From potholes to snow removal; parks, and shade tree maintenance to running the transfer station; Hingham’s DPW is busy, and we can help

July 11, 2025 By Eileen McIntyre

This is the second in the “This is Home” series of articles the Hingham Anchor will be running over the next several months. The series is written by a team of contributors, all residents of Hingham. “This is Home”  articles focus on a variety of topics about our lives as Hingham residents and engaged citizens. Our hope is that you gain encouragement, and perhaps inspiration, as we all work to maintain Hingham as a vibrant community.

I had no idea of our Department of Public Works’ scope of responsibility until I met with our new DPW Superintendent, Ashley Sanford, in mid-June. We met at the Town Beach, where Ashley showed me the result of recent work to clear the brick pathways from overgrowth caused by heavy spring rains, and where a DPW team had recently met to discuss plans related to the Drone Show at the harbor on July 2. But the Superintendent also had her eyes on the winter ahead.

A partial list of what the DPW takes on each year includes:

• A range of engineering projects, from intersection improvements, traffic calming measures, improved crosswalks, plus permitting and planning work for road projects on the 113 miles of Town-wide roadway infrastructure.
• Managing implementation of the town paving plan, with reconstruction or resurfacing as required, including coordination with Town officials, contractors, and the public.
• Maintenance of more than 110 parks and fields, twenty-five traffic islands, 1,000 acres of open space including ponds and other landscape features; and more than 10,000 public shade trees throughout town.

• Managing the flow of trash and recycling at our Transfer station.
• Street cleaning, including after parades/special events, plus three-times-weekly trash collection in parks and retail areas.
• Pre- and post-storm road work, from sanding and salting to storm water management and snow removal, and seasonal pothole filling. “Our highway department crews start making lists of potholes in late winter,” Ashley noted, “and then work around spring and summer storms to get as many filled as possible.”

• Patching is done as needed each year, while road repaving projects are budgeted according to the Town Engineer’s 5-year construction schedule, with road openings coordinated with water, electric, gas and telecommunications utilities, which all need to maintain their pipes and wires under the streets.
• The DPW also is responsible for 3,100 traffic and street signs, which can take a beating from storms.

While Town budgeting has required DPW belt tightening going into the 2026 fiscal year, and finding qualified talent for budgeted open positions takes time, Ashley is proud of the dedication of the DPW employees she manages. “My team works so hard to keep Hingham safe and beautiful,” she said.

Ashley began collaborating this spring with downtown Hingham merchants as part of an ad hoc working group focused on keeping Hingham Square ship-shape both for residents and the flow of Rev 250 visitors we are seeing. Trash pick-up schedules were reviewed and building owner responsibilities clarified. In June, DPW crews also were preparing to repair downtown crosswalks. Years of freeze and thaw cycles had cracked the underlying asphalt, creating tripping hazards; some manhole covers within crosswalks also needed repair or replacement, and layers of paint over time made the surface slippery in bad weather. In work now completed, the old asphalt was removed, manhole cover issues were addressed, a new slip-resistant asphalt was installed, and the new surface was painted.

Late summer/fall projects include:

• finishing the paving project related to the new Foster School construction.
• repaving the beach parking lot, and
• inspecting all the school crosswalks to see if painting is needed.

Ashley drew my attention to a new area at the Transfer Station that will enable the Town to bring in revenue from higher-value jugs made of “frosted” plastic (often used for milk or water.) For more on this, read “New Recycling Options at the Transfer Station.” By encouraging residents to properly sort their recyclables, the Town not only generates additional revenue but also strengthens its commitment to sustainability. The DPW also is collaborating with the Cleaner, Greener Hingham Committee and Hingham’s Sustainability Coordinator to develop a food scrap recycling plan for the Town, something they hope can be initiated this Fall.

I caught up with Ashley again in early July and asked her about key challenges for the DPW. “Keeping the Town safe and as beautiful as everyone wants requires constant juggling with reduced budget and resources,” the Superintendent said. And, “as storms get more severe, with heavy downpours and flash flooding, there are many aspects of stormwater management that come under pressure.” This includes keeping catch basins and culverts free of debris, maintaining underground stormwater pipe infrastructure and keeping water off the streets as much as possible, while meeting strict regulations to avoid contamination of local water bodies.

Looking forward to Fall and Winter, Ashley is eager to take delivery of eleven much- needed replacement vehicles (from pick-up trucks to street-sweepers) that were approved by our April Town Meeting from Unassigned Fund Balance.

How Hingham Residents Can Help

• Use the myHingham app to report potholes, catch basins that need attention, storm damage to trees at parks or along local roads, and other issues the DPW should address. Include a photo to show what concerns you. Using the app is simple and gets issues addressed much more quickly than a phone call! For more info about the app, watch this short video from Assistant Town Administrator Art Robert: https://youtu.be/8u3kjvchGwY

• Keep Your Transfer Station Sticker Up to Date: The Transfer Station is for Hingham residents only. Hingham is one of the few towns in the area that covers the cost of the transfer station from property taxes, instead of imposing fees.
• Volunteer for one of the committees that help to keep our Town looking good.

Some of the committees you may want to consider are:

• • Beautification Commission, which plants eleven traffic islands and several container gardens through town.
  • Cleaner, Greener Hingham, which explores new areas of recycling and waste management, including encouraging residents to recycle.
  • Shade Tree Committee, which advises the DPW about tree species, and proper tree care, and focuses on protecting and promoting Hingham’s shade tree canopy.
  • To volunteer, use Hingham’s Talent Bank application, https://www.hingham-ma.gov/FormCenter/Board-of-Selectmen-15/Talent-Bank-Application-66. You can indicate which committee(s) interest you.
  • Be patient!

Introducing Superintendent Ashley Sanford

Ashley Sanford took on the Superintendent role for Hingham’s DPW on May 24, after serving as Assistant Superintendent and shadowing Randy Sylvester, as he approached his planned retirement.

Ashley has been involved in facilities management in Hingham since 2017. She worked for the Hingham School Department for seven years, first as head custodian at Foster School, where she contributed to efforts to secure state funding for the new Foster School. She then moved on to be a Project Coordinator for all Hingham public schools, before joining the DPW as Assistant Superintendent in 2024. (Note: Replacing Ashley as Assistant Superintendent is Lance Mortland, who like Ashley had previously worked in maintenance supervision for Hingham’s School Dept.)

Our new DPW Superintendent is also a veteran. Ashley served for 6½ years as a U.S. Army heavy equipment operator, including a year of service in Korea and a deployment to Iraq. She took a few years off after her military service, to raise her three daughters. Ashley and her family live in Pembroke.

You can learn more about new recycling efforts at the Transfer Station here.