The Department of Public Works is organized into several divisions. Each of their sections in the Annual Report will be published separately to allow for better reading.
Highway and Grounds Division
The Highway and Grounds Division major functions are:
- General Highway
- General Grounds
- Central Motors
- Tree Program
- Snow and Ice program
- General Highway Work
Major Pavement Maintenance Projects FY 2012
- Sections of Washington Street from South Street to Bellingham town line overlaid with new asphalt
- Greensfield Road was reconstructed and overlaid with new asphalt
- Riverside Road was reconstructed and overlaid with new asphalt
- Evergreen Drive was overlaid with new asphalt
- Bullukian Drive was milled and overlaid with new asphalt
- Parmenter School parking lot was milled and overlaid with new asphalt
- Wachusett Street was reconstructed paved and new sidewalks were installed
Chip Sealing and Crack Sealing
Plain Street, Linda Lane, Copperfield Lane, Crestwood Drive, Juniper Road, Venus Circle, Simmons Circle, Skipper Circle, Rosewood Lane, Peter’s Lane, Rizoli Circle, Adams Circle, Heaton Circle, Grant Circle, Jackson Circle, Heritage Way, Ashbury Drive, Oakland Parkway, Downingwood Drive, Old Carriage Lane.
Annual Maintenance Works
Centerlines of roads, crosswalks and stop lines were painted as needed. Highway crews installed and/or repaired street signs as necessary. Traffic signals were repaired and maintained. All streets in the town were swept. Brush cutting was performed in the town right-of-way. Catch basins were cleaned throughout town and reconstructed as needed. Crews repaired and/or rebuilt sidewalks, patched potholes and other road imperfections in addition to grading and repairing gravel roads.
The Highway and Grounds Division responded to calls from residents 24 hours a day concerning drainage, brush, road repair, etc. and assisted other town departments when called upon.
General Grounds Work
The Highway and Grounds Department maintains the following fields and Town roperties: Fletcher Field, Theron Metcalf Field, King Street Memorial Park, Nason Street Park, Police Station, Fire Stations 1 and 2, Senior Center, Museum, Recreational Department, Red Brick School House, Municipal Building, Chilson Field, Dacey Field, Meadowlark Field and the playing fields behind the Remington Jefferson School, Town Common, Chilsen Beach and Beaver St. Park.
The Highway and Grounds Department works closely with the School Administration to provide a clean safe environment for students on school grounds. The Highway and Grounds Division perform numerous maintenance practices on school grounds including:
- Weekly mowing and trimming
- Pruning trees and shrubbery
- Weeding and mulching planting beds
- Playground maintenance
- Fertilizing athletic fields
- Insect and weed control
- Maintenance on the High School synthetic field
- Trash and recycling
- Irrigation installation and repairs
- Field preparation for all High School sports programs
- Assisted with bleacher set-up for High School Field House Activities
- Snow removal
Town Parks and Field Improvements
The Highway and Grounds Department renovated three baseball fields, with the financial assistance from Franklin Youth Baseball. These fields were located at Fletcher Field, Dacey Field Complex and King Street Memorial Park. Also with the financial assistance from Franklin Youth Softball both fields at the Pisani Field Complex were renovated. Also a number of Soccer Fields throughout town were renovated with the cooperation and financial assistance from Franklin Youth Soccer.
I want to give a special thanks to Ryan Jette and all the Franklin Youth Leagues for all their cooperation and support
Central Motors/Equipment Maintenance
Central Motors has a permanent staffing level with only three mechanics. They perform tire repair and replacement, scheduled maintenance and specialized maintenance and repair. The 100+ pieces of DPW equipment which they maintain includes heavy duty trucks, pickups, cars, street sweepers, riding lawn mowers, backhoes, loaders, pumps, sewer jet machines, and miscellaneous other pieces of equipment. In additionto the DPW equipment, they maintain 19 vehicles for the Fire Department, 27 Police Department vehicles, 2 Assessors Department vehicles, Building Department vehicles, Board of Health vehicles, Council on Aging bus, 9 school vans and all school equipment such as trucks, blowers, etc., as well as assisting many other departments throughout the town.
Tree Program
The Division trimmed and pruned trees, removed decayed trees or trees deemed to be safety hazards. The Parks and Ground Department also responded to residents calls on all tree safety concerns. Protects all Shade Trees under M.G.L. Chapter 187.
Snow And Ice Removal Operations
FY12 The winter season was below normal for snow accumulation, a total of 12 inches were recorded. Snow and ice operations started on 10/29/11 with a 6” snow event. There were 2 full plowing storms this winter and sanders were called in for 6 sanding events.
The Members of the Highway and Grounds Division, Mechanics, Water/Sewer Divisions and 68 contractors are involved to keep roads clear of snow and ice during major storms.
Miscellaneous
Election Set-Up: The Highway and Grounds Department works with other DPW departments and the Town Clerk to prepare for elections at the High School Field House for every election in the Town of Franklin.
Flags: Crews raised and lowered flags in the downtown for State and National holidays and funerals of veterans.
4th of July: The Highway and Grounds Department along with other DPW departments works annually with the 4th of July Coalition
Town Beautification and Events: Crews assisted the Beautification Committee in placing the planters, assisted the Holiday Committee by erecting the annual Christian and Jewish decorations at the Town Common and assumed responsibility for the installation and removal of the Bandstand on the Town Common for the Concerts on the Common events and assisted with the annual Strawberry Festival.
Public Out Reach: Hosted the annual “Touch a Truck” at the DPW facilities, assisted with the biannual Town Library book sale, supported numerous volunteer events including the construction of the Town’s first community garden and hosted numerous tours to school children on the importance of public works.
I wanted to give a special thanks to my two foremen, mechanics and crew all their hard work and effort. Additionally, I would like to thank my fellow managers for all their support. Finally, I would like to thank the clerks for their support in handing the never ending calls from residents asking for assistance.
Respectfully submitted,
Carlos Rebelo
Highway and Grounds Superintendent
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The first section of the DPW Annual Report can be found here (Administration)
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/01/annual-report-2012-dept-of-public-works.html
The second section (Engineering)
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/01/annual-report-2012-dpw-engineering.html
The third section (Water and Sewer)
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/01/annual-report-2012-dpw-water-and-sewer.html
Additional information on the DPW activities can be found on their webpage
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_DPW/index
Published by the Town Clerk, this comes from the 2012 Annual Report
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Clerk/annual/
