Officials emphasize safety needs in planning response to storm
By:Alec Moore
It may be some time until officials know exactly how much Sunday’s blizzard will end up costing the township.
"I don’t know how much it is gong to be costing us just yet, but I should have those figures by next week," said Mayor Tony Gwiazdowski, who anticipates that the cleanup costs may very well surpass last year’s entire snow removal budget.
The State of New Jersey also exhausted its snow removal budget as a result of the seemingly endless snowfall, which dumped approximately 2 feet of snow on Hillsborough and neighboring communities.
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County resets recycling dates The Somerset County Recycling Division will collect recyclables in Hillsborough by midday Saturday, Feb. 22. Those residents who were unable to place recyclables at the curb on the regularly scheduled pick-up date due to the snowstorm are asked to leave recyclables at the curb until then. |
Despite the as yet unknown cost of the snow clearing efforts, Mayor Gwiazdowski praised Hillsborough’s Department of Public Works for its work.
"All in all, I was very pleased," said the mayor. "There were some spots in town that needed some extra attention, but given the magnitude of this storm, that’s to be expected.
"Our Department of Public Works did a really nice job."
Mayor Gwiazdowski spoke with Police Chief Robert Gazaway, Department of Public Works Director Buck Sixt and Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Brownlie on Sunday afternoon, just after flakes began to fall, to map out the township’s "game plan."
"It really made me appreciate the job these guys do," said Mayor Gwiazdowski, who was taught the ins and outs of snowplowing by Mr. Sixt.
"He showed me how easy this job can be when it’s done right, but also how difficult it can be," said the mayor, who saw firsthand just how much of a problem cars left on the street in heavy snowfalls can pose for plow operators.
Department of Public Works Director Buck Sixt said crews began plowing the streets on Sunday, and didn’t stop for 41 hours.
"We started plowing at about 5 o’clock Sunday and we finished up at about 10 o’clock Tuesday morning," he said. "The guys did a great job."
Another problem caused by severe snowfalls is the fact that fire hydrants often get buried in mounds of plowed or shoveled snow.
Mr. Brownlie urged residents to dig out such fire hydrants near their homes because they otherwise would be invisible to firefighters in case of a fire.
"If they have fire hydrants near their home we ask that they please shovel it out on all four sides, it’s very important," Mr. Brownlie said.
Beyond the township’s efforts in keeping the roads clear, officials took precautions to ensure the safety of all residents during the storm. To ensure that emergency personnel were able to access all areas of the township, volunteer firefighters and Rescue Squad members stayed overnight in each of the township’s three firehouses on Hamilton Road, Woods Road and the Flagtown fire house on South Branch Road.
"That’s the volunteer spirit that makes this community as great as it is," Mayor Gwiazdowski said. "I thank each of the firefighters and Rescue Squad members who devoted their time to make sure that our town remained safe during the storm."
Mr. Brownlie pointed out that response time to a number of emergency medical service calls, as well as a truck fire on Stryker Lane, would have been significantly greater if the volunteers had not already been at the firehouses.
One police officer was also stationed at each of the three firehouses as well. The officers were equipped with the fire chiefs’ four-wheel drive sport utility vehicles since the Police Department’s four-wheel drive vehicles were also in use.
"Overall I think everything went extremely well; we had everything under control," Mr. Brownlie said, pointing out that residents can always stay abreast of emergency developments and school closings by tuning radios to 1610 AM, Hillsborough’s own emergency radio band.

