GREENFIELD — City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to allocate $550,000 in capital stabilization funding to fix the Transfer Station’s concrete floors — a job that Mayor Ginny Desorgher said now includes tackling a rat infestation.
The Ways and Means Committee voted unanimously to approve funding for the project at its Tuesday night meeting, in which Department of Public Works Director Paul Newell explained that the floor at the Cumberland Road facility is significantly fractured after decades of slow deterioration and is now in need of immediate repair.
Desorgher, who attended the Ways and Means Committee alongside Newell, further explained that the area has become increasingly populated by rats, when she addressed City Council Wednesday evening. She said rats have already chewed through wires in DPW trucks and she is concerned that they will damage the city’s new trash and recycling trucks, which are expected to arrive in the winter.
“Unfortunately the problems there are far larger than just the floor, which will cost about half a million dollars to fix. There is a huge problem with rats,” Desorgher said. “Our DPW and Central Maintenance teams have been implementing a stronger strategy to eliminate the rats and there have been some positive results. Ultimately, we need a permanent solution that gives our hardworking DPW employees a safe and clean environment.”
Desorgher added that she is working with the DPW to find locations for vehicle storage that will protect the city’s fleet from rodents. She mentioned she has reached out to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for potential funding assistance and that, “as always,” the city’s legislative partners have been “helpful and willing” to advocate for Greenfield.
At-Large City Councilor Sara Brown asked Central Maintenance Facilities Director Joe Pugliese whether the department has been using second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides in their pest management practices, explaining that these products can kill birds of prey, which control rodent populations.
Pugliese said that while anticoagulant rodenticides are not in use at the Transfer Station, the department is considering “pivoting” its pest management strategies and is seeing a decline in its rodent population.
Before councilors voted unanimously in favor of the floor repair project, Precinct 4 Councilor John Bottomley explained that although the project was initially expected to cost $800,000, a new estimate shows that it is expected to cost $500,000. The city has approximately $1.3 million remaining in its Capital Stabilization Account, according to Finance Director Stephen Nembirkow.
“This is obviously an unsafe situation that needs to be remedied right away,” Bottomley said. “[The Ways and Means Committee] also voted to amend this to $550,000 to leave just a little bit of room, but it sounds like it will [cost] right around $500,000.”
Councilors also voted to allocate $90,000 of unused funds that were leftover after the purchase of a Fire Department ladder truck to the DPW for the purchase of a Rockport utility van. Bottomley referred to the purchase as something that’s “needed for the department,” as it will allow DPW workers to have a mobile source of tools and equipment.
Precinct 3 Councilor Michael Mastrototaro echoed Bottomley’s remarks on the van purchase, explaining that he believes the funds would be money well-spent.
“I’ve seen what those guys are driving around in and I know one of their vehicles is a bucket truck, which is absolutely useless for the work they’re doing,” Mastrototaro said. “It’s a jalopy at best. We’ve been investing money in vehicles for other major departments, so I think it’s $90,000 well-spent.”
