Wrentham Town Administrator: Lessons Learned during Irene Carried Over to Snowtober

As Wrentham wraps up its recovery from the late October snowstorm, the town is looking at its response to the event.

The storm, like Tropical Storm Irene before it, caused a protracted power outage in the town. It caused multiple power lines to go down, and made several roads nearly impassable with downed tree limbs.

Town Administrator William Ketcham said there had been lessons learned from Irene. He said the major improvement involved communication with the utility companies.

"This time, there was a utility liaison sent to Wrentham on Sunday, the day after the storm," he said. "With Irene, it was three days later."

"Having a person here was a big help," he added.

Ketcham said road-clearing had also improved.

"All the streets were open to traffic on Monday," he said. "After Irene, it took several days."

He said, though, that there are lessons to be learned from this storm.

"I think we could still use more trimming of the trees around electric wires — the town has asked National Grid about that," he said. "I also think the utilities could have used more crews. On Monday, I was told there were four crews in town."

Ketcham also noted that a regional shelter (at the La Salette Shrine in Attleboro), as opposed to one within the town, was used to house those without power and heat. There was a warming center at the town public safety building, but space there was limited.

"This time, we relied on the Red Cross opening a regional shelter," he said. "I've been told the Red Cross has been trending more toward regional shelters." 

He said a local shelter was being explored.

"The Board of Selectmen did direct that we start looking at a better shelter in town, and I expect to be meeting shortly with the Capital Budget Finance Committee," he said. "There are several options, but probably the best candidate for a shelter is the elementary school."

According to Ketcham, the idea of creating a municipal utility company has not been abandoned, but there are obstacles.

"There are some issues created by the present state of Massachusetts law," he said. "There are amendments that have been introduced in the legislature [to make the establishment of municipal utilities easier], but they've been introduced for a number of years."

He said, though, that the recent issues in the state may force action on those amendments.