Norton Almost Doubles Snow Budget after Nemo

The Norton Board of Selectmen heard reports last Thursday concerning the snow and ice budget.

The budget allows for $80,000 worth of spending for snow removal and ice mediation, but town manager Micahel Yunits said that the Feb. 8 storm alone nearly overtook that.

“It cost $69,000 alone for that storm,” he said. “Right now it’s at $74,000 over budget.”

Yunits said that the town did really well considering the severity of the storm and other towns’ responses. He also said since the town-approved deficit spending before the storm, it’s really paid off.

“I drove  down here that Saturday morning for a meeting driving home through Randolph,” he said. “There were side streets in developments in Randolph that hadn’t been touched. They did a good job on the streets here.”

Selectman Robert Salvo said that despite Norton’s response, there were still problems.

“That storm was very tough, two trucks lost two transmissions,” he said.  “You can only push so far.”

Yunits said though people were very understanding during the storm, there were still many complaints about National Grid’s response time.

“People have to understand they can’t go out during the storm itself,” he said. The lift trucks can’t be used in high winds, they had to wait for the storm to be done to go out.”

While there are no snowstorms in the forecast this week, there is a 70 percent chance of snow Thursday night. Little or no snow accumulation expected.