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Duke Hart
Highway Superintendent
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| Address: |
Newtown Road
Danbury, CT 06810
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| Telephone: |
(203) 797-4605
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Listing files in 'Highway Department'
Superintendent’s Report:
The Public Services Division provides a majority of the city’s services as it relates to our roads, playgrounds, parks and other recreational facilities. Our snow removal and ice control program is the single most important task that the Public Services Division deals with collectively. The Division includes Highway, Park Maintenance, Forestry, and Fleet Maintenance.
The division’s superintendent, Duke Hart, works in conjunction with three assistants: General Foreman Dave Cook and Foremen Kevin Murphy and Tom Vecchiarino, along with a lead mechanic, and 2 lead park maintainers in managing and administrating one of the most diversified divisions of the Public Works Department.
Highway
About us:
The Highway Division includes 31 staff members who vary from secretary-dispatcher to laborers and masons. The Highway Division is responsible for the maintenance and reconstruction of city streets, walks, curbs, bridges, storm drains and waterways.
The Highway Division takes the safety of Danbury’s citizens very seriously by actively maintaining public right of ways. A considerable amount of time is devoted to performing routine maintenance which includes filling potholes and other road repairs, road sweeping, and storm drain cleaning to prevent drainage problems.
Upon arrival of winter, the Highway Division is prepared to maintain safe road conditions and has divided the city into 38 routes to plow and sand. Crews mix more than 16,000 cubic yards of sand with salt in order to prepare for winter snow and ice storms. Several parking lots for public buildings and schools are also part of the responsibility of this division.
In addition, a two man crew works in conjunction with Traffic Engineering to make and install traffic control and warning signs. An added benefit to the residents of the city are the annual yard debris and leaf pick-up programs, which the division offers in both the spring and fall. These programs provide residents with an opportunity to remove the leaves and garden debris that litter their property. Leaf bags are picked up at curbside and disposed of in the appropriate manner. The division also administers a bulky waste removal program in the spring.
The division has implemented a construction program allowing for a considerable amount of previously contracted work to now be performed in-house.
Our accomplishments:
Within the past year, 5 miles of road were resurfaced throughout the city, putting down 6,732.66 tons of asphalt with our own paving-box and eliminating outside contractors for this work. Drainage improvements consisting of 50 new catch basin sumps, 70 new catch basin tops and 4,983 linear feet of new pipe were implemented and the Highway Division played a major role in the installation of new drainage at Broadview Middle School after the recent oil spill on the property.
Construction administrative work for several of our projects was also done in-house, generating considerable savings to the city. A new screener allowed us to make screened topsoil and screened millings, which we are now selling as additional revenue. The division also purchased a box-paver to implement an in-house paving program.
Additionally, drainage and icing problems were corrected at more than 11 locations throughout the city. There were 65 new signs installed with over 100 repairs at various locations throughout the city, keeping the sign crew very busy all year long. The street sweeping program mechanically sweeped 240 miles of city roads providing cleaner streets and minimizing the deterioration of drains while facilitating good gutter flow.
The Highway Division also installed a new sidewalk, and a new parking lot at the upper section of the Senior Center, and new Museum in the Streets plaques were installed by our crew throughout our downtown area for the 325th Anniversary of our city.
The Highway Division will continue to implement maintenance programs with long-term goals of reducing the impact to downstream ditches, roadways and drains to minimize the deterioration of wetlands.
Parks Maintenance
About us:
Parks Maintenance is comprised of 15 full time and 11 seasonal employees. This division is responsible for the maintenance of all of our playgrounds, parks and recreational fields. Park Maintenance also maintains the grounds for all of the city’s public buildings and schools. Overall, the division mows over 400 acres of lawn at least once a week and maintains the grass islands in the city’s right of ways. This division is also responsible for the beautiful landscapes in the parks, at public buildings, monuments and many other locations throughout the city.
The division has seasonal schedules, which vary considerably. This division teams up with the Public Buildings Division and together, they plow and clear snow at most of our school grounds and public buildings. The division also has a mechanic who maintains all of the small equipment and large mowers.
Our accomplishments:
This division is responsible for the beautiful landscapes in the parks, at public buildings, monuments and many other locations throughout the city. In the spring, the Parks Maintenance Division worked hard with the Highway Division reconditioning and installing drainage on the Little League fields at Roger’s Park and completely installed a brand new baseball field at Stadley Rough School. The Parks Maintenance Division also cut back and opened up fence lines at many schools, reclaiming overgrown areas.
The Town Park at Candlewood Lake was roto-tilled, regarded and reseeded. The Parks Maintenance Division also took extra effort to prepare the Danbury High School stadium for the Special Olympics.
During the winter months the Parks Maintenance Division performed snow plowing and sanding downtown to assist the Highway and Forestry Divisions with the Blizzards of 2011.
The Division will continue to strive to make Danbury recognized as one of the tri-state municipalities with the best kept grounds, the highest level of usage by the public, and some of the best recreation opportunities around.