The next time you’re out shoveling and you see a DPW plow coming down the street, instead of cursing under your breath because the end of your driveway is about to be plowed in again, wave and yell thank you! These men and women are literally working day and night for all of us. Offering hot cocoa or a cup of coffee might not be a bad idea either!
DPW crews have been doing yeoman’s work ever since Juno first slammed into New England, which seems like months ago now, but was only in late January. So far, Brookline has received over 6 feet of snow. I’ve never been to Moscow, but Brookline looks the way I always envisioned Moscow.
When asked if he’s slept at all in the last month, Brookline DPW Commissioner Andrew Pappastergion replied, “I get sleep when I can. It’s hard to sleep when your mind is always running during these snow emergencies. Still, I’m in better shape than some of my men. They’ve been working their tails off. The biggest problem is trying to find places to put the snow. Our goal is to plow curb to curb after snowstorms.”
As we all know, plowing curb to curb is no longer possible in the midst of historic snowfalls. In between snowstorms, DPW crews are out between 10pm and 7am removing snow and widening streets to try and stay on top of the recent avalanches. While their usual shift is 7am to 3pm, of late, crew members work the overtime graveyard shift and from 7am to noon, leaving 3 hours early to try to get what sleep they can.
During snowstorms, everyone at the DPW works around the clock. Besides crew costs, the town is renting extra snow removal trucks at $120+ an hour. During snow emergencies, the Town employs outside vendors to shovel and run heavy snow removal equipment.
Brookline’s snow removal budget is $450,000 annually, based on 43 inches of snow, which is what we get during an average winter. State law allows each community to deficit-spend after snow removal funds are exhausted. Brookline’s Board of Selectmen has already voted to approve deficit spending from the Town’s snow removal budget.
R. Harvey Bravman