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DPW tells capital committee there is a $14 million road backlog; seeks multi-year funding and multiple equipment replacements
Summary
DPW superintendent Bill presented a multi-chunk FY27 capital plan including two cabin‑chassis replacements ($262,425 each), shop equipment, a proposed pavement program to address a roughly $14 million backlog, sidewalk and culvert projects, transfer-station cameras (AI plate reading), and water projects including smart-meter planning to address ~20% unaccounted water.
Bill, the town’s DPW superintendent, presented the department’s FY27 capital submission and asked the committee to consider a mix of vehicle replacements, shop equipment, road reconstruction funding and water-system investments.
On fleet items, Bill said two cabin-chassis replacements are on the rotation at $262,425 each and described a shared ground-service dump truck and a John Deere Gator at the transfer station that must be replaced. He also presented shop equipment needs, including a rotary mobile column lift system (about $60,000) to replace nonfunctioning lifts and a tire-changing machine that would serve both DPW and police needs.
The largest portion of Bill’s presentation was the pavement-management plan. He said the town’s road network was scored in a plan that rated roughly 70 miles, with an average score of 72.4 and about 10 miles in a major-rehab category. Bill cited a roughly $14,000,000 backlog to bring roads to an acceptable condition and outlined a multi-year program targeting roughly $3 million to $5 million per year; the committee noted a transcript inconsistency in which a much larger figure appeared later and asked staff to verify final numbers prior to town meeting.
Bill also reviewed sidewalk construction packages, and a culvert replacement on Northborough Road over the railroad tracks that he said is approaching catastrophic failure and will be ready for construction-bid documents next year. For the transfer station he presented a Xerox quote (about $31,000 in his materials) to run fiber and AI-enabled cameras to read license plates and detect unauthorized users and improper disposal; committee members asked about the operational burden of reviewing footage and about privacy/process controls.
In water items, Bill asked for engineering for smart meters and design work intended to reduce unaccounted-for water, which he said is currently about 20% (industry norms ~10%). He also described a proposed water loop project (Presidential/Fisher Road) that he estimated at about $1 million and noted the project could qualify for an MWRA 0% interest loan, reducing the town’s annual impact during a 10-year payback.
Bill agreed to provide a force-ranked set of top priorities so the committee and Select Board can make trade-offs if funding is constrained. The committee will review DPW’s submission alongside other departmental requests and will meet with the Select Board in early January before town meeting.
