Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • December 5, 2012 Area Northwest Bergen mayors and administrators last week met with NJ Board of Public Utilities (BPU) President Robert Hanna to discuss the local utilities’ response and effectiveness in restoring power in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Hosted by state Senator Kevin O’Toole, the meeting provided the state official with a first-hand account of the difficulties suffered by District 40 municipalities during and after the storm and highlighted the need for better coordination to deal with future disasters. The meeting resulted in a positive open exchange of ideas, practical suggestions from the local officials and assurances from Hanna that systems will be put in place so that the errors and overlaps experienced during Sandy will not be repeated. “It was a good, productive meeting. We mayors had an opportunity to have a frank, thoughtful conversation with the BPU president. It was clear that he not only understood the difficulties that Ridgewood and other towns experienced with PSEG in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, but that he is committed to addressing them,” said Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn after the meeting. “I think the message got through that improved communications from the utilities to public officials is essential. Lack of timely, accurate and useful information led to an uncoordinated and inefficient response on behalf of the utilities,” said Franklin Lakes Mayor Frank Bivona, who praised Senator O’Toole and his staff for their assistance to the municipalities during the storm. “We felt we were not left alone in the storm. Senator O’Toole was there for us during the storm, in the weeks following and now. He was seriously concerned O’Toole hosts meeting between mayors and BPU head to make sure our needs were met,” said Waldwick Mayor Tom Giordano. “To the credit of the utility companies, we were informed that service help was requested before the storm landed here in New Jersey from other state utilities. We saw the results by having crews from Michigan, Georgia, Louisiana and many other states working in our neighborhoods. The utilities deserve the credit for the preparations, not knowing the potential damage that would occur,” said Midland Park Mayor Bud O’Hagan. “On the other hand, they missed out on the opportunities to have additional assistance at their disposal because of a breakdown in local communications,” he added. O’Hagan displayed a color coded map he had prepared for Midland Park showing the actual power situation in every street in the borough. It could have been shared with the work crews, if only they had asked. Aronsohn lamented that the crews didn’t know the priorities in the towns, turning off the power to a Ridgewood church for eight hours, unaware that the building was being used as a shelter. These examples, the mayors said, pointed out the need for crews to report to one designated person in each town to determine those priorities. “DPW units, police and fire departments were readily available to provide the necessary backups and tools that would have made the work crews more efficient. We have knowledge of our road systems. We have emergency lighting and power tools and heavy duty equipment that would have lightened the workers’ tasks,” O’Hagan said. Giordano said he felt reassured after the meeting that Hanna knew the situation at hand and how to correct it for future incidents. “It was good he admitted where the problems lay,” he said. Wyckoff Mayor Chris DePhillips strongly urged the BPU president to conduct full public hearings to assess the inadequate performance of the utilities during the hurricane, and elicited from Hanna assurances that hearings will be held around the state, including in Bergen County. “Only through a full public investigation can the utilities be held to account for their disorganized, uncoordinated and needlessly slow response to the storm,” said DePhillips. “As the regulatory agency overseeing the utilities, the BPU should shine a bright light on the utilities’ inability to respond not just to Hurricane Sandy, but the other major storms we have experienced since 2010. Only after a full public airing can there be any meaningful chance that the utilities will finally reform their practices,” he added. Each of the mayors is expected to be contacted for additional comments and suggestions based upon input from their respective Emergency Management Systems Coordinators and first responders. “The underlying message is communication, and cooperation goes both ways - from the top down and the bottom up,” O’Hagan said. The mayors’ suggestions may also lead Senator O’Toole to propose legislation to help in future disasters, including allowing DPW workers to be trained to recognize live wires, thus enabling them to clear the roads in a timely manner. The expenses associated with the training could be offset by billing the utility companies. Senator O’Toole’s practice of hosting periodic meetings between state agency heads and elected officials was also praised by Mayor Bivona. “The senator and his team continue to work very hard for constituents. He puts relevant top key officials in front of mayors on a regular basis where we exchange thoughts and ideas which will enable us to govern better,” Bivona said. Rezoning ordinance (continued from page 5) houses on small properties. She also pointed out that it is not yet known how Franklin Avenue will develop in light of the sewer line being installed there, and she said at this time it is not yet known if the sewer line would even extend to this property. “I have a problem bringing a business to a residential neighborhood,” Ramsey said. Lambrix echoed that concern, saying the rezoning would isolate the Shirley Avenue residential area and put pressure on those residents, which he said is something to think about seriously. Pedone explained that his main concern is with the two lots at the corner of Franklin and Shirley avenues. “I would hate to see spot zoning and another professional building there,” he said. “I don’t want to see spot zoning on that corner if we approve this one.” The majority of the dozen or so residents who voiced their opinion about the rezoning request at the meeting spoke in favor of the proposal. They said that, if the lot were not rezoned, it could be developed for single-family homes that would include a street access from Shirley Avenue, while the developer’s proposal would benefit the area and increase the value of their properties and not bring additional school children, and the related expenses, to the area. They also said the rezoning would improve the area aesthetically and everyone would benefit if the extension of the property to Shirley Avenue were vacated and not developed. Some of the residents voiced concern about the parking lot proposed for the site and the potential that the two lots on the corner of Franklin and Shirley avenues would also be rezoned for commercial use. In addition, they discussed the potential increase in traffic in the area, which they said tends to back up on Franklin Avenue when the middle school releases its students each weekday afternoon. One Shirley Avenue resident said there is no reason to change the residential zoning of the property and that the proposed office building would be a big increase over the size of the existing house. That resident suggested that the current owner should sell the existing house as it is, and it should then be rehabilitated. The rezoning issue came before Mayor Frank Bivona and the borough council in October when they received a request to consider the rezoning of the lot from ABJC Investments, LLC. That company’s principals, Anthony Berardi and Joseph Commorata, are the contract purchasers of the property. Commorata originally asked for the rezoning of his lot and the two lots on the corner of Franklin and Shirley avenues, but that request was withdrawn when the council balked at rezoning lots that were not under a contract of sale with ABJC Investments. Commorata told the council at a previous public meeting that he would like to construct a 13,500 square foot, two-story office building on the lot, built 50 feet back from Franklin Avenue in a Dutch colonial residential style, with parking for 57 cars at the rear of the building. Several council members expressed concerns about the impact the rezoning could have on the residents on Shirley Avenue and the traffic it might create on Franklin Avenue, where there is a middle school nearby at a busy intersection with Pulis Avenue. It was decided to send notices about the developer’s proposal to all the residents of Shirley Avenue, Fieldstone Court, Cherry Street, the Twinbrooks Nursery, and any other properties within 200 feet of this site, so those property owners could have an opportunity to voice their opinions about the rezoning proposal at a public meeting. The planning board is expected to consider the ordinance at its Dec. 5 meeting and to respond to the council so the governing body can consider it for adoption on Dec. 18. If the ordinance is not adopted in this calendar year, it would, by law, have to be reintroduced in 2013 before it could be adopted. F.J. McMAHON