Dickinson: Outside help is OK with me

As published in the Record Journal on Thursday February 14, 2013

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

WALLINGFORD — While Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. prefers that the town’s workforce clear its snow, he’s not philosophically opposed to bringing in outside contractors, and is, in fact, considering putting the service out to bid “if snow keeps coming down like this,” he said Wednesday.

Dickinson clarified his attitude toward private contractors after an article in Wednesday’s Record-Journal incorrectly stated that he doesn’t believe in using them. The town simply hires contractors for snow removal on an as needed basis and does not budget for them as some other cities and towns do.

“It’s not that we don’t ever do it,” he said. “We just do it when it’s necessary.”

For this past weekend’s blizzard, Dickinson said, the town rented a front loader that came with an operator, as well as another piece of snow removal equipment that was operated by a town employee.

“This time we got some equipment, but we didn’t reach a point” where the town needed to bring in outside contractors, Dickinson said.

Dickinson used the Department of Public Utilities as an example of the town bringing in outside contractors to assist during emergencies. George Adair, the department’s director, said the town hires outside help for “two primary areas.”

Adair said Asplundh Tree Expert Co., of East Windsor, performs zone trimming annually. The company trims vegetation on one-quarter of the town’s roads. Adair said Asplundh is also brought in to do “spot trimming on an as needed basis.”

Another example is Thirau LLC, an electrical contracting company based in Newington, which is brought in to help the Department of Public Utilities, mainly during emergencies, Adair said.

The company provides linemen, who are “utilized and often pre-positioned prior to major events” such as Hurricane Irene or Superstorm Sandy, Adair said.

Adair said companies are hired on multiyear contracts through competitive bidding. He stressed that the town is capable of repairing power lines and trimming trees, but that hiring outside help is crucial so “we don’t have to maintain folks just for those purposes.”

There are “times when we don’t have enough people to respond to an emergency event,” he said.

Dickinson said he may look into hiring contractors to remove snow through the bidding process. In Southington, 10 to 15 private contractors have been on the road helping clear snow in the past few days, according to Town Manager Garry Brumback. The town secures snow removal contractors every year by putting the service out to bid.

Dickinson said Public Works Department staff and town officials will have to assess if putting snow removal services out to bid is a good idea.

“We may already have some capabilities with existing bids” through the Board of Education, Dickinson said.

School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo said the district signed a three-year contract with a snow removal company last spring. The district puts the work out to bid every three years, but “sometimes extensions are granted,” Menzo said. “We’re very satisfied with what was done this storm,” Menzo said.

Dickinson said that, if the school system has successfully hired a contractor for snow removal through the bidding process, the town might be able to “just use the existing bid.”

Blackout business booming in Wallingford

As published in the Record Journal, Wednesday November 2, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff

WALLINGFORD — With large portions of Meriden, Southington and Cheshire still without power Tuesday after Saturday’s snowstorm, business was booming in Wallingford, where all but a few homes and businesses have their electricity back.

On Tuesday morning, more than 80 percent of Meriden remained without power, but as travelers on Route 5 crossed the Wallingford line, they saw working traffic lights, open businesses and long lines.

At the Dunkin’ Donuts at 1101 N. Colony Road, drive through traffic was backed up all the way to the road and the parking lot was full. Inside the restaurant, customers waited in a line that snaked throughout the lobby.

Victoria Brady, of Meriden, said she’s been without power since Saturday.

“And probably until the end of the week,” she added.

Brady saw the long line at the drive-through, and said she would rather wait inside the warm restaurant than outside in her car.

Throughout the outage, Brady said, she’s been stopping to get food “wherever I can find a place.”

While many customers without power were happy to find a place to get a hot meal or a cup of coffee, commuters on their way to work and regular customers were shocked by the increase in volume.

Lui Nobrega, of Wallingford, said he’d “never seen it this packed” at the North Colony Road Dunkin’ Donuts. Nobrega stopped at another Dunkin’ Donuts in town and turned away because of the line. Shortly after he entered his second Dunkin’ Donuts of the morning, he saw another extended line, turned around and left.

“It’s not happening,” he said. Jackie Branco, who works in Wallingford, also turned away from the North Colony Road Dunkin’ Donuts because of the long line.

“There’s lines like this all over, anywhere that’s serving breakfast,” she said.

Branco said she still had power at her Naugatuck home, so she didn’t mind a little inconvenience in her morning routine.

Maria Kyriakis, co-owner of Neptune House Restaurant and Diner, at 1086 N. Colony Road, said the restaurant has been “very busy” since the storm and she and her husband, Chris, were working around the clock.

“We’ve had people from Meriden, Cheshire, Southington, all the places that have been out,” she said.

The restaurant had extra employees working and was ordering extra supplies.

Kyriakis said her staff was trying to strike a balance between handling all the new customers as well as the regulars.

“The people we know, they’re like family,” she said. “We can only do so much. We’re trying the best we can.”

At Duchess Restaurant, at 124 Church St., Meriden resident Bob Martin was in a crowd of people stopping by for something to eat Tuesday morning. Martin said he had been without power since Saturday night at 11 p.m. Martin, who works in Wallingford, said he had made trips to other towns several times for gas and food.

“Pretty much only Wallingford has power,” he said. “About the only thing open in Meriden is the McDonald’s.”

Everywhere in the area he had been that had power was crowded.

“The lines are unbelievable,” he said.

At Holiday Cinemas, at 970 N. Colony Road, visits to the theater were up.

“It’s been a little crazy,” said Naomi Corso, a manager. “It’s more like what we see on the holidays.”

Corso said residents without power were coming to the movie theater to warm up, and with all local schools closed Tuesday many families with kids were stopping by.

“ ‘Puss in Boots’ sold out,” she said, referring to the children’s movie about a sword wielding cat.

Wallingford Electric Division, the municipal utility that covers the town, reported only 4,000 outages of the town’s 25,000 ratepayers at the peak of the storm. In a statement, the utility said it expected to restore power to all but 100 customers by midnight Tuesday. There is no estimate for when power will be restored completely.

By comparison, peak outages topped 24,000 in Meriden, 13,000 in Southington and 10,000 in Cheshire. Connecticut Light & Power Co., which covers the three municipalities, had not provided an estimated time for complete restoration as of Tuesday.