffic flowing," Bongiorno explained.
According to Schools' Supt. Dr. Les Olson, he opted against dismissing school early last Thursday after considering whether parents could pick-up their children in time. In the end, the supt. decided to air on the side of caution, rather than having students returning to empty homes.
At approximately 11:30 a.m. last Thursday, Olson sent a message to parents via the community's Connect-Ed phone system to inform residents that no early release would occur. While some pupils were not picked-up until 4:30 or 5:30 p.m., the schools kept after school programs open.
"Part of what happened on Thursday was that the storm hit earlier than expected. So by the time snow started hitting, we were not able to give parents enough time to get back from work," the supt. explained.
"You prefer to give the town time to get out and treat the roads. If you have parents getting here at the same time the DPW is getting sand and snow on the roads, it just [makes the situation worse]."
"It's never an easy decision. If anything, you always air on the side of safety for the children involved," Olson continued. "We decided it was safer to keep the kids in school and then release the children."
Earlier this fall, town officials announced that Stoneham was receiving $1.4 million in free cash, with between $80,000 to $120,000 of that windfall coming from unanticipated savings in snow and ice budgets in FY'07.
According to town records, public works crews responded to six snow storms last year, which dropped a total of 49 inches of snow and other wintery precipitation onto the town's sidewalks, roadways, and municipal lots.
Two of those snow events dumped over a foot of snow in the area, according to public works figures.
So far this year, town officials and clean-up crews have dealt with three winter storms, which have left around 20 inches of snow in the area.
If Ragucci's cleanup projections are correct, the town would have approximately $80,000 to $90,000 for snow removal for the remainder of the winter.
"Last year, we saved around $80,000 from snow removal, but this year, it looks like we're going to blow that budget apart. Obviously, at this point , we've gotten more snow than last year. That's the major cause," the Town Administrator explained.
Ragucci also cited the soaring price of salt as a reason behind the large draw from snow and ice accounts.
According to the Town Administrator, because Stoneham has so many hills, even a small storm event can carry a heavy price-tag, especially when precipitation turns into rain, which then freezes.
Despite worries that the accounts will run a deficit, the town does have a little wiggle room, because state law allows municipalities to carry a deficit in those funds.
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