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Mayor: City Lost Two DPW Trucks in Storm

McGlynn said he knows city "wasn't perfect" dealing with the storm but employees did a "very good job."

 

Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn said two city Department of Public Works trucks were victims of the major winter storm that blanketed two feet of snow on the city.

McGlynn said during a Friday press conference he would request to include two new DPW trucks among the items to be funded by a possible $3.2 million interest-free loan from the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority discussed by the City Council this week.

McGlynn said one of the trucks, a smaller plow, actually overheated and "burst into flames" due to the stress from pushing "heavy, wet snow." McGlynn said the truck was "a $50,000 item."

The other truck that died during the storm was a sander, which was also valued at $50,000.

McGlynn is proposing purchasing two larger trucks that are combination plows and sanders at a cost of $200,000 each.

According to McGlynn, those trucks will help the city after identifying problem areas during the last storm.

"They'll take care of some of the areas that we recognized were issues during this storm, and they'll just blow those areas out in any future storm," McGlynn said, anticipating the City Council will support such a measure.

McGlynn thanked residents for their patience and cooperation during the storm. He said he toured the city throughout the storm with DPW Commissioner Paul Gere.

Medford utilized a major piece of equipment called a "snow-eater" during the storm that hadn't been used since the Blizzard of '78. McGlynn said the machine was akin to a giant snowblower.

Under the circumstances, McGlynn felt city employees tasked with clearing streets for safe travel did a "very good" job.

"We know it wasn't perfect but they did a very good job under these very trying circumstances," he said.

Less than 100 cars were towed in Medford during the storm, which McGlynn attributed to a good job by the city of getting the word out on parking bans.

Related Topics: Blizzard of 2013, Dpw, MWRA, Medford MA Department of Public Works, and Trucks

Frank Mulligan

9:06 am on Saturday, February 16, 2013

Guess what folks. The city is falling apart after the STORM. Mc Glynn is'nt doing anything to improve it. It's just costing TAX payers. 2 city trucks down after the STORM. Good Luck Medford.

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Richard Dees

9:48 am on Saturday, February 16, 2013

They used that giant snow blower, the snow eater, on my street. It did a great job. So why haven't they used it since the Blizzard of 78? Has it just been sitting around for 35 years?

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Frank Mulligan

12:12 pm on Saturday, February 16, 2013

.Richard it's just like the statue of liberty. It just sits aroud after spending the MONEY. What else is new in Medford. Good Luck

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Giovana

4:29 pm on Saturday, February 16, 2013

Across ofvthe street from my house they left a pile of snow in front of a driveway where an elderly person lives and they cleaned all the snow to the ground at the corner of a house only feet away... I was wondering how do they chose who gets a pile of snow left and who gets everything removed? I have some pics...
I always clean my sidewalk but so many of them are still not clean yet? That's why lots of people are risking their lives walking on the street... I thought it could also be a good source of income to the city...not just giving tickets for traffic violations... Ohhh, I forget some people don't need to walk...

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