Public works details major water-main repair; board debates emergency communication failings

Richard Fawn, commissioner of public works, briefed the town board on a recent major water-main break that affected large parts of town and required an urgent repair under severe winter conditions.

Fawn described the incident as a transmission-line failure involving a roughly 20-inch pipe that required locating and operating multiple valves buried under snow, shutting pump stations, isolating the break and flushing hydrants. "Between the notification to repair and being back in service, within a little over 24 hours we were back in service," he said, adding that crews handled freezing conditions while also responding to storm-related work.

Fawn said the event prompted a boil-water advisory and testing that was ongoing at the time of the meeting. He told the board that approximately 2,800 calls were received at the water shop and that targeted robocalls and an upgraded mapping-based alert system are being implemented to improve future notifications.

Several board members praised the public-works crews for rapid repair work but pressed the administration on communications. One board member said residents waited too long for clear updates and recommended activating the emergency operations center and issuing a public briefing sooner in future incidents. The commissioner and police chief staff said they have been coordinating improved notification capability and plan to create shape files and better-targeted area alerts.

The board also discussed staff morale after public statements that board members said unfairly criticized department staff during the outage. Members urged better public messaging and coordinated internal briefings to prevent misinformation.

Commissioner Fawn said a full written report on the break will be provided to the board; the board asked that the town consider an after-action review and a public timeline of notification steps for residents.