Georgia highway dept. starts winter season with new facility

By JACQUELINE CAIN | Staff Writer
jackie@miltonindependent.com

Not only does Georgia’s new sand and salt shed look more pleasing from Plains Road, but the structure will also help save the town money in the long run, highway foreman Howard Webster said.

The 60-foot by 120-foot structure, which is awaiting landscaping but was functionally complete on October 1, will provide shelter for the nearly 3,500 yards of sand and 250 tons of salt the town purchases each winter. In previous years, the sand was stored outside and was subject to erosion and wind, Webster said.

“There is a savings, because you don’t have a loss [to the elements]. It’s contained inside,” he said.

He added that the sand kept outside was prone to freezing in chunks.

“It costs time in spreading it,” he said. Putting the frozen pieces on the roads was also dangerous, added Town Administrator Carrie Johnson.

Webster doesn’t expect to see an instant savings by sheltering the sand this winter – highway’s winter materials budget is $47,000 this year, which is average, he said – but the sand will be better quality all season long because it won’t be exposed to the elements, he said.

In addition to the new shed, the highway department has more space inside the town garage across the street since the Fire Department moved into its new building last spring.

When the two departments shared the garage, the highway department had three parking bays, Webster said. Now it has six, and though not all of the town’s equipment is stored inside all the time, the garage has enough space for it all: five plow trucks, two backhoes, one road grader and one pick-up truck, he said.

“Equipment is expensive now; you want the longevity,” Webster said. “Keeping it inside, keeping it under cover” will help keep the equipment in good shape. Storing it inside is also convenient, he added.

The highway department has no immediate plans to replace any of its equipment or to add to its fleet, Webster said.

Both the highway and fire department projects, as well as the renovations to Georgia’s municipal building in June, were funded in part by a voter-approved bond in January 2010. For these projects, the town borrowed $1.58 million so far, though there are “a few punch-list items” left to do this spring, Johnson said.

Johnson said $240,000 was allocated for the sand and salt shed, but the bid came in at $214,000. The savings is thanks to highway department employees doing sitework themselves, as well as a generous donation of labor on the building’s framework from Harrison Concrete, she said.

“[Harrison’s donation] certainly made this very affordable for us and the taxpayers,” Webster added.

A large donation from Bryce Realty helped move the fire department project forward. Johnson said she has seen “strong, local support” for community projects in the eight years she has worked for the town.

“It seems more pronounced in the last few years when the town has started the construction projects,” she added.

Ruggiano Engineering, Inc. of St. Albans drafted the plans for the sand and salt shed, and So. Burlington-based Neagley & Chase did the construction, Johnson said.

In early spring, the former dilapidated structure was demolished. On the site was an 1850s-era farmhouse and barn, a garage and Georgia’s original fire station, circa 1950, which were all largely unused and “an eyesore for the town,” Webster said.

“There was a space in the end of that building where the salt was stored; otherwise, it had served its purpose,” he said.

The town hired Williston-based ATC Associates, Inc. to test the soil; due to the age of the structure, the Selectboard was concerned about potential contamination, Johnson said.

“There was a little bit of asbestos in an old fire hose that was stored in there; that had to be cut up, bagged and disposed of with hazardous waste through Northwest Solid Waste,” Webster said. “Nothing in the buildings as far as lead paint or soil contamination.”

Metal from the structures was sold to scrap salvage yard Hodgdon Brothers, Inc. in Swanton for $1800 to offset the project’s costs, Johnson said.

The four members of Georgia’s highway department began filling the new sand and salt shed on October 1. Other than the building itself, the department has no new plans for this winter. The employees will still maintain nearly 63 miles of municipal roads to the town’s “safe-roads” policy.

“Salt is only ever used mixed with sand, and we only use salt if it’s above 20 degrees,” Webster said, reiterating the town’s Winter Operations Policy. “So that means you’re driving on snow, in less-than-desirable conditions.”

Most Georgia residents have private wells, and salt runoff can contaminate the water supply, he explained.

“On dirt roads, [using salt is] just not a good idea at all. It’s a mess. It makes mud when the road starts to thaw out, which happens periodically throughout the winter, not just in the spring,” Johnson added.

Webster agreed: “Sand just works the best. It’s most economical at this time.”
Webster also clarified that residents should be aware of the town’s rights-of-way; mailboxes or other items in rights-of-way damaged by plows will not be replaced per the written policy, he said.

Though Webster admits the town tries to be lenient when it comes to the winter parking ban, if parked vehicles cause safety hazards or prevent the highway department from clearing roads, the owner will be contacted, and vehicles could be towed.

“We strongly encourage people to not park in town rights-of-way,” Johnson added.

If residents have questions or concerns about Georgia’s winter operations, that policy and others are accessible online at www.townofgeorgia.com, under the “Selectboard policies” tab. For more information, call the municipal building’s main line at 524-9794.