Simsbury Annual Report 2007 - 2008 - Town of Simsbury

Department of Public Works (continued)
and administration, operational planning, contracting, purchasing,
and personnel.
Highway Department
The Highway Division maintains 164 miles of Town accepted roadways
including 3,850 catch basins, the storm drainage system, roadside mowing,
sign and guide-rail maintenance and trees within the right of way. The
Highway Division also performs fl eet maintenance for all vehicles utilized by
the Public Works Division as well as the Engineering, Building, and Police
Departments. Some fl eet maintenance has also been performed for the Board
of Education in an attempt to help control costs for that department.
Several drainage improvement projects were completed by the
Department’s staff including the installation of new culverts at Deerpark,
County and Hoskins Roads. Sidewalk improvements were completed on
Power Horn and Ox Yoke Drives.
The Highway Department was recognized by the Connecticut Interlocal
Risk Management Agency (CIRMA) for their development of a unique
piece of equipment that is used to clean storm catch basins. ”Pinchie
the Basin Cleaner” allows basin cleaning to be more effi cient and greatly
reduces the potential injuries associated with this type of work. CIRMA
stated that innovative initiatives like this have helped Simsbury to
maintain a loss ratio much lower than CIRMA’s target for the past 5 years.
As part of the DEP’s Municipal Small Storm Sewer
System (MS4) Program, 1300 catch basins and 10 sediment chambers were
cleaned, along with the sweeping of all streets. In addition, 100 catch
basins were reconstructed to assure safe and effective functioning.
With an unusually mild winter, the Division was able to complete part of
the Greenway in the Dyno Nobel area, complete maintenance on much of
the storm drainage system, and resurface 14 miles of streets.
Bulky Waste and Recycling Transfer Station
The Simsbury Landfi ll at 66 Wolcott Road was closed in 1998, and an
application has been approved by the Department of Environmental
Protection for continued operation as a bulky waste and recycling materials
Transfer Station. The Town conducts annual monitoring of ground water
Courtesy of Simsbury Department of Public Works. Departments
& Services
and storm water at this site and the site is also used as a composting area.
This year several improvements were made to the facility, including
repaving of the existing roadway, a new waste oil tank and containment
system and additional perimeter fencing was installed.
Building Maintenance
Building Maintenance is responsible for 4 Town Buildings (Town Hall, the
Library, Eno Memorial Hall, and Scout Hall), 5 rental properties, a service
facility, a commuter bus shelter, and the Old Tariffville Cemetery. In
addition, this division provides setup and cleaning services for all activities
related to the community use of these buildings. Building Maintenance
staff also assisted with the operation of the Simsbury Meadows Performing
Arts Center.
Additional HVAC digital control system zones were installed at Eno
Memorial Hall and the Town Offi ces Building, in order to improve energy
effi ciency and user comfort. One of our largest tasks was to assist with the
startup of the HVAC systems at the newly renovated Library.
Registrars of Voters
The Registrars of Voters are jointly responsible for the administration
of the State Election Laws. They supervise voter registration, maintain
enrollment list and staff the polls at all local, state, federal elections and
primaries as well as supervising balloting in health care facilities. They are
responsible for the check-off lists at the Annual Town Meeting in May and
the staffi ng for the Budget Referendum.
A mail canvass was conducted in 2008 to ascertain residency. A special
registration is held each year at the Simsbury High School to register
students who will be 18 years of age by Election Day. The offi ce is open for
two special sessions to register new voters at least fourteen days before any
Election.
Our offi ce is connected to the State Computer Registration System, which
gives us contact with the Secretary of the State’s Offi ce and the 169 Towns
to keep our records up to date to prevent duplication of voters.
(continued on page 18)
www.simsbury-ct.gov 17