09/01/11 Greenwich Selectman's Meeting Notes

At Thursday’s Board of Selectmen meeting, First Selectman Peter Tesei gave an update on the town’s clean up efforts and again expressed unhappiness with CL&P’s response. He claimed that the company had pledged to Greenwich and Stamford that there would be an emergency line crew available for first responders that would be able to clear blocked roads as the damage happened. Mr. Tesei said that commitment was not kept.

“It is fair to say that all of us, not just in Greenwich but in the state as a whole, are not satisfied with the response,” Mr. Tesei said at the meeting.

Under CL&P safety regulations, line crews are not allowed to work when there are sustained winds in excess of 35 mph and the both during the storm and its aftermath there were heavy winds well above that limit.

Mr. Tesei said having that line crew available would have made the job of the town’s first responders in police, fire and Greenwich Emergency Medical Services a lot easier.

“Our first responders don’t take a step back when things are hot and heavy,” Mr. Tesei said. “They’re out there and we wanted that commitment kept.”

Mr. Tesei said both he and Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia were upset the crew was not provided by CL&P and it would be a complaint they would both register in the after action report of storm response. Mr. Tesei also called for the creation of a citizen’s task force in town to “pull together all the elements of the response that we feel were not satisfactory and use it as a vehicle to work with the state and federal officials to see that changes are made.”

Mr. Tesei said the town’s “primary and sole focus right now” is on the power restoration efforts as well as the clean up. Greenwich remains under a state of emergency and Mr. Tesei said on Thursday that will remain in effect for the next several days. The town’s Emergency Operations Center is still active in the Town Hall Meeting Room.

Accessibility for the town’s roads was the next priority, especially when it comes to allowing emergency vehicles to be able to proceed. Mr. Tesei said

========================================
Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com