08/07/2020
From Mayor Chris Yates:
Dear Resident,
I want to provide an update on the aftermath of the storm.
Let me begin by saying that the response by JCP&L has been grossly and stunningly incompetent. As a company they seem impervious to learning from their past mistakes as their actions since they became aware of the potential of the storm last week demonstrate no improvement over their management of previous storm events and in some cases are demonstrably worse. As of this morning there wasn’t a single truck on the ground in Harding to even inspect the damage. After calls were placed from the Harding Emergency Operations Center to JCP&L representatives emphasizing that emergency responders could not access all of our residents, which created a public safety issue, at 11:30 three (3) tree crews arrived in Harding. Initially, there were 23 roads closed at the conclusion of the storm. At this time, there are 15 roads closed. Six (6) of those road openings were thanks to the Harding Department of Public Works and private residents who took it upon themselves to remove trees from roadways. However, it is not recommended that any member of the public approach any trees which contain downed wires. They have posted a global restoration time of midnight, August 11. That date is, I believe, a fantasy, posted only to satisfy regulatory requirements.
The Township Committee, our administrator, Bob Falzarano, the Harding Township Police Department, led by Chief Erik Heller, and our public works department, led by superintendent Tracy Toribio, have been all-hands on since Monday. As of mid-day Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the storm, our DPW had cleared the roads of all trees that did not have power lines or utility poles involved. Only after JCP&L has been onsite to de-energize the lines can the trees be removed. We have told JCP&L we will take responsibility for removing the trees as soon as they get here to deal with the lines. Mr. Falzarano and Chief Heller have been onsite 24 hours a day since Monday, working 12 hour shifts around the clock.
We have also been in direct contact with JCP&L both here and in Ohio. I have spoken to the Board of Public Utilities a number of times, demanding they come to Harding and compel JCP&L to get into Harding and begin work. I have also spoken to Governor Murphy’s office, both to the head of community liaison and to the deputy chief of staff, beseeching them to actively engage in getting JCP&L to move. Bob Falzarano and I have also been on the phone with JCP&L personnel throughout Tuesday and Wednesday nights as we continue to demand action.
We participated in a call JCP&L hosted with mayors yesterday afternoon and I can only characterize that call as a farce – fifteen minutes of self-congratulatory pablum about how they were on top of the response and deploying vast resources (though they didn’t expect those resources to really arrive until late Thursday or Friday), followed by only four questions and the termination of the call after 27 minutes.
I wish I could tell you some good news about restoration but we just don’t have any in spite of all we are doing. There is no definitive timeline for power restoration operations to start.
Here is what the town has done and is doing. We put our emergency management plan into action last Friday. Our public works department inspected all equipment and fuel levels to ensure all of Harding’s assets were ready. A meeting of the Office of Emergency Management was scheduled for Monday and that meeting was convened. That meeting included administrative staff, DPW, the Harding Police Department, the New Vernon Volunteer Fire Company and the New Vernon First Aid Squad. All involved organizations verified their personnel and equipment were on standby and in good operating condition. Our storm response began immediately after the storm passed through town as the DPW and PD began road and safety checks, though that was, and remains, hampered by impassible roads. As I noted above, by mid-day Wednesday all roads with downed trees that DPW could remove were removed. We immediately began communicating with JCP&L as outlined above.
The municipal building has no power. Yesterday afternoon the backup generator stopped working due to a failed water pump. Repairs are underway and we hope generator power will be restored today. The municipal building also had no phone service. This phone service was restored this morning. Working with Verizon in the meantime, we had been able to transfer the town’s lines to the DPW building and have setup a desk there to receive the calls. The Emergency Operations Center was transferred to the fire house and will be manned there. A temporary cell tower was deployed to the parking lot of the municipal building to provide service for the staff and police department. (This event underlines the public safety risk in Harding that comes from having such poor cell service.)
We have posted the locations of JCP&L-provided water and ice. The nearest locations are the Kings supermarkets in Bernardsville and Morristown and the Bernardsville Shop Rite, though reports are that JCP&L has not adequately provisioned those locations. The New Vernon Fire Department is providing water to residents. Residents can access the water faucets at the rear of the fire department building on Village Road. Please bring your own containers.
We are doing everything we can to get JCP&L here to open the roads and begin restoration. I have had many calls demanding Harding revoke JCP&L’s franchise and takeover the power provisioning or change electric providers. None of those are actions we can take. JCP&L owns the assets and they don’t operate under a franchise. What we can do is demand that the BPU force change in the management of the utility and sanction them for such incompetent management, which continues to create a significant public safety problem for Harding.
The police department, fire department and first aid squad are responding to emergencies, walking to locations as required when roads are blocked. Please reach out if you need anything. The non-emergency number for Harding Township Police is (973) 455-0500. Dial 9-1-1 for all emergencies. If you haven’t signed up for emergency alerts, go to www.alertharding.com to receive emergency notifications directly from Harding Township Police and Office of Emergency Management. If you have a generator please invite your neighbors to come charge their devices or even take a shower and cool off in the air conditioning.
We will make sure and keep you updated as we learn more.
Sincerely,
Chris Yates
Mayor
