Snowstorms, Removal Bury Dedham With $1.3M in Bills

Several major snowstorms in January left the Dedham buried in bills they didn’t plan to have this year.

The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved Thursday night to infuse $600,000 more into the DPW’s snow and ice budget, bringing the season total to $1.3 million.

Dedham spent $948,000 last winter on snow and ice removal, according to Town Administrator Bill Keegan.

Selectman Carmen Dello Iacono said he was concerned with the amount of money the town has spent this season – which they get from a free cash fund.

“There is a lot of snow [out there], and we are not done,” the selectman said.

Last month, the to the DPW-specific budget item totaling $400,000. The snow and ice fund kicked-off the winter season with $300,000 in it.

While plowing and sanding for last week’s storm didn’t cost the town much money, it is the removal of snow that drives costs up, the board said.

DPW crews spent the week removing snow from major roadways, where banks posed a safety hazard at intersections and where roads were dangerously narrow.

“We really are trying to trim back on the amount of removal,” Keegan said at the meeting. “We want to try to maintain costs to a reasonable area.”

Keegan referenced cutting back in order to save money – and because the DPW is running out of real estate to put the snow.

Currently Dedham is dumping snow at , a vacant parking lot on High Street across from and in the parking lot.

“There are not a lot of options – that’s the challenge we face,” Keegan said.