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Politics & Government

Public Works Department Absorbs Winter's Shock

Superintendent of the Public Works Department Robert Lamoureax tallied what snow meant for the town of Seekonk in dollars and numbers.

With spring just a few weeks off, Seekonk’s Public Works Department is healing the war wounds of winter. 

Even ending the season over budget by $54,000 didn’t seem to bother Superintendent Bob Lamoureux.

 “In Massachusetts, the only budget that can be legally overspent is the snow budget,” said Lamoureux, which he anticipated to be set at $91,000 again next year.

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The allocated funds went quickly with the inches piling up in town every few days for weeks on end. Though the total’s steep, it was no surprise that $132,000 was spent on salt. And that extra expenditure paid off in safer driving conditions.

“I don’t think I’d do anything differently. This department was certainly prepared to fight snow. The first half of winter we did such a good job that we got less complaints [than usual], but the last storm had an effect on people overall,” said Lamoureux referring to the last big storm that rocked Seekonk in early February.

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Taking advantage of the flexible budget due to cold weather’s unpredictability, Lamoureux mobilized 13 of his trucks and hired 16 outside vendors to get the snow off the roads. Plows focused not only on roadways, but also uncovered 25 miles of sidewalk and maintained buildings during the inclement conditions.

“My guys go out and plow all night, I go out and plow all night,” said Lamoureux.

The department head remembered three plowing events this season which kept the plow drivers on the roads for over 30 hours straight. 

Where complaints were nearly nil at the start of the season, any dinged mailbox or sheared pavement compounded with the Seekonkers’ snow-overload seemed to be cause for complaint. Lamoureux remember two boys who chased one of the trucks and began throwing objects.

The scars left on the department after it’s fight with Old Man Winter is most noticeable not in the budget, but on the equipment - namely trucks. $11,000 of the snow budget was portioned to equipment repair, covering the cost of six towed trucks and two trucks with catastrophic breakdowns.

With the second-largest town budget apart from that of the schools, Lamoureux was less preoccupied with next year’s budget and more so keeping up his department’s morale.

“I want to make sure that my guys and vendors get recognized for keeping roads clean.”

At Wednesday's Board of Selectmen meeting, the superintendent asked for a $5,000 increase in next year's department budget. Board member David Parker commended him for being fiscally conservative; member Francis Cavaco asked that next year's budget reflect inflated energy costs. 

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