Politics & Government

Emergency Meeting Of The Township Committee

Rebuilding fees waived for residents with storm damages; township equipment to be available to shore towns

In a darkened meeting room without light or heat, the Township Committee passed a resolution exempting residents whose houses suffered storm damage from all township rebuilding fees at an emergency meeting called Friday morning.

By a 4-0 vote, the committee voted to waive all township fees associated with rebuilding storm damaged houses to expedite a return normal life for residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Committeeman Clinton Hoffman was absent.

The fees will be waived only on storm-related damage repair until Dec. 31, the committee said.

Find out what's happening in Wallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The committee will ratify the resolution at its upcoming, Nov. 20, meeting, Township Administrator Jeffry Bertrand said.

“We want to get these people back to some semblance of normalcy as soon as possible,’’ Bertrand said.

Find out what's happening in Wallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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Authorities are encouraging Wall Residents to add their cell phones and other mobile devices to the Police Department’s emergency notification system, Global Connect. The process takes a short time and is used by the police and emergency officials to send out vital information during emergencies. To sign up, see the Wall Police Department’s webstie: www.wallpolice.org

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The committee also expressed its gratitude to the residents of Wall Township and its emergency responders for their cooperation during the storm that has caused about $1.2 million in damages, at one point closed more than 100 roads and left every resident in town without power.

Between 700 and 900 Jersey Central Power & Light customers living near the routes 33/34 circle have had their power returned. Close to 12,000 are still in the dark, according to JCP&L.

The company is sticking to its earlier estimate that most people will be without power for seven to 10 days. Officials are encouraging residents to report their outage by calling 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877).

The more calls, the better, officials said.

The committee also authorized that township vehicles and equipment, where available, to be offered or borrowed by neighboring municipalities to help with their cleanup efforts. That vote also was unanimous.

“I really think Wall Township dodged a bullet,’’ township engineer Matt Zahorsky said. “Some of the other shore towns were just decimated.’’


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