Snow Removal Discussed Again
The Issue That Perseveres
South Amboy Council Meeting 2/19/14
SOUTH AMBOY – Gerald Ricciardi, Area Manager for JCP&L Community and Customer Relations presents Mayor Fred Henry with a check to be spent on South Amboy’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. *Photo by Mariyah Wojcik
By: Mariyah Wojcik
SOUTH AMBOY- Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) made a donation to the South Amboy St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and city snow removal issues were addressed in greater detail at the city council meeting on Feb. 19.
Gerald Ricciardi, area manager for JCP&L community and customer relations presented Mayor Fred Henry with a check to be spent on South Amboy’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This year, the company donated $500 to the event, which will take place on March 8.
“JCP&L has been a true friend to the city,” said councilman Mickey Gross. “It has become popular for politicians to take shots at our power companies, but I am proud of JCP&L’s involvement in our community.”
Henry also acknowledged the help of JCP&L.
“The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is always a big event for the city, and we appreciate the help,” said Henry.
Gross recalled the company’s involvement in the Superstorm Sandy recovery effort and stated that JCP&L was a great help in providing for the welfare of the residents of South Amboy.
“When the mayor and the council said that we needed ice and water for our residents, they said how many truckloads do you need? Not bags or gallons, truckloads,” said Gross.
Conversation quickly shifted to the growing controversy over snow removal. The approval associated with the donation was replaced with outrage and anger both from the council and city employees as well as residents.
In a statement made before the meeting was opened to the public for comments, Henry referred to the city’s snow removal response, which has been criticized heavily in recent weeks.
“It’s not a perfect science,” said Henry. “People shoveling snow into the streets and refusing to move their cars did not make this an easy job for city employees. They did a good job with the resources that they had to work with.” Ken Feeley, a resident, disapproved of the mayor’s comment and made compelling statements based upon his personal experiences during the most recent storm.
“They (city workers) do as good a job as they can, but it’s still a bad job,” said Feeley. “My street was like a hockey rink, my neighbor had to get out his plow on his time to clear snow, and I had to help push people’s cars down the street because they were stuck and sliding.”
Although Feeley alleged that no salt had been placed on the city streets, James Charmello, a city employee, disagreed with the statement.
According to Charmello, all of the city streets had been salted in the middle of the night, but the salt is only activated with sunlight, and therefore had little effect until morning. The rate of snowfall, as well as the small number of crew members involved, all contributed to what residents thought was a lack of action.
“The crew did the best they could, and that’s what they did,” said Councilman Donald Applegate, who agreed with Charmello.
The meeting came to a close without any agreement between the council, Charmello, and Feeley.
With snow in the forecast for the coming weeks, residents will soon find out if better snow removal policies or larger, more efficient crews will be implemented.
