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Lavacchia takes over as public works director

WILTON – Jim Lavacchia is taking over the town’s public works department at the start of one of the busiest times of the year for a highway department: paving, road grading, cemetery clean-ups, but he comes with a varied background of getting the work done.

The town has been without a Public Works Director since October when director Steve Elliott resigned. Road work has been under the temporary direction of highway employee Brian Adams.

There are a lot of projects on the horizon,” Lavacchia said recently taking a short break in his crowded office at the town barn. Among those projects are replacement of the King Brook Road bridge, repair of the retaining wall beside the Old County Farm Bridge, completing work on the scales at the Recycling Center, the New Reservoir Dam, the storm water management program, “and all the usual summer road work.”

Lavacchia has a long background working with Pennichuck Waterworks as distribution manager. Over the years, “I was in responsible for the maintenance and repair of the underground infrastructure, fleet maintenance, the meter-testing program,” and overseeing the distribution departments administrative staff.

He was with Pennichuck from 2003 until 2017. During that time, Wilton had a contract with Pennichuck. “I oversaw the distribution portion of that contract,” he said, noting that he had worked with residents Charlie McGettigan and Jim Tuttle. “So I got to know the town a little.” He added, “I have a great respect for Charlie. He kept his eye on the bottom line. There is nothing wrong with being held accountable.”

A graduate of Woburn, Mass., High School, he worked for the town of Weston, Mass., Department of Public works, mainly in the Water Division until 2003.

He was enrolled in civil engineering from the University of Massachusetts- Lowell until life got in the way after his second child was born. He has continued his professional development with management trairing though NEWWA and AMA.

He left Pennichuck in 2017 to take a position in Georgetown, Mass., looking for something different. ” We had completed several major projects, the building of the new 44,000 square feet distribution facility and the implementation of a GIS system, I felt it was time to move on,” he said, but the job turned out to not be what he had expected so was again free when Wilton was looking for a new director. “I decided to try a new adventure.”

So far, he said, “everyone I’ve met has been wonderful. I have a great crew. “They survived last winter without a director, the three of them doing the work of four or five.” He added, “The first day I was here we had 12 inches of snow.”

He referred to himself as the hands-on type. “I hadn’t plowed snow in 15 years and it was nice to get back to it.” He said he was used to “phone ringing 24/7, 365 days a year.”

As for the upcoming work, he outlined the scope.

King Brook Road Bridge

This bridge is on the state’s “red list” and is being completed under state direction.

The Recycling Center

“The goal is have somebody more visible there. We need to finish the paving to the scales and get state approval.” Someone also has to explore where the commodities can go.

County Road Bridge wall repair

“I’m working with (Selectman) Matt Fish,” he said, and talking with a contractor in Vermont who has expertise expert in stone work from the 1800s. The arch itself was not affected when the section of wall collapsed. Selectmen have said the wall needs to be “repaired properly.”

The MS 4 – Storm water control

He is working with Dawn Tuomala, who did all the preliminary work on the state-directed project. The project involves the town’s storm drains.

The New Reservoir Dam

“I’m working with the consultant and the select board to respond to the state Letter of Deficiency. They have given us a generous timeline to get work accomplished,” he said, and that will be set up.

In the mean-time, Lavacchia is looking for seasonal employees to care for the cemeteries, a contractor to do some street sweeping, and set a repair and paving schedule. There is also a collection of old equipment behind the barn that is going out to bid.

“I want to get it cleaned up back there,” he said.

“I want to be part of the solution,” he said. “(This kind of position) requires personal interaction.”