Posted by Bob on February 5, 2011 under Daily Blogs | 
Work to clear snow and ice from Naugatuck School roofs has mostly concluded for Saturday (2/5/2011) due to weather concerns, with a few isolated crews still working as of the last field report at approximately 5:00 PM. Private contractors and Borough employees will continue to work on Sunday (2/6/2011), to complete removal at the district’s schools. The following is an update of each individual school, as reported to me by Business Manager Wayne McAllister. Again, please try and realize that we are trying to address all the flat roof schools. Please do not become concerned if you particular favorite school is not complete or still needs to be addressed. We are still one (1) school district and working together to address all schools.
Naugatuck High School – Private contractors assumed the majority of responsibilities once Connecticut National Guard Soldiers departed earlier this morning (2/5/2011). Work was halted late in the afternoon as the rain made traction even worse than it was last night (2/4/2011). The following areas are scheduled for completion on Sunday (2/6/2011): the Judd (Junior/Senior) House (about 2/3rds finished), the technical education buildings (2), the music room and the foyer on the East side of the gymnasium. All other areas have been shoveled, overwhelmingly by hand due to the solar panels. This is a massive operation. I can not remember when we have ever shoveled the entire high school, and for good reason. Anyone who believes that “preventive maintenance” should have been exercised previously should have taken the time to witness approximately five hundred (500) human beings, three hundred (300) of which were National Guard Soldiers, on the roof of this building the past two (2) days. This is not something we would ever want to do more than once. Hopefully the weather will never force us to do this again anytime soon.
City Hill Middle School – The latest report had the middle school at about eighty five (85%) percent completion. Reports from this morning (2/5/2011) indicated that the school would be completed by the early afternoon, but City Hill required work throughout the afternoon (2/5/2011). A small crew remains on site working toward completion.
Cross Street Intermediate School - A small crew of contractors started the school this afternoon (2/5/2011) and remains working as of the 5:00 PM report. The crew will return tomorrow (2/6/2011).
Hillside Intermediate School – A large and well-equipped contractor finished Hillside this afternoon (2/5/2011). Hillside’s roof is clear of snow.
Andrew Avenue Elementary School – The same crew that cleaned Hillside plans to complete snow and ice removal at Andrew Avenue on Sunday (2/6/2011).
Central Avenue Elementary School – A crew started Central Avenue this morning (2/5/2011) and will remain working until approximately 9:00 PM tonight (2/5/2011). Any remaining work will be completed on Sunday (2/6/2011). This same crew cleared the accumulation from the adjacent Naugatuck Day Care this afternoon (2/5/2011). While Naugatuck Day Care is a separate entity from Naugatuck, the building is owned by the Borough.
Hop Brook Elementary School – Custodial staff cleared significant snow around sidewalks and stairwells today (2/5/2011). Hop Brook has high-pitched roofs that have little accumulation, and do not require clearing. The gymnasium, however, is a flat roof and will require snow and ice removal. At this time (6:00 PM), we are still trying to determine if any of our private contractors will have time on Sunday (2/6/2011) to complete this task after other work is finished on Sunday (2/6/2011).
Salem Elementary School – The contractor that finished Hillside cleared the few flat roof sections of Salem this afternoon (2/5/2011). The remaining roof sections of Salem have high pitches with little accumulation and do not require shoveling.
Western Elementary School – Removal of snow and ice accumulation is complete at Western. The roof is clear.
Please be advised that all of the above was and continues to be accomplished at significant cost. If anyone believes that a few custodians and Public Works employees could have performed “preventive maintenance” snow removal from all of our schools, such a perception has no basis in reality. Removing snow from flat, slippery roofs is hard, labor-intensive, time consuming and dangerous work. There were numerous slips and falls the past two (2) days, usually on the bare but wet surface when snow was removed. In almost all years, snow melts and drains. That is not the case this year. While none of our roofs were deemed structurally unfit at the time this operation began, we were running-out of room for error. Action, although time consuming and very expensive, was necessary. The costs associated, when compared to the value of the assets protected, pale in comparison.
In addition to all of the above work related to our schools, our plows and those of our contractors have been sanding roads today (2/5/2011) and will continue to do so throughout the night. Please be patient with them as their task is immense and never-ending this Winter. If you have safety concerns for a particular area, we likely share the same. Unfortunately this is something that we will have to endure but continue to address throughout the Winter.
I welcome comments, thoughts and concerns regarding all the above information. I may not be able to respond to all individually due to the volume and the time demands of the past few days, but be assured that I read each and everyone here and on Facebook (even the ones that make you scratch your head). Please be assured that I post all comments, whether positive or negative, except those which are spam and/or contain inappropriate language and/or themes. This explains the occasional lag in seeing your comment. This will likely be the last post for today (2/5/2011). Be safe.
Posted by Bob on under Daily Blogs |
Snow shoveling continues at Naugatuck High School as we start to approach twenty four (24) hours since the start of the operation. The final contingent of Connecticut National Guard Soldiers, who worked throughout freezing temperatures in the early morning hours, are completing another section of the enormous roof. As soldiers are near the end of their authorized assignment, we would again like to thank these outstanding Man and Women for their devoted service to the Borough and their Country. Multiple private contractors will remain working at the high school after the Guard departs. Unfortunately no activities will be allowed at the high school until the job is complete.
City Hill Middle School is near completion by a crew of private contractors who worked through the night. We are discussing the possibility of engaging the company to begin roof clearance at Cross Street Intermediate School.
Operations at Hillside Intermediate School began a short time ago with a large contingent of private contractors. Hillside Avenue will be closed to traffic from one end of the brick roadway to the other during the cleaning. We thank residents in advance for taking an alternate route.
Board of Education business representatives are meeting with private contractors to address additional snow shoveling at Western Elementary School, Maple Hill Elementary School and Central Avenue Elementary School. We continue to seek assistance for the remaining schools, and will do so throughout the weekend. If you do not notice a particular school mentioned, it certainly does not mean that school has been forgotten. This is simply an enormous task which requires large but limited human resources. Contractors have been working and continue to work with Borough custodians, firefighters, police officers, public works and security employees in various capacities.
A few have questioned why roof clearance did not begin earlier. If anyone needs a great, illustrative answer, one should witness firsthand the scope and magnitude of the current operation. The reality is that no municipality, particularly one with buildings of our size and number, wants to clear snow from roofs. Such accumulations eventually melt during the overwhelming majority of Winters, and pass virtually unnoticed through drains and downspouts. This Winter has been drastically different. Record accumulation combined with numerous consecutive days of freezing temperatures have not allowed us to safely wait for melting at this point. Operations to clear snow from school roofs are massive, labor intensive and expensive. Unfortunately action is now prudent and is painstakingly occurring this weekend.
Posted by Bob on February 4, 2011 under Daily Blogs |
Work continues as of 11:00 PM (2/4/2011) to clear snow and ice from Borough school roofs. Borough personnel, private contractors and approximately two hundred (200) members of the Connecticut National Guard having been working to clear the Naugatuck High School roof rthroughout the day and well into the night. Work is expected to continue until completion of the high school in the morning (2/5/2011). Additional personnel will arrive at 12:00 Midnight, including one hundred (100) additional men and women from the National Guard. This is truly the largest operation I have personally witnessed. Clearing one hundred eighty five thousand (185,000 ft 2) square feet of roof, overwhelming by hand shovel, is an enormous task.
Private contractors have also been clearing roof accumulation from City Hill Middle School, and will continue to do so all night and through the morning. While much smaller than the high school, this is also a large scale operation, without the solar panels that exist at the high school.
After completion of Naugatuck High School, focus of resources will shift to Andrew Avenue Elementary School. Private contractors are scheduled to begin clearance at Central Avenue Elementary School, Hillside Intermediate School, Maple Hill Elementary School and Western Elementary School in the morning (2/5/2011). Plans are being made to address remaining schools throughout the weekend.
Naugatuck High School has been the center of operations since approximately 8:00 AM this morning (2/4/2011), and shall remain so through the night and into tomorrow morning (2/5/2011). We would like to thank principal Francis Serratore for allowing us the use of the high school, and the cafeteria staff for their tremendous hospitality.
Most importantly we would like to thank the outstanding men and women of the Connecticut National Guard. Many of these brave individuals have served the United States of America during combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now they are serving at home, completing a tremendously labor-intensive task at our high school. We are truly honored and grateful to have their presence in the Borough of Naugatuck.
Posted by Bob on under Daily Blogs |
Efforts to remove snow from school roofs has been underway since this morning. Borough employees are combining with private contractors and members of the Connecticut National Guard. Operations are being coordinated from Naugatuck High School. Work should continue throughout the weekend.
We greatly appreciate the assistance from the National Guard coordinated by Commissioner Peter Boynton of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (“DEHMS”), authorized by Governor Dannel P. Malloy.
Posted by Bob on February 3, 2011 under Daily Blogs |
A decision has been made to close Naugatuck Public Schools for Friday, February 4, 2011. That decision will allow the Borough to engage contractors to remove snow from the roofs of all ten (10) Borough schools. As of 4:45 PM this afternoon (2/3/2011), there have been no reports of any structural damage to any Borough school roofs (see explanation of the high school situation from earlier in the day below). The primary concern is the effects of additional snow and ice accumulations as many school roofs are starting to encroach upon the maximum, recommended limits of their respective capacity. With reports of additional precipitation in the forecast for this weekend, it is prudent to cancel school for Friday (2/4/2011) and begin clearance of school roofs in the Borough.
A structural engineer assessed Naugatuck High School this afternoon (2/3/2011) in the company of Naugatuck’s Building Inspector, Fire Chief, School Superintendent and other Borough personnel. The engineer reported that there was no structural damage that was discovered to the high school roof, beams or the walls that support the structure. The cracks discovered earlier in the day (2/3/2011) that prompted the evacuation were to the veneer of the building, and did not compromise the structural integrity of the building. Naugatuck High School was not in danger of collapse today (2/3/2011); but the discovery of the cracks at the time, without any immediate engineering analysis, required all Borough emergency management personnel to err on the side of caution and evacuate the building.
Posted by Bob on under Daily Blogs |
We have declared a state of emergency in the Borough of Naugatuck as a result of damage sustained to both Borough and private structures, and concern for maintaining the integrity of Borough assets. The primary reasons for the declaration are to seek maximum state and/or federal assistance which may be available and provide the Borough the ability to engage any and all individuals and/or entities to assist with preserving public safety and property.
The weight of snow accumulations on rooftops remains a concern throughout Connecticut and much of the Northeast. While there are no specific, urgent incidents jeopardizing public safety, residents and business owners are strongly urged to contact 911 should they believe there is an emergency situation.
Posted by Bob on under Daily Blogs |
The weight of snow and ice accumulation has caused several structural issues in and throughout the Borough on Wednesday (2/3/2011). We have varying degrees of information on the following locations in Naugatuck:
Walmart – 1100 New Haven Road: Structural concerns witnessed by the Naugatuck Fire Marshal and Building Inspector resulted in the evacuation and closing of the Naugatuck Walmart earlier this morning (2/3/2011). The company’s structural engineers are currently assessing the situation. Information regarding Walmart’s reopening is not available at this time.
D. Thurston’s Sons, Inc. – 410 Rubber Avenue: A roof collapsed on a non-operational section of Thurston’s on Rubber Avenue, preventing use of the office. All utilities to the effected area have been safely severed. D. Thurston’s Sons, Inc. remains operational and their is no discontinuation in service and/or delivery. Temporary offices are being installed on-site. Please feel free to contact Thurston’s at 203-729-5274 with any questions.
Rainbowland Nursery School and Day Care Center, Inc. – 1210 New Haven Road: Structural concerns caused an evacuation early this morning (2/3/2011). All children were relocated to another facility by a school bus and contacts were made by day care staff to families. There were no injuries reported.
Howard Whittemore Library – 243 Church Street: Observations by staff resulted in concerns regarding the structural integrity of the library’s roof. An evacuation of all patrons and staff was issued in the later morning (2/3/2011). A structural engineer was engaged to determine any issues requiring address prior to allowing access to the structure.
Other concerns for both residential and commercial structures have been or are in the process of being investigated.
Posted by Bob on under Daily Blogs |
Naugatuck High School was evacuated and dismissed early this afternoon (2/3/2011) as a result of cracks discovered in certain walls. Fire and Police personnel were on hand immediately in addition to the Borough’s Building Inspector, Board of Education Business Manager and Facilities Manager. When movement in one of the cracks was noticed, a decision was made to immediately evacuate the Goodyear House, and ultimately all of Naugatuck High School. While there was no reported damage to the roof itself, the integrity of the walls and supports remains a concern.
Currently, our Building Inspector is performing an assessment of any structural concerns with a qualified, engineering professional. No decisions regarding the status of the building and/or further closings will be made until the same is completed. No one is to go in, around, near or on top of the building until further information is available.
The conduct and cooperation of Borough emergency management personnel and the high school faculty, staff and administration was fantastic. Despite significant traffic on Rubber Avenue, our bus drivers responded quickly and professionally. I would also commend all the Naugatuck High School students for their mature behavior, which resulted in an orderly and safe evacuation. There were no injuries reported to anyone.
More information will be provided as the same becomes available.
Posted by Bob on February 2, 2011 under Daily Blogs |
All non-essential Borough of Naugatuck departments shall open at 10:30 AM, on Tuesday, February 2, 2011, due to Winter Storm Ella. Employees in all non-essential departments should report to work for 10:30 AM.
Essential Departments are the following: Fire Department, Police Department, Public Works Department, Visiting Nurses Association and all other Borough departments with emergency management responsibilities. Operations of the aforementioned essential departments shall be at the sole discretion of the applicable department head.
This delay is being implemented for the sole purpose of promoting public safety and the safety of Borough employees and shall not be construed as precedent or past practice.
Posted by Bob on February 1, 2011 under Daily Blogs |
The Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (“DEMHS”) issued a press release today regarding Winter safety tips for gas and propane line and heating oil delivery. The release can be viewed here.
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