1/25/16 Caucus
Director of Public Works
Frank Hoffman
PERTH AMBOY – Interim Business Administrator Peter Pelissier added a topic for discussion of the status of the snow removal operations during the storm on 1/23-1/24/16. He told those in attendance that the Mayor was involved in what was going on. She rode with the Police and Public Works to see how the operations went while the storm was taking place.
The first person that Pelissier called up to speak was Department of Public Works Director Frank Hoffman.
Hoffman said, “The cleanup is still ongoing. DPW started going out at 1 a.m. on the morning of the storm (1/23/16) and would be working until midnight tonight (1/25/16). There might be a rain shower and we tried to widen as many lanes as we could and clear all the street corners and grates. 500 tons of salt were used and some streets had to be re-plowed several times. We had to help people who disobeyed orders not to drive and got stuck in the storm. In some cases when we did this, it caused our vehicles to get stuck also. At 6 p.m. (1/23/16) we used pay loaders for snow removal. The Board of Education gave us a list of schools that they would need our help in snow removal. Rector Street and Smith Street were the main concerns. The old Police Station Parking Lot on Rector Street was where we dumped the snow first. Snow was also dumped at the Little League Field and at the old Fire Station Property which are both on Rte. 35.”
Mayor Wilda Diaz
Hoffman continued, “On Tuesday, the DPW will help the schools out with snow removal.” Hoffman also addressed concerns about Inslee Street in the Budapest section of town. “At 5 a.m. on Sunday, January 24, that street was cleared. A couple of hours later, the Mayor called and said that Inslee Street looked like it had not been touched. The Mayor picked me up and with the Deputy Police Chief (Larry Cattano) we went to that street. A person with a snowblower proceeded to put snow in the street and actually hit one of our vehicles with snow. Some of our vehicles did break down. We used two front-loaders and one back end-loaders during the storm.”
After Hoffman made his brief presentation, Councilman Fernando Irizarry stated, “I appreciate all the work that the Public Works did.”
Councilman Joel Pabon was not very happy with the cleanup, “There is a mess on Madison Avenue. The cleanup should be curb to curb. Who is in charge of putting signs up on the streets? Maple Street was also a disaster. I’m not blaming the workers. It’s coming from the top. Sunshine Alley is a regular Street. We spent a lot of hours clearing the streets around City Hall. People living on Sunshine Alley couldn’t get out. I drove all around the City. Gordon Street to the Circle – open that street up. We (the Council) are the voice of the people and I’m just voicing their complaints. If we don’t enforce the ordinances then what’s the point?”
Council President Joel Pabon
Hoffman then came to the defense of his department and took all the blames for any complaints, “As I said before, people throw snow right back into the street.”
Pabon came right back, “The Budapest section was terrible. It’s our main roads that we say are not being cleared curb to curb. In the past this was done.”
Hoffman proceeded to explain how the DPW does the plowing, “The town is divided into six sections and that is how we proceed.”
Councilman Bill Petrick stated, “When we get heavy snow, we should call in our surplus contractors.”
Hoffman replied, “We did so.” He also stated, “Flyers were distributed in neighborhoods regarding fines for throwing snow into the streets.”
Councilman Irizarry said, “The problem is that there was so much snow and where could you put it?”
Councilman Bill Petrick interjected, “That is why we need front-loading equipment.”
Hoffman added, “We are hoping in two days that there will be curb to curb cleanups.”
Fire Chief Abraham Pitre came up briefly to speak in regards to the fire hydrants, “We have over 700 hydrants. We tried to clear them, but they get snowed in again.”
Deputy Police Chief Larry Cattano came forward to let those in attendance know the part that the Police Department played before and during the storm, “There were summons issued for vehicles parked on snow streets and some parking lots. 15 summons were issued and we used discretion when doing so. We had a preparation meeting before the storm hit. We met with residents on Front Street and secured telephone numbers for them. There was only minor wind damage from the storm. A travel ban was in effect until 10 a.m. on Sunday, January 24th. 46 vehicles were towed during the storm that were blocking the streets. We used all social media outlets to alert citizens and this included riding around the town using the megaphones. The warnings were done in English and Spanish. We dealt with 10 primary streets. Schools were closed on Monday (1/25/16) and will be closed on Tuesday 1/26/16 to help out the DPW. We used discretion when it came to the cars on the streets. Depending on the circumstances we would just ticket and tow or just ticket the vehicle.”
Councilman Fernando Irizarry took a more stern approach, “We should tow the people who do not obey the rules and they will get the message.”
Cattano assured Councilman Joel Pabon that he was not aware that the signs were not up on Madison Avenue. Cattano said he would make sure all the signs were up on that street by tomorrow (1/26/16).
On the Agenda, there was a Communication No. 1 stating that the Mayor would be out of the office from 1/15/16 and be returning 1/25/16. Peter Pelissier would be the Acting Mayor for that time period.
Mayor Wilda Diaz came up to speak and to make it known that she cut her vacation early and was back in the City before the storm hit. The Mayor started out by saying, “I want to thank the employees. It’s not until you go out with the Dept. of Public Works, the Fire Dept., and the Police Dept. to realize how much they care. This also includes the schools, hospital and the Housing Authority. Human Services housed some homeless people and people who were stuck after Public Transportation was suspended. The visibility was horrible. I’m grateful that no one got hurt. Our Waterfront had little damage. Plowing is ongoing. We lost some manpower and equipment. Businesspeople and residents helped the Department of Public Works. I know that a Councilman got called about Sunshine Alley not being plowed. I got calls from people all over the City. My main concern at the moment is flooding and possibly more snow in the forecast. We are getting laborers to help on snow removal on the sidewalks. The Salvation Army took some people in and Human Services helped 12 people with shelter and gave them food while they were there.”
Acting Director of Code Enforcement Jamie Rios said, “We purposely went to businesses in the downtown area to make sure that they cleared their property. Residents are supposed to clear their property 24 hours after the snow stops.”
Councilman Fernando Irizarry again brought up the question of repeat offenders. “You should just give them summons and forget about the warnings. If we have to use the DPW to clean their properties, they should be charged.”
Fernando Gonzalez was not present at the meeting due to being on vacation.
