At a quiet Niskayuna Town Board Meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 16, it was evident that life is slowly returning to normal after a major ice storm hit the area last week.
According to Town Supervisor Joe Landry, there were still around 700 customers without power at the time of the meeting, but the number was down from the 6,000 affected at the height of the storm.
Board members discussed the storm damage and also expressed gratitude to residents and others who have pitched in to get the town back in full working order.
There are still a few closed roads in town, as well as debris piled in front of houses for pickup. Due to the magnitude of the damage, cleanup is expected to take some time. Crews have been working long hours since the storm first hit Thursday, Dec. 11.
Certainly there are a lot of people that have power now, but there are certainly a lot that don’t, so we have to think of those in the cleanup, said Councilwoman Diane O’Donnell. `Our crews started working at 10 p.m. on Thursday and worked straight through until Friday [and then through the weekend]. Our costs are mounting, and that will certainly be a challenge for us.`
In terms of working on cleanup, O’Donnell said, they have 27 of the 30 highway and park employees working.
`We’re pretty, pretty busy, and I think that people have worked countless hours,` said O’Donnell.
Councilwoman Liz Orzel Kasper discussed the event and how it has not been without its positive aspects.
`I really think it brought out the best in neighbors. I talked to neighbors who I haven’t seen or talked to in weeks and weeks,` said Orzel Kasper. `People volunteered to come by with their saws. I think that things like this make you a better person and make you worry about everyone — not just yourself.`
Joe Landry thanked everyone who helped and also discussed the aftermath in terms of numbers.
`I would like to thank my employees for everything that was done over the weekend and everything that will continue to be done. Most roads in Niskayuna were completely passable by Friday afternoon. I want to thank all our highway and highway department employees for their dedication,` said Landry.
The supervisor went on to thank the employees at National Grid for being responsive and working diligently to restore power.
The town released the following numbers, which describe how the area was affected by the storm:
72,000 feet of wire were replaced or repaired;
350 telephone polls have been replaced;
150 transformers were replaced;
68 tractor-trailer loads of materials were brought into the town;
88,000 phone calls were received by the dispatch center; and
roughly 3,000 individuals were working at any given time from crews brought in from all over the country.
`At one point in time, there were 176 crews assigned to work in Schenectady County,` said Landry.
In other town board news, Hisham A. Khafaga was appointed to the position of police patrolman. A graduate of Niskayuna High School and Hudson Valley Community College, he completed his civil service probationary period and will be filling a vacancy in the force on a permanent basis beginning Jan. 14.“