By Charley Falkenburg, Special to the Packet
WEST WINDSOR It appears West Windsor is just tree branches and leaves away from returning to a semblance of normalcy after Hurricane Sandy.
In an update on post-storm efforts on Nov. 20, Police Chief Joseph Pica told Township council on Tuesday that the town has electric, heat and working traffic lights. However, the town is in its clean-up stages and the Public Works Department (DPW) is playing catch-up on brush piles.
From the hurricane to Nov. 19, Public Works has collected 298 loads of brush compared to last year where it only gathered 92 loads via its compactor trucks.
Chief Pica described the DPW as the group that worked the hardest after the storm.
But Councilman Bryan Maher criticized the department, saying it should make clearing main roads, such as Penn Lyle Road, a priority rather than take care of neighborhood cul-de-sacs first.
”If they’re not impassable, then who cares?” asked Mr. Maher, referring to the cul-de-sacs.
He also suggested creating a contingency plan that would create a pay system for high school students to help the DPW in collecting debris after future storms.
Resident Debbie Hepler also voiced concerns that the brush pick up was subpar compared to other towns such as Lawrenceville, Hamilton and East Windsor.
”I haven’t seen a soul from the DPW and the brush is piled so high I can barely get into my driveway,” said Ms. Hepler. “The only explanation I have is the mismanagement by the administration.”
Resident John Church thought DPW was diligent in cleaning up the brush, particularly tending to the trees that smashed into roofs.
The administration and the rest of the council had nothing but praise for the DPW as well as the various department heads, township employees and emergency personnel for their round-the-clock help during the disaster.
Like many East Coast towns, Sandy ravaged West Windsor with heavy winds, causing hundreds of trees and power lines to fall. Chief Pica estimated the storm caused 80 percent of outages and that it took about two weeks for everyone to get back online.
It also sparked a backlash against Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) after it failed again to meet its customers’ expectations in both response time and communication efforts.
One-third of West Windsor uses JCP&L and they were without power for a week before JCP&L responded. Because most of that territory falls on both sides of Old Trenton Road East, many seniors in adult communities and assisted living facilities, such as Village Grande, Bear Creek and the Elements, were impacted.
In a last-minute alteration of the agenda, the council added a resolution that supported a recent letter Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh sent Gov. Chris Christie, asking that West Windsor be allowed to make Public Services Gas & Electric (PSE&G) its sole power provider.
Councilman George Borek suggested making a statement by switching energy providers. A different energy provider would still be under JCP&L, but Mr. Borek thought if enough people changed suppliers, it would serve as a “wake up call” to the power company.
”That’s the way of proving your point. It sends a strong message to JCP&L that West Windsor isn’t going to put up with this,” he added.
Powered by a generator, the town’s Senior Center emerged early on as a haven for not just the elderly, but all citizens to get warm, charge their phones and get a hot meal throughout the disaster.
”People needed a place to go and the Senior Center became the focal point; the dynamics were amazing,” said Business Administrator Marlena Schmid. “We made sure people had a place to sleep it wasn’t the most comfortable bed, but the Senior Center was always an option.”
Ms. Schmid commended the Health Department, which sent environmental inspectors to the restaurants and eateries to guide them on storing their products properly. She also gave kudos the Communications Center, which handled more than 2,500 calls the night of the storm and worked round the clock for two weeks straight.
During and after the storm, dispatch received $7,500 in overtime. Police received $4,500. Ms. Schmid attributed the large figures to the supply of volunteers that dwindled as the storm went on, particularly in the evening and midnight shifts.
To prevent large overtime sums and still have staff on hand, the council adopted an ordinance that would cover expenses with the emergency shelter coordinator and monitor during emergencies. The people, who would most likely be town employees, would receive an adjusted salary for working during emergencies.
If adopted, the monitor and coordinator would get $35 and $45 an hour respectively during emergencies. The public hearing for this ordinance is Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
Lt. Robert Garofalo, the man behind the police social media, also appeared to never sleep during Sandy. He provided continuous updates via the department’s Facebook, Twitter and Nixle alerts via text and emails.
Lt. Garofalo said at one point, the Facebook page had more than 50,000 users interacting from around the country. One was even from England with no way to communicate with her parents in Village Grande, but used the page for updates.
Jim Yates, the director of Fire and Emergency Services, is currently working the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and compiling the town’s reimbursement claim. Ms. Schmid said the town is entitled to 75 percent. While the expenses are still being racked up, she estimated they would be submitting between $500,000 and $750,000 in claims to FEMA.
For resident Al Lerner, Hurricane Sandy had a silver lining: it showed the community coming together to solve the problem a measure he thought spoke volumes about the town.
”We used to be known as the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. Now we’ve shown we can shoot straight and hit the target,” said Mr. Lerner.

