Snow dough makes few Saugus streets special

SAUGUS-Every resident thinks their neighborhood is special, but when it comes to plowing only a handful of streets have become a priority.With snow removal costs climbing closer to $800,000 Town Manager Andrew Bisignani has made a decision to only bring out the plows for snowfalls of four inches or more.”I used four inches as a benchmark,” Bisignani said. “Obviously if it’s a public safety issue we will address it and obviously we will do the hills.”The town budgeted $150,000 for snow and ice removal for fiscal 2009, which is not unusual. Since no one can predict how much snowfall there will be in a given year, snow and ice removal is the one budget line the state allows communities to overspend. The shortfall is then made up in the next year’s budget.Bisignani budgeted $700,000 in the fiscal 2010 to cover the this winter’s shortfall but that might not be enough.”At this point we’ve spent all our money for snow and ice,” he said. “If we go beyond this we start eating into the budget.”Public Works Superintendent Joseph Attubato said he is trying his best to maintain the streets with the town’s small fleet of 23 plows and without calling in outside contractors.”We will try and maintain the streets the best we can,” he said. “It may take a little longer but it will save the town a ton of money.”While Bisignani and Attubato have prioritized the town’s streets, they also prioritized their list. The following is a list of the streets that would be plowed first during a storm: Altamount Ave, Austin Street, Benson Avenue, Briggs Court, Cheever Avenue, Clayton Avenue, Felsmere Avenue, Johnson Terrace, Lewis Lane, Pinehurst Road, Riverview Avenue, Sharon Drive, Springdale Terrace, Staff Road, Whittier Avenue.Click Here to see the list of streets. (PDF Format)Along with the snow issues, Bisignani said there are also a slew of manholes that have collapsed and will need to be repaired.”Every winter it’s a problem but this year is one of our worst,” Attubato said. “It started before Christmas.”Attubato said pressure from the frost, which is about two-feet deep in the ground, can cause the manholes as well as catch basins to tilt. He said added pressure of vehicles driving over them will cause the ground under the manholes to crumble, collapsing the manhole itself.”We have several dozen that will have to be repaired,” he said. “Some we’ll do ourselves but we’re short-staffed. Some will have to go to contractors.”