Power Planned for Most of Chester Over Weekend
Mayor Bill Cogger said JCP&L President Don Lynch has 'committed' to Saturday for the majority of the township.
Chester Township Mayor Bill Cogger was going to spend Wednesday night in the generator-powered Municipal Building presiding over a meeting of the mayor and council, but the arriving winter storm Athena altered those plans.
Instead, Cogger spent the evening on the phone with JCP&L President Don Lynch as he added kerosene to the lamps he was using to light his powerless home.
"Don Lynch has committed to Saturday for power restoration in the majority of the township," Cogger said. "There may be a few single hookups left after Saturday, but the majority will be restored."
Like most of his residents, Cogger had been without power and heat since the night Hurricane Sandy blew through town. After a week the mayor picked up a small portable generator from the Chester Shop Rite. But the majority of his time since the storm has been spent either on conference calls looking for assistance or traveling through town surveying the damage.
"I have been on almost every road almost daily and there are still hazardous areas," Cogger said.
Cogger said that he has made numerous reports to hazardous areas like Benjamin Road and State Park Road, but has no way to expedite repairs. According to Cogger, there were ten crews working on State Park Road on Wednesday, and repairing the transmission line there would help restore power to not only part of Chester, but to Long Valley as well.
During the powerless week, Chester Township worked to open up as many roads as they could and provide places where people could charge up and warm up.
"We have had the Municipal Building open and we will over the weekend as well and now we have our Wi-Fi back," Cogger said. "The library is open without the Wi-Fi and Mayor Davis has been gracious enough to allow our residents to use the borough's warming station as well. So we thank Bob for that."
It has been a long week for the residents of Chester Township, and Cogger himself was out the night of the storm looking to assess problem areas with his Public Works staff when the storm slammed into Chester full force.
"I have never seen trees bend like that. I saw transmission lines burning," Cogger said. "And the whole thing took 15 minutes."
Cogger said one of the township's crews were trapped and he only got home because of the rescue.
"We had to cut our way through," Cogger said.
Since the storm, the Chester Township DPW has been dilligent about cleaning up everything they could as fast as they could.
"We had every tree without wires cleared," Cogger said. "The failure here lies in JCP&L. Their technology is archaic. Their system for outage detection is archaic. Their dispatch system is archaic. They didn't seem to learn anything from Irene."
And despite the Saturday assurance, Cogger is quick to point out that is not his estimate.
"That is based on what Don Lynch said," Cogger said. "That is not Bill Cogger saying that."
NEW
9:02 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
How come we don't have any updates for Chester Borough residents? Congratulations, Township, on your tireless efforts, communication and determination. In the Borough, we have crickets. Hopefully, we will benefit from your committment and get power by Saturday as well.
Russ Crespolini
9:06 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
I am assuming you didn't see this story from a few hours ago?
http://patch.com/A-zwsY
Bob Davis said the estimate is that the Borough has 90% of power restored, but the timetables have been less than accurate for everyone dealing the JCP&L.
But that link will take you to the latest release from Chester Borough.
Stacy Ling
9:26 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
What about the Boro???!!!! We are surrounded by the Township, share the same zip code and attend the same school. Please speak to Chester as a whole!
Jackie
9:31 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
We've had crickets in the Township as well. Other than tweets and residents updating information on facebook, Mayor Cogger has been silent and JCP&L has been misleading residents with wrong information. Honestly, it was not until Township residents started calling our State Senator and the Governor's office did thing really start to change. It is nice to know that Mayor Cogger was out in the storm and thereafter surveying the storm damage, but he has pretty much left residents in the dark until now.
Russ Crespolini
9:36 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Thanks for commenting guys. Unfortunately, with the scope of this storm and the amount of damage to get through, there doesn't appear to be much more information to give you other than what is out there now. Without phones, internet and power communication was rough over the last week. And I am not only talking about from the officials end of things, I myself had no phone service for days after the storm. I am not making excuses or apologies for anyone, I am just saying I will get you as much information as soon as I have it. And the officials I have been dealing with in my four primary towns are doing their level best to reach out when they can. I hope you are managing ok through this Athena mess. And don't hesitate to drop me a line via e-mail or call (now that my phone is working again). :-)
Take Back Chester
9:52 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
This article is too little too late in terms of adequate communication for the residents of Chester Township, nor any municipality for that matter. In fact it appears that this story is only to try and appease the recent and growing criticism of Mayor Cogger within Social Media circles.
Consider that it is now 10 days since the storm, damage and power outages occured. We have only seen minimal communication from the Mayor using generic twitter feeds. He has tried to defend his minimal communication by stating that the Internet access in the municipal building has not been working properly. However there are other ways to communicate with residents. Daily Town Meetings, Robo Phone Calls using the Board of Ed honeywell alert system, a mobil hot spot from a smart phone for Email, Facebook, Website or Twitter communications, Conference Calls etc. I came up with these options in about 60 seconds. The mayor took 10 days to finally get back to us through the Patch.
It's nice that Mayor Cogger was out daily surveying the damage. However a key responsibility in Local Government is to communicate adequately with residents. In this responsibility the Mayor has failed. The claims of constant communication with JCP&L has not filtered to the masses in Chester. Nor has it made JCP&L communicate reliably or accurately with their customers. Nor has it helped get the power back up and running in Chester any quicker.
CM Arrington
9:28 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
The Mayor's failure to act in the best interest of Chester Township residents, or to even act at all in a timely manner, is his modus operandi. He consistently fails to listen to his constituents' concerns and treats many with contempt when they challenge him. His arrogance is mind boggling and he approaches his Mayoral duties like he is serving as a figurehead and nothing more. He ran unopposed in his re election bid. Living within Chester Township are some very bright, intelligent and caring people. Let's hope we can do better than Mayor Cogger when his term expires in December of next year. The people of Chester deserve better.
Natasha Chandler
10:03 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
I agree with the last post. The lack of communication and information to taxpayers During these difficult times is unacceptable and a failure of current leadership. We have been without power and water for 10 days and we hear something now? I would have gone away for 2 weeks had i known it was this bad.
Alex
10:24 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Please read what MSNBC's Chris Matthews said about the storm we are enduring...boycott MSNBC, this man should not have a job.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/07/chris-matthews-on-obama-win-o-glad-hurricane-sandy-struck/
Rhea Cavanaugh
11:03 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
What happened to Fox Chase and East Fox Chase Roads in Chester Twp? Crews were working diligently last week and then suddenly disappeared! This area could have been completed by now. We have a summer home on Lavallette, the day after the storm they had pictures posted of every home single for residents to view as access has been and continues to be denied. Their website is updated daily and sometimes twice a day. Chester Twps website hasn't been updated since before the storm. Not even updated voting info. Shame on you Chester Twp officials!
Mendham Chester
12:00 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
Take back Chester is right. Jcpl planning and communications obviously antiquated. Besides inability to perform simple math or hit a date they use the words all and majority interchangeably. Haven't seen a single Morris county town or borough web site that adequately communicates any form of status. If u are having daily calls one would supposed daily communication of status is a good interval.
Dana Meininger
7:31 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
Please give me an update on Oakdale road. We to have been without power for 10 days! Another transformer blew up behind my house last night around dinner time. My house was hit pretty bad by the storm - 4 trees hit my roof and another 6 fell across my front yard. Still waiting for the roofing company to come and give us an estimate. I am afraid we will have to wait another week before power is restored....
Brad Lewin
7:54 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
I would also like an update on Fox Chase between the Mt Views. I hope that is back by Sat. Also on mt View there is a huge tree blocking the road. Mike Francesa on WFAN has been lambasting LIFO on Long Island. We need someone to get on there and do the same for us.
Liongirl14
8:26 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
It is about time Mayor Cogger started to communicate, but it is too little too late and appears to be in response to the social media comments. Generic tweets through twitter...what about folks who didn't have access or seniors who don't tweet? Where is the overall disaster management plan with scenarios as to how Chester would communicate and operate from Day 1 of a disaster? Communication and information are key from Day 1...not starting on Day 10! Additionally, where is the coordination of both Chester Borough and Chester Twp where there is one voice versus two different voices?
Tom G
8:30 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
Russ, good piece, thanks for this. Folks can get more info by following the Township on Twitter. I also understand there's a way to get text updates sent to your phone, but don't know what charges may apply.
delwood dame
8:54 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
There's such duplication in our towns that can't believe between 2 council and 2 mayors that we don't have better emergency plans to help residents and communication backup systems or locations. This is 2nd time around. Shame on you and us for letting this happen again. Twp meetings better focus on this once power is back on! Winter has just begun... Thank goodness for the Patch here and nearby for trying to keep us informed.
Rob
8:59 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
Staying in hackettstown with inlaws. Warren county has a radio station wrnj 1510am that has been keeping all residents up to date since the storm hit with interviews with town officials. People call with all types of questions and comments, where warming stations are, updates on power, gas station lines, food, etc and they are answered by the host or other callers. too bad we don't have something like this for our area.
Bob Zorechak
10:33 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
I live in Mansfield Twp (Warren County) and could not agree more with the previous post. WRNJ radio was an absolute beacon of light throughout the darkness of the storm providing real time answers to all kinds of questions. Every town (or regional area) should have a station like this!
Brad Lewin
10:54 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
KHow do we follow the Township on Twitter. Any links assistance would be much appreciated.
Jonathan David
10:56 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
@ChesterTownship
Brad Lewin
11:48 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
Thanks.
MDL
9:25 pm on Thursday, November 8, 2012
Why do all of you feel lost? You all knew this was coming,The radio and the actions by the utility crews have been outstanding in this state. It just seems that all of your comments mean you "have to have your hands held". After seeing the condition of pleasant hill rd, the mayor probably couldn't get out of his house for 2-3 days after this mess, while taking care of his family. "I will give him the benifit of the doubt" on this one, It seems that one of the most devistating event in U.S. history has brought out the same old political mudslinging..
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.. and my wife is still blaming me for Sandy. because I guess after 32 years,11 days and 1 cord of firewood and $1,000.00 in fuel she has to blame someone...