‘Managing the chaos’: Acton braces for heavy winter storm
As Concordians hunker down, the Municipal Light Plant, Acton Public Works, and fire department are staffing up.
A possible one-two punch of bone-chilling weather and heavy snow prompted storm preparations across town departments this week.
As Concordians hunker down, the Acton Municipal Light Plant, Acton Public Works, and the fire department are staffing up.
Town leaders have plans to help people stay warm, Fire Chief Brian Whitney said. As the weather intensifies, officials also urge residents to stay off the roads — and possibly watch some football.
“Many will be enjoying the Patriots while the public works crew is out managing the chaos,” Director of Public Works Alan Cathcart told The Acton Bridge, referring to Sunday’s AFC championship game against the Denver Broncos.
By Friday, town officials had already moved the Town Caucus and a Select Board meeting back by 24 hours to Tuesday in anticipation of the coming storm.
Both Acton library branches will be closed on Sunday. Whether public schools will cancel Monday classes remained uncertain Friday night.
Warming centers
Temperatures were forecast to plunge overnight Friday and hit single digits for much of the weekend. Snow could arrive early Sunday afternoon and continue into Monday.
As of Friday afternoon, meteorologists at the National Weather Service’s Boston office projected “high confidence” for more than a foot of accumulation in the Acton area.
For Saturday, officials are directing people to the Acton Free Public Library’s Acton Center and Fowler branches as public warming centers.
- The Main Library, 129 Main Street, is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
- The Fowler Branch Library, 1322 Main Street, is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Anyone who needs a warm place to go when the libraries are closed should call public safety dispatchers at (978) 318-3400. Whitney said there are “plans in place” to use the Harvey Wheeler Community Center as a shelter if needed.
In an emergency, call 911.
“We’re ready to go on a moment’s notice” if someone needs help outside of library hours, Whitney told The Bridge.
Although the libraries will close due to snow, Whitney said officials will decide whether to preemptively open Harvey Wheeler on Sunday for anyone who still needs a warming center.
Fire officials are expecting to deal with burst pipes due to the cold, but Whitney said those problems might come later: Pipe problems often crop up when temperatures rise after a cold snap, he said.
Whitney said experts are expecting lighter snow — as opposed to heavy, wet flakes that can bring down trees and power lines — so officials hope to avoid significant power outages.
Municipal Light Plant crews will be in town beginning Sunday afternoon “to respond to any emergencies that arise,” CMLP Director Jason Bulger wrote in an email.
Plowing, parking, and schools
New England has gone several winters without the kind of massive snowfalls that live in infamy and local lore.
Acton bans overnight street parking this time of year. With plows ready to roll, Police Capt. Brian Goldman underscored this rule.
Public works crews are short two of their four sidewalk plows as they prepare for snow removal, Cathcart said. Those machines are “presently down for service,” he told The Bridge, “so that’s a problem.”
Crews will tackle the storm response in phases, Cathcart said, and he knows residents are watching the roads.
“People enjoy the snow on the weekend, and then everybody wants to kind of figure out what [we] do for the work week and school,” he said.
This has been a competitive year as communities vie for contractors to supplement their snowplow lineup, Cathcart said.
One large former vendor told Acton “that they’d be unable to support us,” he said. “This year,” he said, “it happened to be just unusually difficult” to get extra help.
Although crews “can’t meet all the expectations,” Cathcart said they’re as responsive as possible and said people with snow removal concerns can call the “snow desk” at (978) 318-3220.
Acton public school officials announce any school closures or delays through the Connect-Ed automated phone, email, and text alert system. Schools Superintendent Laurie Hunter told families in a Friday afternoon mass email that everywhere she went, people asked her about the possibility of a snow day.
“It has been a long time since we’ve had a forecast for a big storm and it is understandable,” Hunter wrote. “We shall see what the next few days bring!”
Celeste Katz Marston contributed reporting.
