12 minute read
Public Works Pipeline
An IntervIew wIth robert “brutus” CAntoreggI DPw DIreCtor town of frAnklIn, MA
Will you please provide us with some insight into your background, education, and history that led you into your current position. I have been in the public works field for 23 plus years in various positions in Massachusetts, 16 of those years as the Director of Public Works for the Town of Franklin. Previously, I was the Director of Public Works for the Town of Millis, the Highway and Grounds Superintendent for the Town of Norwood, and I began my career in public works as the Turfgrass Manager for the City of Cambridge. Prior to my career in public works, I served our country starting as a junior in high school in the Massachusetts Army National Guard. While attending college at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, I successfully completed the Army’s Reserve Officer Training Corps Program (ROTC) and was commissioned as an officer and selected to serve on Active Duty in the United States Army with the 7th Infantry Division in Fort Ord, CA. This was an awesome time in my life when I learned so much about managing people. I ended my tenure as a 1st Lieutenant and Airborne Paratrooper in 1993. I returned to College at UMass and continued my education with the GI bill. Besides my degree in Business Management, I gained additional degrees in Agriculture, Arboriculture, and Turfgrass Management. After graduation again from UMass, I was hired as a construction superintendent and built golf courses in Scottsdale Arizona and San Diego California before returning to Massachusetts.
What other Industry Groups or Associations do you belong to?
I have been a member of multiple public works associations on both the local and national levels for many years. I’m active in the Massachusetts Highway Association where I currently serve on the Board of Directors, as well as being a member of other committees. You’ll also find me at the NorfolkBristol-Middlesex (NBM) Highway Association meetings, where I’ve been a long-time Board member and past president. Both of these groups develop not only camaraderie, they also keep me and other DPW officials up-to-date on what’s happening in the public works business. They are strong voices at the State House for Chapter 90 and other infrastructure funding increases. The development and growth of mutual aid between members has been a great accomplishment, and is helping to stretch our DPW budgets a little further. Last Fall, I had the distinct honor of being selected as a Top Ten Public Works Leader by the American Public Works Association. You might say I’m a big advocate of “Success through Association”!
Will you please give us a brief description of Franklin regarding the make-up of the DPW, population, and infrastructure statistics?
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The Town of Franklin has a population of around 36K residents and has a city form of government. The Franklin Public Works is a “Full Service” public works department. Under my direction the department is responsible for Drinking Water, Wastewater, Highways, Solid Waste, Engineering, Parks and Grounds, Street Lighting, Vehicle Maintenance, Snow Removal, and Stormwater. The town has 290 “lane-miles” of roadways containing 7,000+ catch basins and 128 miles of drainage piping. We have over 200 Treatment Basins that we take care of, and we monitor and maintain drainage discharges at 600+ locations. The town gets its drinking water from Boston Area deep wells, and approximately 160 miles of water pipes Locationscarry water to about 15,000 residences and a growing industrial business population. About 80% of the properties are sewered in Franklin with 148 miles of mainline sewer piping to maintain. We have a system of 24 pump stations that send our effluent to the Charles River Sewer Authority in Medway for treatment.
2 Dexter Street Everett, MA 02149
Boston Area Boston Area
Locat431 Sec ionsond Street Locations 2 Dexte Everett r , Street MA 021 2 49 Dexter Street Everett, MA 021 Eve49 rett, MA 02149 431 Second Stre 43et 1 Second Street Everett, MA 021 Eve49 rett, MA 02149 Franklin’s DPW operating budget is around $18 million per year. Franklin also has an extensive Capital Investment Program for a community of its size. Franklin has invested over $60 million in water, sewer, and stormwater improvements over the last 15 years. The Town has replaced 43 miles of waterline in the last 15 years, which has resulted in a reported decrease of “unaccounted water” from over 20% in 2005, to less than 7% in 2020. We have rehabbed over 50 plus miles of sewer pipe, completely reconstructed over 40 miles of roadways, and constructed a new two million gallons per day Drinking Water Plant in 2019. In 2020, the City Council finally approved a $25 million sewer capital improvement known as the “Beaver Street Interceptor Replacement and Rehabilitation Project,” which I spent 10 years planning, educating, and making presentations on. This is by far the biggest public works project ever for the Town of Franklin.
BOSTON AREA LOCATIONS 2 Dexter Street Everett, MA 02149
100 Fremont Street 431 Second Street Worcester, MA 01603 Everett, MA 02149
What do you currently see as the most pressing infrastructure needs for the Town in the next few years, and is there a 5-year Asset Management Plan in place to address those needs?
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I would say the three biggest issues facing the department right now are the replacement of the Beaver Street Sewer Interceptor, the Roadway Replacement “bubble” that is approaching, and the amount of federal monies that will be coming our way. The Beaver Street Interceptor is a 112 yearold asset. The sewer interceptor could not be located in a worse location, i.e. along a river, next to train tracks, under Route 495, and sections have been buried to a depth of 60 feet through development over the last 100 years. This more than $25 million job will require not only the construction of a three million gallon per day lift station, but also the relocation of gravity mains and a force main running down Route 140. continued on page 49
Public Works Pipeline continued from page 47 The second biggest issue is the $40 million backlog of roadway improvement the Town is facing. I implemented a road asset management and evaluation plan over 13 years ago to rate and then prioritize road improvements. The issue the town is facing is the big “bubble” of work coming up, because Franklin was the fastest growing community in Massachusetts for many years in the early 1990s. Many of the sub-division roads that were constructed during that time period are starting to fail, even though we have had a very strong and committed maintenance program of crack sealing, chip sealing, mill and overlay, hot in place, and micro surfacing to name a few. Finally, I feel the new Federal funds coming our way is awesome, but it is also going to present many challenges. Obviously all of the new funding to assets, infrastructure repairs, improvements, and construction, is great, but how is it going to all get done? At my level, I know it is going to be a difficult bureaucratic process to obtain the funds and get reimbursed in a timely manner. I really do not have the staff to design and oversee the work at this time. I also think with all of the funds coming down, it is going to be difficult to obtain materials in a timely manner. Just as I am having staffing problems with hiring laborers, inspectors, and managers, I am sure contractors who want to bid on our work will have a difficult time finding the appropriate staffing as well to be successful and profitable.
How has your municipality historically funded infrastructure projects? Does the Town utilize the SRF Loan Program through MassDEP for water infrastructure projects?
The Town of Franklin City Council has done an excellent job in funding capital improvement programs over the last 15 years. The biggest local funding commitment has been a five year “water and roads” improvement program where every five years they have authorized $7.5 million in debt service funding. The Town Council has also allocated all the funding from the local hotel tax to road improvements, and usually appropriates $1 million from free cash annually. The Town has used SRF funding as warranted for two water treatment plants and hopefully will again for the upcoming Beaver Street Interceptor Project. The town has also been very aggressive in obtaining grants. Franklin has been awarded over $1.4 million in stormwater grants over the last 15 years. Besides “Complete Streets” and “Small Bridges,” the Town was also just awarded a $.2.2 million MassWorks Grant that will commence next year!
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As you know, the Mass. Legislature has recently allocated some surplus 2021 ARPA funds for horizontal infrastructure work, and the long awaited “Infrastructure Bill” was recently passed in Washington. Both promise to provide substantial funding opportunities for roads, bridges, water, and sewer projects for the next five years (minimum). Is Franklin weighing in at the State House for these funds, and does the DPW have some “shovel-ready” projects available for 2022 if necessary? Our Town’s financial leaders are very much at work now with our local delegation to determine what funding we will be able to count on from the new 5-Year Infrastructure Bill. I’m sure our DPW will qualify for a decent portion of these funds. I’ve got a few projects that are “shovel-ready” now, but it won’t take long to add some more. All in all, it looks like the Franklin DPW will be seeing a sizable increase in activity and spending in the next few years. With inflation fast becoming an issue, there is a concern on how far the money will go, but delaying these needed projects won’t solve that problem. n
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