2011 Annual Report - Town of Northborough

24
Engineering
Department
Fred Litchfield, P.E., Town Engineer
The Engineering Department provides staff support and
reviews all projects that are submitted to the Conservation
Commission, Earthwork Board, Planning Board, Zoning
Board of Appeals and the Groundwater Advisory Committee.
The Town Engineer also worked very closely with
the Wind Turbine Committee and the Recycling Committee.
The Engineering Department administers all aspects of the
Solid Waste Program.
Collection of Solid Waste and Recycling
The Town signed a five (5) year contract with Central Mass
Disposal (CMD) of Auburn, Massachusetts for the curbside
collection of solid waste and the curbside collection and disposal
of recycling materials, which became effective on July
1, 2011. Prior to the execution of this collection contract and
after much discussion and deliberation the Board of Selectmen
determined the current PAY AS YOU THROW bag program
iniated on January 1, 2003 was the most practical and
cost effective available thus deciding not to change to a toter
based system for trash collection.
The Engineering Department continues to work with the
Recycling Committee to increase recycling and to reduce the
volume of trash to be disposed at the Wheelabrator-Millbury
waste to emergy facility.
The annual swap meet – TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT DAY
– was relocated to the DPW Garage at 190 Main Street and
has been expanded to include scrap metal collection and cardboard.
This past year the Northborough Junior Women’s Club
organized a Styrofoam recycling day which coincided with
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT DAY at the DPW Garage, which
was also very successful. The annual Household Hazardous
Waste Day continues to be successful each fall.
The Engineering Department continues to accept button
cell batteries, rechargeable batteries and mercurial thermometers
which are all unacceptable items for the waste stream.
While fluorescent light tubes and compact fluorescent light
bulbs can be brought to Rocky’s Ace hardware at 261 West
Main Street.
For questions concerning trash collection or recycling,
please visit the Town website at www.town.northborough.
ma.us or call the Engineering Department at 508-393-5015.
Construction Projects
The department monitored ongoing work at the Cyrus Brook
Estates and Stirrup Brook Estates II residential subdivisions
and also monitored private construction projects that have
permits from the boards, committees or commissions listed
above, to insure that they are being constructed in accordance
with the approved plans and permits. Site preparation on the
proposed 565,000 s.f. retail project now called “Northborough
Crossing” which began in 2007 is now substantially
complete with only a few stores remining under construction.
A considerable amount of off site work occurred at the
intersection of Routes 9 and 20 with new signal equipment
installed during the summer of 2010. Final pavement, lane
markings along Route 20 and store openings are anticipated
in the summer of 2012.
Conservation Commission
The goals of the Conservation Commission are to protect
resource areas when considering the applications presented
to us. The Conservation Commission considered 30 applications
in 2011, which included 5 septic system repairs, 12
single family homes and/or additions, and 5 applications for
various Public Works projects. The Commission continues
to monitor several on-going projects: Northborough Crossing,
Dunia Gardens, and The Falls at Laurence Place. Each
year we review various projects proposed by the Northborough
DPW, Trails Committee and Eagle Scout projects.
Earthwork Board
The mission of the Earthwork Board is to prevent soil stripping
and the generation of unsafe and unsightly conditions
in Town. In 2011, the Earthwork Board met 6 times, held 6
public hearings, issued 5 new permits and 2 renewal permits.
Most of the easy-to-develop sites have long since been
built-out, and the areas available today are the more difficult
ones to develop. They require greater engineering skills,
more subsurface information, strong geologic analysis and
on-going oversight.
This past year the Recycling Committee lost one of their
long standing and most committed members with the passing
of Betty Tetreault. Betty had been on the Recycling Committee
for 17 years serving most of that time as Chairperson.
Downtown Traffic Improvement Project
It is anticipated that construction will begin on the downtown
traffic improvement project during the spring of 2012.
The proposed project was delayed in order to allow for some
modifications at the Patty Lane, Main Street and Hudson
Street intersection. The proposed changes are being provided
to improve traffic flow in the downtown area, which
includes the installation of a new signal at the intersection of
Main Street, Hudson Street and Patty Lane with upgrades to
the existing signals along West Main Street (Route 20) at the
intersections with Church Street and South Street.
Wind Turbine Committee
The Wind Turbine Committee utilizing funds from an
$85,000 grant provided by the Massachusetts Clean Energy
Center, installed a meteorlogical (met) tower and and hired
a consultant, Sustainable Energy Development, to conduct a
feasibility study. The met tower was erected in July of 2010
at the Tougas Family Farm in order to determine the available
wind energy in the Ball Hill area of Northborough. The
Feasibility Study was completed on November 16, 2011
and is available on the Town’s website (www.town.
northborough.ma.us/reports and documents). Unfortunately
the study indicates a wind turbuine is not feasible and the
Committee has discontinued their efforts to develop a community
wind project in Northborough at this time.