Labor Dept. Fines Hyde Park Contractor $200,000 for Cave-in Hazard in Framingham

Hyde Park Contractor to pay $200,000 fine and significantly overhaul safety practices after exposing employees in Framingham and Cambridge to cave-in hazards.

As part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor, P. Gioioso & Sons Inc., a Hyde Park contractor with a long history of violating excavation safety standards, has agreed to pay a $200,000 fine for exposing its employees to cave-in hazards. The contractor also will significantly overhaul its safety practices to minimize trenching hazards and enhance worker safety. P. Gioioso & Sons Inc., which primarily works on underground water and sewer mains, has been cited nine times since 2000 by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for violations of OSHA’s trenching and excavation safety standards, most recently in 2011 at work sites in Cambridge and Framingham. OSHA found employees working in unprotected trenches …

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Moody's New Rating Reflects 'Town's Stable Financial Position'

Moody's Investors Service has assigned the Town of Framingham a MIG 1 rating, its highest.

Moody's Investors Service has assigned a MIG 1 rating to the Town of Framingham's $47.9 million bond anticipation notes dated June 15 and Dec. 14 2012. The notes finance ongoing water and sewer improvement projects. Concurrently, Moody's has affirmed the Aa2 rating assigned to $94 million of outstanding long-term general obligation debt. The Aa2 rating reflects the town's stable financial position, sizeable and diverse tax base, and manageable debt profile, reported Moody's. The MIG 1 rating incorporates the town's satisfactory long-term credit profile as well as its proven access to the capital markets, reported Moody's. An MIG 1 rating denotes denotes superior credit quality. Moody's listed the Town of Framingham's strengths:  Moody's …

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CONSTRUCTION & ROAD WARRIOR

Spring Weather Means Start of Construction Season

Public invited to construction meetings on March 22 and 28.

The Framingham Department of Public Works is holding public meetings on March 22 and 28 to discuss upcoming projects. The 2012 construction season will begin in early-April and includes nine projects managed by the DPW’s Capital Improvement Program. The purpose of the meetings is to discuss the construction limits, scope of work, schedule and plans to minimize impacts for each project. The CIP’s 2012 construction projects include the following: Framingham’s comprehensive Capital Improvement Program is replacing or rehabilitating aging or inadequate water, sewer and storm drain systems throughout Town. The work is essential to maintaining and improving service to existing residences and businesses and providing adequate infrastructure to …

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