Missing ‘Snow Plan’ Slowed Response

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Jan. 19, 2011)

PERTH AMBOY — Although hampered by lack of access to the city’s Snow

Emergency Plan, Public Works Department employees worked diligently to clear

Perth Amboy’s streets of snow, which they did in a “comparable or better”

manner as other municipalities.

This was how Business Administrator Gregory Fehrenbach assessed the city’s

response to the Dec. 26 blizzard that dumped over 20 inches of the white

stuff on Perth Amboy and surrounding areas at the City Council Caucus early

last week.

Fehrenbach told the Council that “37 employees received overtime during the

storm.”

Public Works Director Paul Wnek allegedly failed to show-up for work in a

timely manner and was dismissed by Mayor Wilda Diaz, and former General

Supervisor Eddie Perez, who was replaced recently by Acting General Supervisor

Frank Hoffman, was on-vacation. Wnek and Perez had the only copies of the

city’s Snow Emergency Plan, Fehrenbach said.

Council members agreed that a copy of the Plan should be posted at Public

Works Department Headquarters, foot of Fayette Street.

Former Union County Public Works & Engineering Director Frank Dann, who was

hired as Management Assistant on Dec. 20, “jumped-into the breach” for the

snowstorm, Fehrenbach said.

The Council voted at its regular meeting two days later to confirm the

Mayor’s appointment of Dann as Interim Public Works Director, pending the hiring

of a permanent replacement for Wnek.

Dann, who attended the Caucus, said that “every possible person was

called” to acquire a copy of the Plan before he sat-down with the Public Works

Supervisors to divide the city into sections to attack the blizzard.

After finally obtaining the Plan, it was found to be “pretty-much the way

we had devised it,” he said. “Three additional pieces of equipment were

needed for this storm.”

Councilman Joel Pabon asked why the Department was not prepared for the

blizzard. “We knew about it in-advance almost a week,” he said. “It didn’t

catch us by-surprise.”

“I don’t want to go too-far because some of this may wind-up in

closed-session,” Fehrenbach said. “Mr. Dann asked Mr. Wnek about the Department’s

readiness for the storm, and he was told, ‘The Snow Plan is in place; there’s

nothing to worry-about.’”

However, Dann said that he “found the equipment in pretty-bad condition,

pretty-old and worn, and repairs had to be made to some plows.”

As for the smaller Jan. 11 snowstorm, he told Council members, “We’re

absolutely, 100-percent ready to go,” and “there should be no glitch this time.”

“We realize there were some personnel issues the last time,” Councilman

Kenneth Gonzalez said. “What happened before is definitely not going to happen

again.”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve done this sort-of-thing,” Dann stated.

“We were in-contact with the Emergency Management Coordinator this last one,

and will be again.”

Fehrenbach noted that Hoffman “went-back to prior Public Works Supervisors

and Directors for their advice.”