To the Editor:
I am troubled about the effort to discontinue Bristol’s Highway Department and contract those services to an outside vendor. While to some this may seem like a wise, cost-saving move, I believe Town will see little savings, if any at all. I’m also concerned that the quality and availability of those services will drop.
I speak from my own experience of nearly 10 years as a member of the Bristol Parks and Recreation Commission. Each year, we receive dozens of compliments about the cleanliness and appearance of our parks, but it wasn’t always that way. When I was first elected to the commission, the parks were not as well maintained. Buildings and grounds all needed a lot of work.
At the time, many of the maintenance tasks were contracted out to private companies. Overall, the work was just average; we couldn’t always contact the vendor when we had an immediate need for help. It seemed like we were paying a lot, and not getting our money’s worth. So we decided to expand our maintenance team and equip them with good tools.
Soon, Bristol’s parks were looking a lot better, and we started to get compliments. At the same time, we noticed that costs had not gone up. Keeping our maintenance “in-house” turned out to be a good idea. The quality was up – but not the costs.
Sean Hunter, the Bristol Highway Department’s only employee, provides valuable services to the town – from plowing town parking lots, to repairing potholes, trimming brush and disposing of dead animal (including seals that wash up on the shore).
What’s important to me is that he is right here in town and available 24/7, 365 days of the year. The Parks Commission works closely with Sean; we help each other out when needed. At Olde Bristol Days, Sean is there, helping to make sure it all goes well. I doubt that an outside contractor – especially one from out of town – would be as available and helpful.
What happens if the town goes ahead with eliminating the department and later realizes it was a mistake? By then, the truck and tools will be sold. We would have to take the costly step to start from scratch to rebuild the department.
Now, more than ever, we all want the town to use our tax dollars wisely. Taking this step, however, will do little, if anything, to save money. It will mean that some of the services we count on just won’t be available. Let’s not take a step today that we will regret tomorrow.
Gordon Benner, Bristol
