Saturday, May 11, 2013
Faulty part at Cumberland Street site is letting foul odors out, spurring numerous complaints.
Synagro officials say the company's bankruptcy won't affect efforts to replace the busted air scrubber letting foul odors emmanate from the company's sludge-burning incinerator on Cumberland Street. DPW Director Sheila McGauvran said during an initial conversation with an Synagro official about fabricating the replacement part (new scrubbers aren't stockpiled), he asked for her patience while the part is made. McGauvran said she told him, "I can't be patient. This is a quality of life issue. It's unacceptable." McGaurvran said she reached Pam Racey at Synagro's corporate office late Friday afternoon. "We did indicate to them that this current situation is unacceptable," she said. Residents have been calling the city about the foul odors…
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Compost bags picked up at 7 a.m. on collection days.
City curbside pick-up of yard waste (grass clippings, small branches, weeds, etc.) for 1-3 family properties, is back in effect, and will continue through Friday, June 21. The DPW Solid Waste Dvision reminds residents to place yard waste in compost bags (do not use any kind of tape to secure the bags closed) or closed barrels (with lids) clearly marked “YARD WASTE” and leave them curbside on your collection day by 7 a.m. The drop-off site in Blackstone, MA, off Canal Street (North Smithfield) will be open Wednesdays 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., starting April 17 for those residents having the appropriate yard waste sticker; all residential properties in the City of Woonsocket are included in the yard waste drop-off…
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Robert Harnois has no standing to pursue grievance after he and union agreed he'd resign.
Superior Court Judge Bennett R. Gallo has ruled for Woonsocket Thursday in a dispute with former Highway Superintendent Robert Harnois, who agreed in 2010 to resign to avoid getting fired, then attempted a union dispute over losing the job. In May of 2010 Harnois agreed to resign his position in exchange for the city's withdrawal of a pending termination for cause, according to a release from Mayor Leo Fontaine's office. The settlement agreement was offered by representatives of Local 3851 of Council 94 AFSCME, according to both Fontaine's release and court records. Following the agreement, Harnois submitted his resignation May 19, 2010. The city subsequently withdrew its termination letter. As a result of the settlement, the union …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Lights will blink yellow on Cumberland, red on Kendrick for two weeks before setting to normal operation.
New traffic lights at the intersection of Cumberland Street and Kendrick Avenue will be switched on today thanks to a $350,000 grant from the “Safe Routes to School” program. The new traffic lights should provide Woonsocket Middle School Students a safe means of crossing the four-lane street by the Woonsocket Middle School students, according to Superintendent of Solid Waste/Engineering Mike Debroisse. The lights will be activated in a blinking mode starting today, (blinking “yellow” on Cumberland Street and blinking “red” on Kendrick Avenue) and will remain set this way for the next two weeks. The lights will then be changed over to operate based on traffic exiting Kendrick Avenue and/or activation by pedestrians wishing to cross the …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Fire Chief asks for extra caution as DPW continues road-clearing efforts.
The city's streets don't have two feet of snow on them any more, but many aren't down to pavement yet and some are still tough to travel on. Residents aren't happy with the roads' condition. "Terrible," said Dave Richards on the aptly named Winter Street Monday morning, as traffic passed on a road still covered with a few inches of snow, which had hardened into a series of seasonal potholes across the area's streets. Richards said the roads are down to the tar at the Bellingham town line. "Terrible," offered another Winter Street resident shoveling his driveway, who declined to give his name. "Woonsocket roads are unsafe due to bad plowing. This city should hire another company. These roads are putting people’s lives at risk. …
Friday, February 8, 2013
Highway Department workers spent afternoon getting plow fleet ready to roll.
With a serious winter storm hours away from the area, and the men and women of the Woonsocket DPW were wasting no time getting the city's snowplow fleet ready to clear the roads. Derrick Cabral, DPW foreman at the DPW's garage on River Street, supervised preparations Thursday afternoon as workers mounted snowplows on the highway department's 15 big trucks, and readied the othe eight 4X4s in the city's fleet. Those vehicles will team up with several contractors to keep the streets clear as the winter storm settles over northern Rhode Island. Stay tuned to our Winter Storm Information Center for the latest on the blizzard as it occurs.
42.00856
-71.52932
1117 River St, Woonsocket, RI
DPW Garage
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/locations/8774462
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Bid to bargain to keep facility public gets boost, board to hear North Smithfield Town Administrator's inquiry.
Ken DeLorenzo, executive director of RI Council 94 AFCSCME, asked the Budget Commission to keep the city's drinking water plant public, offering to negotiate to match savings they'd get by privatizing. The Budget Commission agreed to hear them out, and also delayed a vote on sending a Request for proposal (RFP) out for a new water treatment plant contractor. Budget Commission Chairman Bill Sequino said an e-mail he received from North Smithfield Town Administrator Paulette Hamilton asked to consult with the Budget Commission on the decision. The water treatment plant supplies water to North Smithfield, among other northern RI communities. He said the delay on approving an RFP would allow them to address her questions and comments first…
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Building without heat while replacement sections are installed.
City Hall's boiler failed Tuesday, taking half the building's heat with it. Reparing the massive, 16-section piece boiler in City Hall's sub-basement required a crane to move in four 600-lb replacement sections Friday morning at 8 a.m. Arden Engineering of Pawtucket will install them to the serpentine boiler, said Public Works Director Sheila McGauvran. The work may take until the middle of this week. The pieces were moved in within about half an hour.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Sections of building's 24-year-old boiler failed Tuesday; repair to cost $16,000
City Hall's boiler failed Tuesday, compromising half the building's heat just as some of the coldest weather of the year set in. Reparing the massive, 16-section piece of equipment in City Hall's sub-basement is going to require a crane to move in four 600-lb replacement sections so Arden Engineering of Pawtucket can attach them to the serpentine boiler, said Public Works Director Sheila McGauvran. It'll also cost $16,000, a new expense for the city to pick up. "We were not expecting that," McGauvran said. The boiler, which was installed in 1988, started leaking in four of its 16 snaking sections on Tuesday, she said. When workers attempted to fix the leaks, they found the steel of the leaking sections was rotted away. "It was falling …
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Trees should be left on regular pickup days, without wrapping of any kind.
The City of Woonsocket's Public Services Division will be picking up discarded Christmas Trees starting Wednesday, Jan. 2, through Friday, Jan. 18. Trees will be picked up on your regular trash pick-up day. Residents are asked that the trees are not wrapped in any type of plastic nor have any ornaments left on them. Place discarded trees in front of your property in the sidewalk area. Kindly leave enough room in the sidewalk area for pedestrians. Artificial Christmas trees with a metal core can be brought to the City Recycle Facility located at 943 River Street (Monday – Friday 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. and Saturdays 8 a.m. – noon). If you have any questions, call Solid Waste Division at 401-767-8880.
42.00287
-71.51371
City of Woonsocket Department of Public Works
169 Main St, Woonsocket, RI
/articles/city-will-begin-christmas-tree-pickup-jan-2
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David T
8:48 am on Monday, May 13, 2013
The mayor's office should stop guessing at the percentage of smell coming from the lack of a scrubber which is from the incinerator versus the open tanks of the sewer plant that processes the raw sewer from all of our toilets and all the toilets from towns that are tied into our system. I'm sure that having giant dump trucks driving into the city on a daily basis full of dried poop pulling up to … more ›