North Adams Residents Asked for Patience as DPW Clears Snow
 The DPW has been trying to keep ahead of the snowfall. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Citizens are being asked for patience as the Department of Public Works struggles to keep ahead of winter.
"I would ask folks to remain patient," Mayor Richard Alcombright said at Tuesday's City Council meeting. "The last week and a half, two weeks have been very taxing on our crews and on our equipment."
Like many cities, North Adams is running low on salt and sand, high on overtime. A series of storms has pounded the region, including 16 inches dropped on the city Monday.
Alcombright said the snow and ice account is already spent down and the overtime account for the DPW is down to about $10,000.
"We have 600 tons of salt on order ... we expected a shipment this week but we expected a shipment last week," he told the council.
The department has also been dealing with 14 water line breaks since Jan. 1; there's concern that the continued deep freeze — more snow and frigid temperatures are forecast — will play havoc with lines underneath the roads.
The mayor said he's been fielding calls by citizens frustrated with the slow pace of snow removal. It may be the age of instant gratification, he said, but "this is still the Berkshires."
During the latest storm Monday, three of the city's nine plow trucks were out of service during the afternoon; one of the large plow trucks was still being repaired Tuesday. Five employees have been out with the flu.
Despite that, crews were trying to clear 220 miles of road, the mayor said. "We're talking about high hills and turning around and cars in the road."
Snow removal is expected to start in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Three 10-wheelers were being leased because the dump trucks can't keep up with the new snowblower, which can fill them in about 16 minutes.
The downtown corridors will be cleared first, then secondary roads where the height of snowbanks is causing a hazard at intersections.
The hope is that most of it can be removed before the next snowfall. Even if it's only a few inches, Alcombright said, "it takes the snow-clearing equipment off the road and puts the plows back on there."
"We've been taking some shots with respect to snow removal and I think quite unfairly."
City Councilor Wayne Wilkinson also requested a change in zoning ordinances to allow homeowners to rebuild on on nonconforming lots.
"Right now, if your house burns and you're on a nonconforming lot, you have to got to the zoning board and get permission to rebuild your home," he said. "North Adams is the only community in Berkshire County — other than Hancock which has no zoning — not to have this ordinance."
As a real estate appraiser, he's had to put stipulations on his appraisals that a structure cannot be rebuilt, which can cause buyers to lose out on loans.
"This is a very easy solution: We just adopt the ordinance that everybody else has," he said.
The issue was referred to the General Government Committee to bring back to council on March 24.
Also referred to General Government and postponed to the City Council's March 10 meeting was the public arts commission issue. Questions had been raised at the council meeting January about the terms and appointments of the commission members and the opinion of the city solicitor had been sought. Councilor Eric Buddington also questioned the purview of the council when it came to any appointments. The mayor recommended the solicitor be invited to the committee meeting.
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In other business, the council:
• Approved an additional 8,000 gallon underground storage tank for diesel for the Cumberland Farms rebuild on the Mohawk Trail.
• Filed a communication on a junk-car ordinance. Councilor Nancy Bullett said more research is necessary before presenting it to council.
• Adopted at its second reading the right-to-farm ordinance approved last month.
• Appointed Wendy Champney, a retired McCann Technical School teacher, to the Historical Commission with a term expiring in 2018. Reappointed Robert Burdick to the Planning Board, term expiring 2020; James Neville and Armand Boillat to the Airport Commission, terms expiring 2018; Phil Sellers to the Mass MoCA Commission, 2018; and Thomas Bernard to the Human Services Commission, 2018.
• Approved the transfer of $49,860.75 from the parking meter account to the unclassifed account to make the final payment on the three-year leasing plan for three police cruisers and fire chief vehicle. The parking meter account has about $10,000 left but the mayor said this is the time of year that the annual parking permits are sold to replenish the account. The city purchased the three vehicles at a price of $1 each on top of the lease payments.
• Approved applications to drive a taxi for City Cab Tunnel City Taxi for Emma Tasker of the town of Florida and Gregory Lattanzi of North Adams.
• Approved the rules of order handed out in January.
Tags: appointments, DPW, ordinances, plowing, snow & ice, snowstorm,
