When are our streets going to get cleaned up?

Since the nor'easter of October 29th there has been little action from our town's leaders to clean up the damage or even issue a plan.

Why was there no communication during the crisis

There were no updates from the mayor on the town's website. The only communication I we received was a letter POST MARKED five days after the fact and delivered seven days afterwards. It stated nothing new and nothing that anyone didn't know by that time. It stated noting about the towns inability to communicate during the crisis and no plan other that a new sign up system for texting which I wasn't even to access. 

 Many communities provided options for our children to trick or treat. Some publicly declared that Friday as a substituted day to trick or treat.  Some started trunk or treats for safety issues.  PSE&G sent updates to their customers. Verizon sent updates to their customers. Shop Rite even sent automated messages that they were back to providing us with their services. We received no nothing. No direction what so ever. If it not had been for some diligent and caring teachers' helpers I wouldn't have even known if there was school on October 31st and Nov.1st.

What actions has our mayor and council taken in the event we have another storm before this mess is cleaned up?

Other than campaigning, worrying about election recounts and the letter I still don't know what the mayor and council are doing.  I still don't know if there is yet a plan in place. Does anyone? If we get snow how will our streets get plowed? How will emergency vehicles negotiate the quagmire that will be our roads? How will our children get to school safely? As of today there is no plan that I know of. The town's website hasn't even posted the minutes from the last council meeting.

What Caldwell Needs.

We need to stop the Democrat vs. Republican posturing that has been going on. It seems that it has become more important to have a majority in power than it is to govern the town. It is time to put aside politics at the municiple level and start doing what is best for our community.  We don't need anyone using our town's top positions as a resume builder or to occupy a seat on the council simply because they are a certain party. It is time to get an experienced manager to lead us during times of trouble as well as good times. Someone with actual business and managerial experience to manage a budget that will allow for emergencies. That will use the experience gained  from a crisis to better manage the next one.  Someone who will use all modern resources to communicate with everyone so that we at at the very least aware of what is happening on a real time basis.

What I would have done after Hurricane Irene and the nor'eastern.

Communication. The towns website has to be monitered daily so that it is a relevant tool to everyone. We need  to know what is going on at the time. I would have started a Twitter account and posted it so that during the next emergency I would be able to communicate  and update everyone instantly. Everyone would be informed as to how dangerous the roads and conditions are. I would have started a list of our MOST vulnerable citizens. Seniors living alone, single parents with infants that may need special assistance as well as special needs situations. I would also start a Caldwell Facebook page and ask everyone to join so that it too can be a communicative tool. I would also make sure that the new emergency notification system was working properly and encourage as well as monitor that everyone signs up.

Power Outages. They are often unavoidable. However there are things that we can do as a community to minimize the next event. It was frustrating to many of us that we have gas furnaces and oil heat yet the electronic ignition rendered them useless. This can be overcome. An electrician can easily wire our boilers so that an outside generator can safely provide power to  them and we could at least have heat. If the weather during the storm had been colder many of us would have been in trouble.

Preventative Measures. I would ask for bids from electricians and get a bulk price for anyone in town that is interested in getting their furnace to work during power outages.  I would also look into getting bulk bids for small power inverters or generators to power our furnace systems. This way we can get a good price and not burden our budget. I would ask PSE&G to see if we can get access to information concerning our town"s grid so that we will have a realistic time of recovery which of course make available immediately. This will allow us to know what to do with our perishables as well as our families. I would also ask PSE&G for informative assistance prior to a storm. If they have specific knowledge prior to a storm and what it's effect may be then we all should know. I would then text or tweet everyone INSTANTLY