Public Works Pipeline

An IntervIew wIth ChrIs GAllAGher DPw DIreCtor town of foxborouGh, MA

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

I began my public works career as a 20-yearold intern with the Town of Westwood DPW. After three years of Mechanical Engineering studies at WPI, I went looking for a summer internship. After not finding anything of interest in the private engineering industry, I heard my hometown of Westwood typically hired college students for Co-Ops. It didn’t take long for me long to realize I had a passion for civil engineering and public works. I graduated Worcester Polytechnic Institute with my Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2003 and began work on my masters in Civi Engineeringl. In 2004, I was hired full time as the Westwood Assistant Town Engineer. In 2010, the Director, Highway Superintendent, and Town Engineer all retired within three months. It was then I realized my desire to add the human resources component of being a DPW Director. I was the Westwood Deputy Director of Public Works from 2010-2014. In 2014, an opportunity came along to become the Town Engineer for Foxborough, where I purchased my first home a few years earlier to raise my family. In 2019 the DPW Director retired and I was promoted to my current role of Foxborough DPW Director.

Please give us a brief description of Foxborough regards make-up of the DPW, population, and infrastructure statistics?

The Town of Foxborough has a population of 18,600 residents (2020 Census) and has a town meeting form of government with an elected Board of Selectmen, Board of Water and Sewer Commission, and Town Manager. The Foxborough Public Works Department consists of multiple divisions that include Highway, Tree and Park, Water and Sewer, Equipment Maintenance, and Engineering. We maintain 120 miles of water mains, 22 miles of sewer mains, a reuse water system that serves Patriot Place including Gillette Stadium, 100 miles of roads, 70 miles of sidewalks, over 200 acres of fields and green space, and we have over 170 pieces of equipment and vehicles that include school buses and police vehicles.

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?

The Foxborough Board of Water and Sewer Commission set a goal and has been dedicated for the last 10-15 years to resolve the “dirty water” and low production problems caused by high levels of iron and manganese found in our groundwater wells. Foxborough has spent over $40 million since 2008 to construct three green sand water filtration plants, reconstruct nine of the 13 permitted wells, construct new and structurally line existing water mains, put two excontinued on page 43