Dear Montville Residents,
Department of Public Works crews have been working since Tuesday
evening to clear all roads in the Township.
Areas where power lines are down, or where trees are leaning on power or
utility lines cannot be plowed or cleared by Montville Township personnel. A perfect example is the tragedy that
happened in Franklin Lakes when someone was killed after crossing barricades
and encountering live power lines. As
JCP+L crews work to restore power, our crews will respond to those areas as
soon as they can to clear the roads. We
appreciate everyone’s patience, and also understand the frustration in dealing
with no power or blocked roads during this State of Emergency. All residents can be assured that all
necessary work will be completed as soon as possible.
Since the start of the winter storm, Montville Township Department
of Public Works personnel had worked for 32 hours straight before taking a
break late Thursday afternoon. We kept a
small crew on call until Friday morning to respond to emergencies, and to clear
areas where power was restored. They
work this long during a storm because they are dedicated to their jobs and to
the residents of Montville Township.
Most of them are also Montville residents, or former Montville
residents. They take pride and ownership
in their work. As the Director of the
Department of Public Works and Water and Sewer Utilities, I can attest to the
fact that our crews are continuing to do everything within their power to
complete the clean-up. I personally am
very proud of each and everyone of them, and appreciate their dedication.
Our two supervisors, Lars Darling and Rich Huffstutler, are
in constant communication with myself, the Montville Police Department and the
Township Administration to respond to all areas that need attention. We have also called in outside contractors to
assist with brush removal. Again we
appreciate your patience, and you can be assured that our DPW crews will
complete all necessary work as soon as possible. We are also responding to false or
exaggerated complaints on social media which divert our crews from true
emergencies to complaints for streets that are not completely plowed completely
curb to curb. This practice is
dangerous, misleading and also time consuming.
Please be respectful to our workers.
They are giving 110% and deserve nothing but credit for the work they
are doing.
A few things to remember:
1.
This
storm was predicted as 10 to 12 inches.
Montville Township received the highest snow accumulations in the State
with 26.8 inches.
2.
Plowing, shoveling or blowing snow from private
property onto the Township roads is a violation of the Township code, and only
makes our jobs more difficult.
3.
Streets where vehicles are parked on the street
prevent our plows or salters from getting through. They are much larger than regular vehicles
and need more clearance. Please keep
vehicles off of roadways during snow events.
Sincerely,
John Perry
Director of Public Works and Water and Sewer Utilities