HOWELL — Equipment that replaced an inventory of items that were destroyed in a Sept. 16 fire at a public works yard on Old Tavern Road arrived in time for municipal employees to use after a blizzard dumped 2 feet of snow on Howell on Dec. 26.
The fire four months ago damaged all of Howell’s snow plows, as well as lawn mowers and a truck.
According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and Township Manager Helene Schlegel, the cause of the devastating fire at the public works yard remains under investigation.
“Nineteen large plows and 14 small plows were damaged as a result of the fire. They were all replaced, and the new equipment was used during the recent blizzard,” Schlegel said.
The township manager said an insurance payment covered the cost of replacing the equipment that was destroyed in the fire.
In reviewing the efforts of municipal employees who plowed Howell’s streets during and after the blizzard, Mayor Robert Walsh said, “Our employees worked as hard as they could.”
Schlegel said, “We are going to enhance and build upon our current operations.”
She said she is researching a possible interlocal agreement that would see Howell partner with another municipality to share equipment.
The idea would be to find a town that is outside the immediate region and might be able to spare equipment during a storm if Howell needs help and the other community does not need to use its equipment at the same time, she said.
Under the agreement, Howell would reciprocate in similar circumstances.
“We are looking outside our immediate area. Generally when [a weather emergency] happens in our area, it’s also happening in our surrounding area and [nearby municipalities] don’t have the resources to give us,” Schlegel said.
During the Dec. 26 blizzard, officials in surrounding towns were in need of assistance, but Howell was unable to help.
“All of our available resources were dedicated to Howell,” Schlegel said.
She said the township was able to assist the state Department of Transportation with some of its cleanup operations. Schlegel thanked Monmouth County for sending equipment to help the township deal with the aftermath of the storm.
Municipal officials are concerned that a rough winter will damage local roads and cause potholes to form.
Township Engineer William Nunziato described the potential for potholes as a cycle of freezing and thawing.
“Water gets into the cracks [in the road], it freezes, it expands and blows the roads apart. Unfortunately, that is going to happen over the next couple of months,” he said.
Plans are being developed to deal with the expected potholes, but the work could be contingent on the budget, Nunziato said.
Other challenges that face the town as spring approaches include roads that have been in existence for decades.
“We have some old roads that weren’t exactly built the right way,” Walsh said.
Some roads that were built 50 years ago were not designed to handle the volume of traffic that is on them today. Older roads are difficult to just pave over; reconstructing them is a solution, but a costly one, Nunziato said.
Walsh said he wants to see a plan put in place to address some of these issues.
“We have a plan in place, but plans cost money. Funds right now are very limited,” Schlegel said.