Politics & Government

Sandy Causes Adjustments by Chester Borough

OEM coordinator shares lessons learned during the storm.

Angelo Bolio wore several hats during Hurricane Sandy. Chester resident, business owner and fire chief were amongst them. But he spoke to the mayor and council of Chester Tuesday night as the office of emergency management coordinator.

“Sandy did beat us up but Chester didn’t break, Bolio said. “I really want to thank the mayor and council for everything that they did during the storm. Your job is tough and no one ever says thank you to the mayor and council.”

Bolio said that the borough government was quick to respond to his requests, and that included getting the warming center set up.

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“I asked Mayor Bob to take care of that and he did,” Bolio said. “He literally nudged me and told me it was done and they were running it with volunteers and I was able to go back to what I was doing and not worry about it.”

Bolio also has high praise for the job Alan Alpaugh did in his first days on the job running the Chester Borough Department of Public Works.

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“Alan was a vet. It was like he had been here forever,” Bolio said. “He did a heck of a job.”

Alpaugh, who took over the Chester Borough Department of Public Works hours before the storm began was elevated from interim DPW superintendent to Acting DPW superintendent.

“We are going to have Alan as acting DPW super until the certifications are complete,” Mayor Bob Davis said.

Alpaugh’s change in status was one of several changes in the wake of Sandy. According to Bolio, all of the mayors, police chiefs and OEM coordinators are going to be meeting to discuss lessons learned. Bolio also said they provided FEMA representatives with a list of damaged properties.

"But it is up to residents to follow up with FEMA," Davis said. "It is not the borough's responsibility to do so."

Davis said that Chester was lucky that the storm didn’t knock out power to main street or to the municipal complex.

“We were lucky we had businesses open and the churches were amazing. Serving meals free of charge,” Davis said. “I know I ate there several times because my house was dead as a doornail like everyone else’s.”

Davis also said that while the borough was lucky this time, they can’t expect their luck to hold out during the next storm.

“We need to think about purchasing a generator and making sure we are ready,” Davis said. “We may need to consider that in the next budget cycle.”


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