The Mason Highway Department hopes to fill its ranks this month with a new full-time and a new part-time employee, bringing the department up to full staff.
The department is currently running on three full-time workers and four part-time employees, according to Road Agent Dave Morrison.
The part-time employees do not hold a Commercial Driver’s License, which is needed to run the department’s larger equipment, including some of the dump trucks used for plowing and sanding.
Manpower isn’t the only issue the department’s been facing this winter.
“We have been managing to squeak through, but continue to have equipment issues,” Morrison said. “It’s a hard life being a snowplow.”
On Tuesday, Morrison said one of the town’s six-wheel dump trucks was out of commission while a hydraulic line was being replaced. Though the repair will not have the truck off the road for long, it’s only one of several trucks which have had to undergo repair this month alone.
“It’s normal enough, stuff does break down. But with a shorter crew, it makes it more aggravating and wears us out faster,” Morrison said.
Selectman Charlie Moser said Wednesday that the town has made an employment offer for a 28-hour a week part-time position, and a full-time position as of Jan. 16, but those offers have yet to be accepted. If they are, that will bring the highway back to full staff. The department has been running short since before the start of winter, which Moser said is with “little doubt” the worst time not to have staff to deal with heavy winter storms.
Moser said the board is aware of the equipment struggles the department has been dealing with this winter, and in March, voters can expect a warrant article requesting $30,000 funds for the highway equipment capital reserve to fill the coffers.
Mason does not have an official capital improvement plan for the scheduled replacement of highway vehicles, however.
Morrison said he does not plan to replace any of the department’s vehicles this year, but there are a few which are reaching the end of their useful life, namely the town’s 1987 grader. Morrison said the town could expect to need to purchase a new grader within the next few years, at a cost of about $250,000 for a new machine.