Blizzard Costs Top $1.25M

Snow is a four letter word that is spelling out double the amount of bills Toms River budgeted for this year.

With approximately $1.25 million spent to clean up the Dec. 26 blizzard alone, Toms River sought relief from FEMA to help pay for such costs as overtime, double and triple time incurred by staff the day after Christmas, said Toms River Township Administrator Paul Shives.

Mayor Thomas Kelaher added the costs also include payment to outside contractors and repairs to equipment broken by six-foot snowdrifts. Toms River also reimburses age-restricted communities and condominium associations who use their own staff to plow their streets, as they are legally required to do so, Kelaher said.

Shives added that FEMA could reimburse the township up to 75 percent of those costs.

But with $700,000 in the current budget for snow removal, Toms River has spent double that dealing with a record winter. Kelaher said at a recent Township Council meeting that with the more than $2 million spent in last year’s winter snow removal, this winter could likely eclipse that.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday announced it would free up federal aid to 13 New Jersey counties for the Dec. 26-27 storm, according to a release from FEMA.

Federal money also is available to eligible local governments on a cost-sharing basis for a continuous 48-hour period during the incident period, according to the release.

Toms River, like most Monmouth and Ocean County towns, was hard hit by the snowstorm, burying residents in up to 26 inches of snow and rendering the town’s regular snow removal equipment useless.

Kelaher reported plows breaking under the weight of the snow, as front loaders attempted to dig out culdesacs.

 “The federal support granted by this declaration will provide New Jerseyans with the tools they need to rebuild and mitigate against future disasters,” Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, both D-N.J. said in a release. “With residents continuing to be affected by this crippling winter season, we remain committed to securing these critical federal resources for our state.”

The declaration affects Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset and Union counties.

Gov. Chris Christie had applied for the FEMA assistance days after the storm.

With $1.25 million spent in Toms River, the township has some of the highest reported spending for the Dec. 26 blizzard. Brick spent a reported $1.4 million, with Barnegat reporting $175,000 in costs.

Shives said the township sent in its request for FEMA reimbursement early January.

At the county level, clearing the biggest county road network in New Jersey of the Dec. 26 blizzard cost $866,00, according to Ocean County Freeholder James F. Lacey.

Lacey said the cost of salt and other materials was $400,000, while overtime for fighting the Sunday blizzard cost $194,000. Another $100,000 was spent on fuel. Contractors hired to supplement the county crews cost $24,000 while the Buildings and Grounds Department costs reached $24,000, those for Solid Waste Management were $16,000, and $8,000 was spent by the Department of Parks and Recreation.