In his weekly interview with Patch, Stoughton D.P.W. Superintendent John Batchelder discussed the most recent snowstorm, which dropped almost another foot of snow on the town. Batchelder said Stoughton has already seen about 60 inches (5 feet!) of snow this winter.

Batchelder urged residents to continue shoveling out fire hydrants and catch basins around town.

One large storm after another has made it difficult for the D.P.W. to maintain the town's sidewalks. Batchelder also said the D.P.W. will work on widening streets, compacted from all of the snow, and knocking down the mounds of snow piled high at the end of streets, which can make driving more dangerous.

Heavy snow on flat roofs has been a problem throughout the state, and in Stoughton, with the roof of the old Cheng-Du restaurant building collapsing early Friday morning.

Batchelder said the D.P.W. is monitoring the town-owned buildings with flat roofs and said there are no-known risks at this time.

Watch the full interview with Superintendent Batchelder in the media gallery.

Problems with Trash Truck

A Stoughton DPW trash truck was out of commission after an apparent electrical malfunction sparked a fire near the engine compartment on Thursday.  

DPW Superintendent John Batchelder said the 10-wheel trash truck, one of seven in the department's fleet of trash collectors, has been towed away to a repair shop with the extent of the damage still unknown.  

"My guess is it was something electrical. I have not seen it yet but I understand it is repairable. It costs a ton to replace it," Batchelder said.  

The truck was collecting trash on Royal Road at 12:45 p.m. Thursday when the fire struck. Fortunately, the truck was nearly empty of trash at the time of the accident, Batchelder said.  

DPW employee Joseph Fustolo said it appears the fire started somewhere in the wiring assembly located between the engine and transmission. The truck should be in the repair shop for several days, he said.  

At 1:30 p.m., on Thursday Fustolo and two other workers were busy draining the truck of its 35 gallons of transmission fluid before a large tow truck hauled it away.  

Batchelder said that to replace the 1993 trash collector, 31 yards long, it would cost more than $250,000. The costs of repairs is still unknown, he said. He did not think the temporary loss of the truck would severely impact trash collection.  

The superintendent said he will seek approval of $257,000 at the annual town meeting to purchase another trash hauler for the fleet.    

Watch a behind the scenes video from the scene in the media gallery.