Ride ‘Em Cowboy: Belmont DPW Team Best in Snow Plow ‘Roadeo’

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Photo: (from left) Selectman Baghdady, Selectman Paolillo, DPW Director Marcotte, Paul Mosca, Highway Div. Director Santoro, Marc Petto, Selectman Williams and Town Administrator Kale.

When the snow starts falling this winter, Belmont residents and commercial owners can rest asure  that when Paul Mosca and Marc Petto are plowing the street, there’s no two better in the country.

Belmont Highway Division employees Mosca and Petto were recognized by the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, Nov. 14 for coming out on top in state and regional snow plow competition. 

Mosca, who has 24 years of service, and eight year veteran Petto placed first of 15 teams from 13 towns in the Plymouth County Snow Plow Rally and Safety Training event held Sept. 23. Then this month, the team topped the field in the New England-wide championships. 

With the wins, the men qualify to compete against teams from across the country in the Western Snow and Ice Snowplow “Roadeo” National Finals next September.

The “roadeo” consisted of five event including a written test, demonstrating their knowledge of the big six-wheel dump truck they operate – judges disable the truck and the team must tell what is not working and why – and driving and operating the heavy equipment (this year is was driving a course with road cones representing parked cars.)

“They are dedicated to go the extra mile,” said Michael Santoro, assistant DPW director and head of the Highway Department as he held the gold-covered cup from the latest victory.

“Just remember guy’s, hit that street first,” Selectmen Chair Mark Paolillo told Mosca and Petto after giving them his address for when the first snow falls.  

Water/Sewer Rates Going Up Nearly 5 Percent in Fiscal 2017

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Photo: Water and sewage bills are going up.

Residential and commercial rate payers will see their combined water and sewer bill increase by nearly five percent in the coming fiscal year, as the as the Belmont Board of Selectmen approved the recommendations from the Belmont Department of Public Works for a rate increase on Monday, March 28.

The average Belmont homeowner who uses 3,000 cubic feet of water will see their quarterly bill jump by $19 – from the current $400 to $419 – pushing $1,700 for fiscal 2017 that begins July 1, 2016, according to Jay Marcotte, Belmont’s DPW director.

Those households and businesses the DPW dubbed as “heavy users” will see their bill increase by $38 per quarter.

The fiscal 2017 increase of 4.7 percent is nearly double last year’s 2.6 percent 

Marcotte said “the largest chunk” of Belmont’s rate increases is from the annual assessment from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which supplies the town with water and takes its sewage. And a significant percentage of the MWRA pricing – 57.7 percent in fiscal 2017 – is influenced by “the large amount of debt it holds.” 

And it is those large increases in scheduled debt payments is causing Belmont’s assessment to spike higher this coming fiscal year. 

The rate increases come as Belmont residents have steadily reduced their consumption of water usage over the past two decades. From a high of 1.05 billion gallons consumed in 1995, households and businesses have decreased their water usage to 767 million gallons in 2015.

But while households’ have become more efficient and consumption trends point downward, rates will need to increase to maintain and serve the public, said Marcotte as fixed costs of capital projects and operation costs continued to rise. 

A part of consumer’s bills is also directed towards Belmont’s largest capital reinvestment program – which began in 1995 – of replacing every water main installed before 1928 (which are unlined cast iron pipes) or about 38 miles. As of today, 25.6 miles – or 66 percent – of the work is complete. 

Trash Talk: Belmont’s Heading For a New Way on Take Out The Garbage

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Photo:

Belmont has a standing appointment each week with a town service it can not do without. 

And it’s not the Board of Selectmen. 

Town trash collection impacts every visitor, resident, business, and school in Belmont, and is as essential as water and electricity. The prospect of dealing with one’s garbage as some communities require – bagging, storing and hauling to a waste station – is a non-starter for many modern suburbanites.

So the early morning cacophony of squealing brakes and large compactors crushing tons of garbage arrives as sweet music to the ears of Belmontians.

According to town officials, residents and businesses are happy with the service – as long as the containers don’t fly off on blustery Spring days.

But this familiar service is likely to change, possibly significantly, as Belmont’s current trash and recycling collection contract with Somerville-based F W Russell and Son expires in June 2016.

In a presentation to the board by Department of Public Works Director John Marcotte and the town’s recycling coordinator, Mary Beth Calnan, the board – which will approve the subsequent contract – will need to be cognizant of changes in the trash collection industry while encouraging the public to embrace the new features.

“We want to do this in a way that people feel educated and that it’s not rushed,” said Belmont Town Administrator David Kale who with Marcotte is leading the town’s effort on crafting a new contract. 

“If you tell people ‘You’re going to pay money for … an extra container or there [are] no more bulky items, I think that’s a change that you have to let people know about, so it’s not as painful [if it happens,]” said Kale. 

The Selectmen appear willing to take an extended and deliberate approach before signing a new contract.

“Any changes will be a big deal for folks,” said Selectman Mark Paolillo. 

“The radical changes that could take place years from now in terms of automated waste collection where the industry is going, I get it,” said Paolillo.

“Getting input today we could somehow inform our next contractor we may want to change it a little bit,” said Paolillo.

One approach the Selectmen is gravitating towards is extending the current contract with Russell – one of the largest residential trash collector in Massachusetts – by a year or 18 months to allow “our public process” to be completed, said Selectmen Chair Sami Baghdady. 

The current $1.07 million contract calls for weekly collection of an unlimited number of barrels or bulk items – you take it to the curb, they’ll take it away – Monday through Thursday from just about 10,000 locations around Belmont. While Russell will take just about everything, appliances ($20) and anything with a CRT monitor ($15) cost extra, said Marcotte.

According to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, Belmont is not such a trashy locale; at three-quarters of a ton of trash produced per household annually, the “Town of Homes” is well below the state’s goal of one ton of garbage annually from each pickup point.

Belmont compares nicely to neighboring towns such as Lexington with a five bag/barrel limit producing .74 tons of trash per household, Bedford with a single, 48-gallon barrel limit generating just under .9 tons. Only Arlington, with its three, 32-gallon barrel restriction, produces less at .63 tons.

On the recycling end, Belmont uses a biweekly dual stream recycling system separating paper and containers, at a yearly cost of $376,285. The material is sold in the commodity market with Belmont’s “cut” already calculated in the contract, said Marcotte.

Belmont’s yard waste is collected biweekly curbside 36 weeks. When the leaves begin falling, it is collected weekly.

While Belmont’s current garbage and recycling collection agreement has worked well, significant changes occurring in the removal industry will bring changes in collecting trash, according to Marcotte.

The first is automated collection in which a truck with a side arm picks up barrels and dumps the contents into a hopper. Firms like this mechanism as it reduces the number of employees and their associated costs.

But there is a large investment upfront for the town in purchasing the “carts” each household and business will be required to use.

Also, using carts will end resident’s unlimited trash collection and the free removal of “bulky” items that would require a traditional garbage truck.

The second is single-stream recycling in which a single container holds all materials. The upside is that it makes recycling much easier and in turn Belmont’s low recycling rate will increase.

The downside, according to communities using this system, is that many residents will put regular trash into the recycling bins, reducing net recycling percentages. And costs will jump as processors charge a “tip” fee based on what it takes in.

According to Marcotte, Belmont’s current dual stream system is “cleaner” (especially with paper products) which is more valuable to processors as it can be sold as commodities to large-scale recyclers in locations as far away as China.

Marcotte said the town will need to begin the process in the next month “because [the expiration date of the old contract] will be before us before you know it.”

Yet Baghdady said “the community needs to participate in the process of making a big change in the way trash is disposed [of].”  

Recycling Saturday: Town, Butler Elementary Ready To Reclaim Material May 9

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Photo: Recycling Saturday in Belmont.

This Saturday, May 9, Belmont residents will have the opportunity to recycle just about anything they could ever hope, thanks to the town and the parents at the Butler Elementary School. 

• The town’s Department Public Work will have its annual Recycling Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Town Yard, 37 C St. Residents can recycle:

  • large, rigid plastics,
  • textiles (even ripped or stained),
  • clothes,
  • styrofoam,
  • DVDs,
  • CDs and
  • eyeglasses.

They will also provide secure paper shredding with a five box limit.

In addition, children’s clothes collected will be given to the Nepalese employees at dado tea in Cambridge who are flying to Nepal to volunteer with post-earthquake relief. 

Used, clean books should be donated to either the Belmont Public Library or at the Benton Library for their used books sale. Donors can take the donation as a tax deducttion.

• Butler Elementary, 90 White St., is holding its yearly Electronics Recycling and Disposal Drive from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Butler parking lot. For a small fee, you can drop off your old televisions, computer monitors, or anything with a plug. Prices for disposal are lower than the town’s, and there’s no need to purchase a pickup sticker.

The fees are:

  • $10 each for computer monitors,
  • $15 each for TVs 27” diagonal or less,
  • $20 each for TVs more than 27” diagonal or wood console TVs,
  • $25 each for projection TVs,
  • $15 each for large appliances such as washers, dryers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, etc., and
  • $35 for all you can bring: laptops, CPUs, cameras, CD ROM/DVD drives, servers, speakers, iPods & accessories, computer accessories, mice, keyboards, video equipment, copy/fax/scanner/printers, wires and parts, plugs, audio equipment, phones and phone systems, DVD players, stereos, UPS (back up systems), VCRs, Walkmans and microwaves.

One note: They accept cash or checks only.

Average Belmont Water, Sewer Bill Going Up About $40 Next Year

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Photo: Belmont water and sewer rates.

Belmont households and businesses will see their water and sewer bill increase by a combined 2.6 percent beginning in July as the Belmont Board of Selectmen approved the recommendations from the Belmont Department of Public Works on Tuesday, April 21, at the Beech Street Center.

The average Belmont homeowner who uses 20 HCF (hundred cubic feet) of water each three-month will see their bill jump by $10.13 – from the current $389.77 to $399.90 – in their quarterly bill from the town, nearly topping $1,600 for the coming fiscal year, according to Jay Marcotte, the town’s DPW director.

Those households and businesses the DPW dubbed as “heavy users” will see their bill increase by $27 per quarter.

The increase set for fiscal year 2016 is a significant drop from last year’s 4.6 percent jump in the combined rate.

Marcotte said Belmont’s rate increases are greatly influenced by the assessment from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which supplies the town with water and takes its sewage. And a significant percentage of the MWRA pricing – 63 percent in fiscal 2016 – is influenced by “the large amount of debt it holds.” now topping $400 million in debt in fiscal ’16.

And Marcotte said the MWRA’s assessment will spike upwards – specifically in 2017 and 2020 – due to large increases in scheduled debt payments.

The rate increases come as Belmont residents have steadily reduced their consumption of water usage over the past two decades. From a high of 1.05 billion gallons consumed in 1995, households and businesses have decreased their water usage to 767 million gallons in 2014.

But while households’ have become more efficient and consumption trends point downward, “rates will need to increase to maintain and serve the public,” said Marcotte as fixed costs of capital projects and operation costs continued to rise.

The largest capital reinvestment program – which began in 1995 – is to replace every water main installed before 1928 or about 38 miles of pipes. As of today, 24 miles – or 63 percent – of the work is complete. In addition, the town has replaced two sewage pump stations while moving forward with a new pump station in the Winn Brook area.

Water Main Break Halts Traffic on Brighton/Blanchard, Repair by 4 PM

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A major water main broke around 9 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 10, on the north side of Brighton Street at the commuter rail tracks, causing the closure of an important cross town thoroughfare.

Belmont Police detoured traffic off of Blanchard Road from Concord Avenue to the commuter tracks and Brighton Street to Vale Road and the tracks to allow Department of Public Work crews to remove and repair the pipe that spewed water onto the roadway for a short time.

“We found a major crack in the pipe so it had to be removed and a new section cut at the DPW yard,” said Mark Mancuso, operations manager of the DPW’s Water Division.

There was some concern from the MBTA the water from the leak could freeze onto the commuter rail tracks, said Mancuso. That problem did not materialize, he added.

Mancuso said the pipe should be replaced and the road reopened by 4 p.m.

 

All Hands on Deck: Belmont DPW Throwing Everything into Blizzard

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Jay Marcotte, Belmont’s newly-installed Director of Public Works, said this past Saturday’s snowfall “was a chance for the department to shake the rust off” its response in preparing and handling the inevitable task for any New England town’s DPW in clearing roads of the white stuff.

“It was only four-and-a-half inches in Belmont and we didn’t have a single resident’s call on our snow hotline,” said Marcotte as he introduced himself to the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday morning, Jan. 26.

The Belmont Department of Public Work’s Snow Emergency Hotline: 617-993-2698.

But as a potentially historic nor’easter was barreling towards the region and Belmont, Marcotte – who took over the reins of the department from the retiring Peter Castanino – wasn’t expecting his department to have as easy a go of it as three days previous.

“I suspect the hotline will have a few more calls,” he said, with a smile.

To handle the blizzard, Marcotte and Highway Division Manager Michael Santoro will be marshaling all the division’s assets as well as an army of private contractors to keep at least the main thoroughfares passable for first responders and other essential vehicles.

“It’s all hands on deck,” said Marcotte.

The Highway Division has put out 20 pieces of town-owned equipment clearing roads, including dump trucks, pickups and spreaders beginning at 6 p.m. on Monday. In addition, 37 vehicles from private contractors will be hitting the streets during the height of the storm and afterwards, said Marcotte.

In addition, a tree service is on standby to remove branches and trees that could topple during the storm and heavy equipment from James W. Flett Company and FE French Construction are ready “just in case we need them,” said Marcotte.

The DPW’s primary goal will be “to keep the main drags plowed and treated so medical and other emergency services” can get to their destinations, said Marcotte.

Plowing and treating of secondary and side roads are accomplished “as soon as the department can get to them, he said.

The planning, for tackling a storm “, is the same whether it is 2-inches or 24-inches,” said Marcotte.

“We treat [storms] accordingly to what is expected but we make sure we have a plan ready to go,” he said.

 

Oh, Christmas Tree, You Can Place It On the Curb Beginning this Week

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Today, Jan. 5th, is Twelfth Night, which marks the end of the Christmas holiday (it’s the night before Epiphany, the day when the nativity story says the three wise men visited the infant Jesus), which in the past was a time of revelry and merry making.

And with the end of the holiday comes another tradition: the dumping of the family Christmas tree onto the curb.

And starting today, the Belmont Department of Public Works will collect your Christmas trees at the curb for regular trash pickup on the designated trash day during the first two full weeks of January.

Belmont Hires Everett City Services Leader as New DPW Director

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Not wasting any time to fill an important town position, the Belmont Board of Selectmen voted Monday night, Dec. 1, to appoint Jason Marcotte, the director of city services in Everett, to replace Peter Castanino as Director of the Belmont Department of Public Works.

“[Marcotte] has a great reputation and enthusiasm” in the public works arena, said David Kale, Belmont’s town administrator who was part of the search committee.

Kale noted that his experience in public works operations and fiscal and project management “has provided him with the opportunity to work effectively with elected and appointed officials, committees and boards at all government levels.”

“I have met [Marcotte] and what an impressive person he is,” said Selectmen’s Chair Andy Rojas.

“[I’m] pleased we attracted such a fine applicant [for the position],” said Rojas.

Marcotte was hired as an employee at will with a base annual salary of $120,000. He begins work on Jan. 5, 2015.

Marcotte, who goes by Jay, has been a young man on the move in the past few years. He was hired in Everett in July 2013 after spending a year and a month as Manager for the Village of Northfield, Vt. which recruited him from his job as assistant director of public works in charge of fleet, facilities and solid waste departments in Bryan, Texas, a neighboring city to College Station, the home of Texas A&M University.

“[Jay’s] innovative approaches and ability to think outside of the box resulted in significant fiscal savings for the Departments under his charge,” Alton Rogers, a fellow Bryan employee, wrote on Marcotte’s Linkin profile.

“If you wanted the words which best describes Jay, they would be integrity, honest, intellegent, innovative, perseverant and fair,” wrote Rogers.

Marcotte – who matriculated at Norwich University where he earned a BS (in biology) and MPA – also has work experience in the budget process and with large regional organizations as a member of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s advisory board. 

He was also the chair for the Solid Waste Technical Committee for the American Public Works Association, a national organization of public works professionals with 30,000 members.

Marcotte should also garner the attention of the members of Sustainable Belmont as he published a paper on the workability of a cap and trade system for solid waste that was featured by the Sustainable City Network. He also presented a paper at the APWA annual conference in August titled “Boras, Sweden – A city free from fossil fuels.”

“His paper on cap and trade in the solid waste arena is cutting edge. The industry and government should stand up and take notice. I hope to see him published in the near future,” wrote fellow MPA recipient Erica Balk.

Marcotte lives with his wife and two children in Nottingham, NH which is close to the University of New Hampshire. He is on the town’s budget committee and ran unsuccessfully in March 2013 for the town’s three member board of selectmen, losing by seven votes out of approximately 700 cast.

Town’s Grateful Thanks as DPW Director Castanino Says Farewell

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Photo: Peter Castanino (right) with his grandson, Brandon, listens to the proclamation from Belmont Board of Selectmen as read by Chair Andy Rojas.

Like many of his days as director of the Belmont Department of Public Works, Peter Castanino had his hands full Friday morning, Nov. 21.

But unlike the usual issues of broken water mains and filling potholes, Castanino was holding his two-year-old grandson, Brandon, in the Belmont Town Hall auditorium.

Since 1932, a Castanino has been on the job for the town of Belmont. That legacy ends this week as Castanino, the architect and first director of the unified Department of Public Works, retires on Nov. 30.

On Friday at a well-attended celebration in Town Hall with residents, town officials and DPW employees, Castanino was feted for 32 years of service to the town.

A receiving line to shake his hand (or squeeze out a hug) and have a few words snaked along the front of the stage; not just officials but employees who worked for Castinano, many for two or three decades.

“Now am going to cry,” joked Castanino after a sustained standing ovation as he stood before the assembled well-wishers.

“I’m humbled and honored. I feel that I had a great opportunity and the confidence the town put into me to run departments,” he said.

Castanino began working in Belmont in September 1981 and would succeed his father, Jimmy, as superintendent of the Highway Department in October 1988.

His best-known achievement came in 2003 when he consolidated the highway, water, sanitary and parks and recreation departments under the umbrella of the Public Works Department. Since that year, he has been the department’s first and only director.

“Creating the department was such a unique opportunity, to build an organization that I thought could have a lasting value to the town,” he said.

“If the consolidation of public works did not benefit the town or the employees, then it would have been a failure,” said Castanino.

“In the public works world, Belmont’s department is known as a first-class, well-run operation and that’s attributed to you,” said Belmont Town Administrator David Kale, a department which is professional, hard working and a place where workers are respectful of their fellow employees.

“In the process to find a new director … it is like replacing (New England Patriots’ Head Coach) Bill Belichick. It’s an unpleasant task,” said Belmont Town Administrator David Kale.

“My record isn’t as good as his,” Castanino said.

His leadership skills were appropriated onto countless town-appointed boards and committees and working with town organizations such as the Belmont Garden Club.

“He set the climate, someone who was willing to work with a bunch of ladies for the benefit of the town,” said the club’s Sherry Jones.

His expertise and institutional knowledge was evident earlier in the day when Castanino was lauded at the groundbreaking celebration of the new Underwood Pool for keeping the 102-year-old facility up and running, his advocacy for a new pool complex while providing advice to the Underwood Pool Building Committee on getting the project into the ground.

And it was Castanino’s colleagues who provided the most insightful comments.

“I will miss his guidance and advice he gives you. He doesn’t tell you what to do, but he gives you advice. No one will replace Peter Castanino,” said Michael Santoro, the head of the Highway Department, who has been Castanino’s assistant for the past quarter century.

While the Highway Department will miss him during snowstorms, “if I know Peter, it’s in his blood, if I make a quick phone call … I’m sure he’ll come back to take a little ride with us,” said Santoro.

Glenn Clancy, the town’s engineer and director of Community Development who met with Castanino on a weekly basis for what one person called “highly-entertaining give-and-takes,” described Castanino as heart of the public works in Belmont.

“All great teams and I consider the municipal employees a great team, has that one person who is the focal point. They are the one person people think about, who their teammates look to for guidance, and to do it right and to do it well,” he said.

“And I firmly believe that when the residents of this community think about the municipal staff, the image they conjure up is [Castanino]. Far and away, his value to this organization has been that very presence … the image,” said Clancy.

For Castanino – who received a Boston rocker, an engraved shovel and a box of fine wines during his sendoff – the praise of what he does should be spread around to many people.

“You talked a lot about what I do but nobody does these things alone. I had lots of help, and I can not forget my public works staff, the greatest staff that I could ask for. They make me look good,” said Castanino.