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Community Corner

Wayland Personnel Board Advocates New DPW Facility

At the Wayland Special Town Meeting on November 20, 2013, Wayland voters will again have the opportunity to consider and approve funding for the construction of a new Department of Public Works facility that will meet the needs of our community.

 

We ask you to consider how the DPW positively impacts the lives of Wayland residents.  DPW employees maintain the Town’s infrastructure including roads, bridges, water systems, athletic fields, cemeteries, and parks.  Our DPW employees keep our roadways and sidewalks free of snow and ice, provide emergency response to broken water mains and respond to natural events such as floods and downed trees after heavy winds.  Additionally, when requested, the DPW supports our police and fire departments in various situations from responding to motor vehicle accidents to rescuing stranded baby ducklings from dangerous catch basins.  The DPW is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  DPW employees are an integral part of our community and are committed to providing quality public service to our community.  They give us their all, each and every time they come to work. 

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The existing DPW facility on Main Street, adjacent to the Middle School, was built in the 1930s.  It does not meet the current needs of the Town or the DPW.  Of primary importance is the fact that the building raises health and safety concerns for our employees.  Both AFSCME and the Teamsters unions filed grievances against the Town in April, alleging that the Town “is not providing a safe and sanitary working environment” and requesting a “full investigation ...by state and federal agencies”.  The employees and their unions have worked with the Town and have held their grievances in abeyance pending continued efforts to move forward on a new facility and in the interim the Town has made changes to the DPW facility to ameliorate some of the health and safety issues.  The unions have used the grievance process to remind us that the Town has a moral and legal obligation to provide employees with a safe workplace. 

Find out what's happening in Waylandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

Please attend Town Meeting on November 20th and consider all of this information as you determine your vote. 

 

Respectfully,

 

Member of the Personnel Board

Nancy McCarthy, Chair

Maryanne Peabody, Vice Chair

Phil Schneider

Nick Willard

Jessica Green

 

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