Town of Hampton - Lane Memorial Library

- DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS -
PERSONNEL:
42 FULL TIME
22 SEASONAL
It is with respect and admiration that I say that we have had a very qualified and dedicated Town
Manager leave us after about ten years of leadership; James Barrington. I think that it is fitting and
proper to pay our respects for his long-term professional investment in us, by dedicating this Town
Report to James. Others have heaped accurate and meaningful accolades on him which I will not
repeat here. I will only say that he showed honesty, courage, professionalism, long term thinking and
planning, was a consummate “listener” to everyone—even if they were trying to sink the proverbial
ship of Hampton. James always had time for anyone that wanted to talk to him or follow up on an
issue, which he did—because he felt it in his bones to provide a “public service” to the residents of
Hampton. One talent that he had was to enrich us with spiritual leadership without the infusion of
religion. For the town employees that worked with him daily, I hope that his commitment and
leadership rubbed off on us in some way—to better serve you—the public.
SEWERS AND DRAINS
There were 15 new entrances and 165 reconnections into our sanitary sewer system requiring 209
inspections; 180 sewer permits were issued and 476 locations were made for contractors, utility
companies and the public. In addition, 31 calls for plug-ups were handled, of which 15 were the
responsibility of the Town. We cleaned 50,784’ of sewer lines with the sewer jet, and cleaned 542
catch basins.
Over the past two years Zoppo Construction has completed an extensive sewer replacement project
along with infrastructure improvements at the Beach. The Department has been very busy
coordinating inspections for reconnection of properties into the new system, as well as inspection of
manholes and invert channels in these manholes.
HIGHWAY SECTION
One of our biggest challenges in 2006 was of heavy rain on Mother’s Day weekend and the days and
weeks that followed. The Taylor River crested Towle Farm Road to the top of the guardrails; Niles
Brook flooded part of North Shore Road; and the Grist Mill produced white water rapids across the
lower end of High Street. Road damage due to erosion was largely avoided by stabilizing the
shoulders with 6” trap rock at these locations and placement of concrete blocks at the Grist Mill. In
the aftermath of the storm there was
extensive shoulder repair, road patching and
debris clean up. Rubbish volumes increased
substantially at the curb and transfer station
for weeks after the storm as a result of the
extensive damage homeowners sustained
due to flooding. Fees were waived at the
transfer station for a period to afford some
relief to residents for storm related refuse
disposal. FEMA reimbursed the Town for a
portion of many storm related costs. FEMA
will also make funds available to fix sinking
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New Hampton Vac Truck