Public Works Pipeline

An IntervIew wIth KevIn Johnson DIrector of hIghwAys, sAnItAtIon, AnD fleet servIces town of BrooKlIne, MA

Can you provide us some insight into your background, education, and history that led you into your current position?

When I graduated from high school I wanted to get into the workforce right away. I was always attracted to construction work and my first full time job opportunity was with the R. J. Cincotta Company, a site contractor (and former UCANE member) from Waltham. I did just about anything that they needed me to do and within a few years I was promoted to project manager. We were doing a lot of large site jobs and also MassDOT work. I learned a lot about civil construction from a great Cincotta Superintendent named Dennis O’Brien and at the same time I was taking Civil Engineering night classes at Northeastern University. I was with Cincotta for seven years and spent another five years managing projects for Roads Corporation before getting into the public sector with the Town of Brookline in 1998. I started out in the Engineering & Transportation Division where I was issuing construction permits and inspecting all kinds of infrastructure projects that outside contractors were building for the Town. In 2004, I got an opportunity to be the Operations Manager for the Highway & Sanitation Division. From there I was moved up to Director of the Highway, Sanitation, and Fleet Services Division in 2009. I’ve been with Brookline for 23 years and it has been a great fit for me and a rewarding experience. I was very fortunate to work almost my entire career under DPW “legends” Tom DeMeo and Andy Pappasturgeon and now a new chapter with Erin Galintine, who was appointed as Director in 2019. They were demanding managers but always fair and they taught me something new about public works every day.

Can you give us a brief description of

Brookline in regards to make-up of the Highway Division, population, and the infrastructure assets that your Department is responsible for maintaining? As Brookline’s Director of Highways, Sanitation, and

Fleet, myself and my staff of 66 are responsible for maintaining 99 centerline miles of roadway, 140 plus miles of sidewalks, 3,600 streetlights, 80 traffic signal intersections, hundreds of miles of pavement markings, and 1,200 plus street signs. The Highway Department is also responsible for the snow plowing and removal operations throughout the Town. We do about 45 miles of sidewalks and we can provide as many as 88 snow plowing vehicles to supplement our outside contractor fleets during large storms. With many heavily traveled roadways in Brookline, these snow and ice operations can be quite demanding. On the sanitation side, our Department oversees the Solid Waste Recycling Program and our five town trash trucks do the solid waste pick-up at 1,325 homes and another 70 commercial sites throughout town. Fleet operations is also under my watch and on any given day we have 8-12 mechanics working full time to maintain all Town vehicles (except for the Fire Department). The fleet consists of over 350 vehicles ranging from heavy equipment, sweepers, and dump trucks, to pickups and cars. continued on page 31

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Public Works Pipeline continued from page 29 Our crews take care of compressors, pumps, and anything that has a small engine in it.

What do you currently see as the most pressing infrastructure needs for the Brookline Highway Department in the next few years, and is there a 5-year Asset Management Plan in place to address those needs? projects, new traffic signals, and large curb and sidewalk projects are put out to public bid. A typical capital improvement budget (not including vehicles ) for my Department might range from $2 million to $4 million with about 75% of that amount being put out to bid. There are occasional surprises thrown at us, like five years ago when the Town decided to replace all 3,600 street lights with energy saving LED fixtures, which our Department performed in-house with our employees.

Brookline Public Works uses an Asset Management Plan to predict future needs. Each Department head works closely with the Director and the Engineering Division annually to develop priority lists of construction projects and also vehicle replacements. Depending on the severity of our winters, roadway and sidewalk repairs/upgrades are generally the most pressing issue for my Department.

How does your municipality normally fund infrastructure projects that your Department performs or contracts out? What would be a typical annual budget for your Division?

Our Division does a lot of work with our own forces and equipment. Brookline DPW received national accreditation from the American Public Works Association a few years ago for some of our successful programs and policies. Major road reconstruction

Congratulations on your recent election as First Vice President of the Norfolk/Bristol/Middlesex Highway Association (NBM). Can you tell us what your role is at NBM and how membership benefits yourself and the Town of Brookline?

My current role this year is to backup current President John Sanchez (Burlington DPW Director) who was recently elected. I am also working on a couple of committees. We have a solid leadership team at NBM and with COVID-19 under control we hope to be resuming in-person meetings. I’ve been attending NBM meetings for more than eight years. The exchange of information between public works officials benefits all of us. I’ve learned how to avoid certain problems after hearing stories from others. Conversely, I’ve learned about some obscure funding opportunities that our town was able to take advantage of. n

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