Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Works topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Selectmen hear recurring concerns about sidewalk snow removal; DPW cites staffing, equipment and cost constraints
Summary
Residents and a selectman raised pedestrian-safety concerns about uncleared sidewalks on Main Street and Saint Paul Street. DPW Superintendent Kevin Sullivan said the department does not clear sidewalks, cited equipment and staffing limits and warned costs would be substantial if the town expanded snow‑removal responsibilities.
Board members and staff discussed pedestrian safety after the town received a citizen correspondence about snowbanks and uncleared sidewalks on Main Street and Saint Paul Street.
Kevin Sullivan, DPW Superintendent, told the board the DPW does not clear sidewalks and that previous volunteer contractors performed limited sidewalk work. He said the town’s eight DPW employees and existing equipment are committed to road clearing during storms and that correctly equipping the department for routine sidewalk clearing would require additional personnel, large sidewalk machines (costs he estimated at tens of thousands per machine) and storage space.
Sullivan warned that clearing sidewalks after storms must be done promptly to prevent ice formation and that adding sidewalks to municipal duties would be costly both in equipment procurement and in ongoing operations. He and the board discussed alternative approaches: enforcing state and local ordinances that place sidewalk‑clearing responsibility on property owners, targeted municipal clearing only in limited priority areas, or continued reliance on volunteer efforts for limited help.
Selectmen asked staff to continue the conversation during budget planning and noted the legal, equipment and manpower constraints raised by Sullivan. No new policy was adopted that night.
