Committeewoman opposes mayor’s emergency management procedures — before, during and after Superstorm Sandy.
By David Kilby, Special Writer
BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP — As liaison to emergency management, Bordentown Committeewoman Jill Popko was perplexed as to why she was not included in the coordination efforts during Hurricane Sandy.
She said Mayor Karl Feltes and Michael Dauber, deputy mayor, coordinated with Andy Law, Bordentown’s emergency coordinator, without her input. She expressed her concern at the committee’s meeting Nov. 26.
Ms. Popko said she opposed how Mayor Feltes and Mr. Dauber dealt with emergency management procedures, before, during and after the hurricane.
Superstorm Sandy struck New Jersey on Oct. 29, and millions of state residents were without power for days In the days following the storm, temperatures began to drop along the East Coast as many still remained without heat due to ongoing massive power outages.
Ms. Popko said a local shelter should have been set up much sooner, and the township needs to become more self-sufficient in emergencies instead of depending on the county to provide.
Mayor Feltes scheduled a vacation long before the hurricane was forecasted, but he made sure on the Friday before the storm that “everything was in place and communication was tested,” Mayor Feltes said.
”In reference to my perceived slight with you, based upon state statute, Andy Law has to report to the mayor, and if the mayor is out of town, he reports to the deputy mayor,” he said.
”I was appointed by you as emergency liaison,” Ms. Popko replied.
Mr. Dauber said there is no actual emergency management committee, and Burlington County is the government body primarily responsible for setting up shelters, not the municipalities.
He added a shelter was opened at the high school when needed, and “everything ran pretty smoothly. At no time were residents in danger.”
But Ms. Popko said Hurricane Sandy was no regular storm and said extra safety measures should be implemented in the future.
”Lights were all out on the highway,” Ms. Popko said. “For residents’ safety, we should have had some shelter available for them so they didn’t have to travel on dangerous roads. I think we need to depend on ourselves when these things happen.”
Committeeman Jim Cann agreed with Ms. Popko’s concern.
”I would like to see us more proactive in setting up a shelter,” he said, adding some residents spent extended times in their car for heat, and they could have gotten carbon monoxide poisoning.
He also said the police and fire departments were “fabulous” in their response to the hurricane, but still believed the township could have managed things much better.
Carol de Groot, of Arlington Road, who was a member of the Bordentown Township Committee from 1997 to 2003, said she agreed with Ms. Popko.
She said when she was the emergency management liaison, she was immediately informed about what was going on regarding the township’s management strategy before, during and after the emergency.
Ms. de Groot said, “The school was opened immediately. Each one of the different groups were called and informed. Then they came to the Township Committee. You (Ms. Popko) should have been called.”
She said if emergency liaison is just a title Ms. Popko was given, then the rest of the committee appointments should just be titles.

