Residents Buy About 40 Rain Barrels

DPW again partners with Hyde Park firm.

Westborough residents bought about 40 rain barrels this spring through a partnership between the Westborough Department of Public Works and the Great American Rain Barrel Company of Hyde Park, company representative Suzanne Gebelein said Wednesday. This year's program ended on Sunday. Residents could get the 60-gallon rain barrels at a discount through the program: $65, according to the town's website. The barrels' retail price is $119. Residents use the barrels to "help them manage their storm water," Gebelein said. Westborough residents have bought two to three dozen of the barrels annually in prior years, she said. Residents still interested in buying a rain barrel may do so through Worcester's program, which is open to non-residents, …

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Town Gets 0 % State Loan

Westborough will save $11.4 million over the loan's 20-year life.

Westborough will save $11.4 million total on its $53 million wastewater treatment plant upgrade, state environmental officials said today. A 0 percent interest rate loan from the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust will help enable that savings, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said in a press release. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund "interest-free loan of more than $24.2 million, available under the 'O’Leary Provision,' will save Westborough $5.4 million in interest payments over the 20-year life of the loan," the DEP said. Adopted by the Legistature in 2008, the provision "reduces the standard SRF loan interest rate of 2 percent down to zero percent, provided that the proponent meets certain …

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Selectmen OK More Snow Expense Spending

The Westborough Public Works Department is $176,232 in the red on snow removal expenses, counting the $50,000 approved Tuesday night.

The Westborough Public Works Department is $176,232 in the red on snow removal expenses this winter, Public Works Manager John Walden said Tuesday night. The figure includes $50,000 that selectmen agreed Tuesday night to let Walden deficit spend.  Walden said he needs the $50,000 to pay outstanding bills.

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You Ask, Patch Answers

Why Were Plows Running at Midnight?

The latest 'You Ask, Patch Answers' addresses that question.

Editor's note: In our column "You Ask, Patch Answers," we help you to find answers to your questions. Email westborough@patch.com if you have a question that you would like us to investigate. Today, we answer this emailed inquiry:  Just after midnight on Monday, and again at 5 a.m., I heard a bulldozer in the School Street area. What was happening? Westborough Department of Public Works Manager John Walden tells Westborough Patch that crews were preparing the area for the funeral of retired Westborough Police Officer Craig Hillier. Hillier, who served Westborough for 31 years before retiring in 2011, died peacefully at his home on Saturday, according to his obituary. Calling hours are from 3 to 7 p.m. today at the Rand-Harper-Pickering …

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Water Main Break Fixed

The incident happened in the Samson Drive-Flanders Road area on Wednesday.

Some houses in the Samson Drive-Flanders Road area had dirty water for a time Wednesday after a water main break there that morning, Department of Public Works Assistant Manager Rich Voutas said today. Crews dug up and replaced about five feet of pipe, Voutas said. Crews responded to the site at roughly 9 or 9:30 a.m., he said.  Water service was restored around 3:30 p.m. "A few houses called," Voutas said. "It didn't seem as bad as it could have been. After lunch, we really got no complaints."

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DPW Preparing for Weekend Snow

Weather service says Westborough could get about eight inches.

Westborough public works crews are handling tasks today that would make people thing another major snowstorm is coming. Could be -- this weekend. Two weeks after the Blizzard of '13, the National Weather Service in Taunton is forecasting rain and snow possible for Westborough for Saturday, with snow likely on Sunday. "We're anticipating a pretty good storm," Assistant Public Works Manager Rich Voutas said. "We have to anticipate it that way." The weather service has Westborough getting about eight inches of snow between Saturday night and Sunday night, with the heaviest snow falling early Sunday. Westborough public works officials are replenishing their salt and sand supplies, repairing and checking their equipment, and clearing snow from…

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Ground Work Laid For Arbor Day

Selectmen OK proclamation.

Selectmen have laid the ground work for Westborough residents to plant at least tree saplings again this spring. Selectmen this past week approved a proclamation encouraging residents to observe Arbor Day on April 26 "by either planting a tree or maintaining existing trees to promote the well being of this and future generations." Public Works Manager John Walden presented the proclamation for the board's approval. The tree saplings will be available at the public works department on a first come, first served basis, on April 16, he said. Past sapling distributions have been "very good," Walden said. "We've given them all away," he said. "It's worked out very well." Walden said he'll explore getting more than 50 saplings this year. …

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Planned Tree Removal Focus of Public Information Session Tuesday

The work is expected to start in late December.

Westborough and state officials this week will walk the public through tree management planned for three conservation properties early this winter. Most of the trees planned for removal from the Bowman West area of Sandra Pond by a tree harvesting company are "diseased and damaged," conservation commission Chairman Andy Koenigsberg says. The other two sites are "a wedge between Upton Road and the Mass Pike" and “a little spit of land bordered by the reservoir on one side and Upton Road on the other,” and south of Minuteman Park, Koenigsberg says. The Westborough Department of Public Works is spearheading the project and is expected to have someone available to answer questions at a public information session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Forbes …

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Storm Breaks 50-Foot Maple in Half

And a 40-foot maple uprooted.

The overnight wind and rain storm broke one tree in Westborough in half and uprooted another one, Department of Public Works Assistant Manager Richard Voutas said today. A 50-foot maple on Spring Road broke in half, falling into the wires, around 1 a.m., he said. The electric company responded to the scene to assist. At about 1:30 a.m., a 40-foot maple on Ruggles Pond Road uprooted, Voutas said. Six areas of Westborough had issues with branches, he said. The National Weather Service had the area under a wind advisory from 4 p.m. Tuesday to 6 this morning.

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Utility Project Disrupting Traffic Near Westborough Post Office

The project will last the week.

Utility work across from the Westborough Post Office will leave traffic barely doing 30 on Route 30 starting today. Motorists heading east from Lyman Street face detours, and should consider alternate routes, town officials said in a press release on Westborough's website. Motorists can still go to the post office, UMass Memorial Healthcare and sites west of the post office, the press release states. Crews will start at 9 a.m. The sidewalk will be closed on the south side of the street, within 100 feet of either side of 129 East Main St., during the work, the press release says.

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