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Politics & Government

Foxborough Plans For Next Storm

Foxborough Town Manager still disappointed with National Grid's communication since the October storm.

Although this winter has been mild, Foxborough has not forgotten the storms this past fall.

Town Manager Kevin Paicos said they have been has proactive as they can be.  He said town officials have been actively participating in the state Department of Public Utilitie’s hearings on the investigation into National Grid’s response to Tropical Storm Irene in September.

Paicos said during the fall storms, “Ninety percent of the problem was on their end.”

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He said the hearing for the September storm ended in November. The DPU has yet to make a ruling and the hearings for the October storm have not yet begun.  

He said that Foxborough DPW had been working with National Grid crews for three or four weeks eliminating all the dead branches above power lines.

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As far as any communication between National Grid and the town to prevent further serious power outages like they saw in the fall, he said, “We asked them to work with us on a priority list and that sputtered.”

He noted they did begin to, “make some improvement.”

“In terms of the confidence we needed from them, we've been disappointed.” For instance Paicos said, he was looking for to promise to keep tree cutting on the union loop that connects a large electrical circuit for most of south eastern Massachusetts.

Paicos said the town’s new DPW Director Roger Hill in coordinating with National Grid to aid them in the tree trimming.

They have also included two new laborers in the DPW budget, while getting rid some part time positions. He said they have doubled the strength of the tree department so they can cut year round and eliminate hangers. Paicos said the news positions are, “Good buy and people would support it.”

They also have added money to the budget for 70’ bucket truck to get the hanging limbs above the wires. Currently, they have a 50’ truck that can’t reach above the trees.

Paicos noted he added a, “substantial sum of money for variety of supplies,” for emergency situations, like pots, blankets and generators for the intersections. “That is very small part of a huge list, he said.

He said he would like a better dialogue with the state housing authority that manages the senior housing in Foxborough. 

He believes getting generators for that site is a priority, but, “they haven’t shown a great deal of interest in working with us.” 

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