July 3 Storm Aftermath Update from Chatham Borough Mayor Carolyn Dempsey

Dear Neighbors,

Well, that was a memorable 4th of July, but not because of the excitement for our 250th. A  fast and violent storm, “straight line winds” and a micro burst took out trees, power lines, and left many of us with no power, and our Chatham Fire Department Association having to cancel our July 4 festivities for everyone’s safety. Add that on top of a historic heatwave and the timing couldn’t be worse. Here is some important info—it’s a lot!

JCP&L UPDATE & RELIEF FOR RESIDENTS: 

• Our Borough Officials, DPW, OEM, and police have been working round the clock since Friday evening to clear roads, remove trees not touching or connected to wires, and keeping the community safe on the ground and with communications to the public.
• I have appealed to the Governor’s office and our state representatives for help with JCP&L, our Borough Administrator has been in regular communication with JCP&L and what we know is this: JCP&L has been overwhelmed by the scope and unexpected nature of this storm, which has effected wide swaths of Morris County and beyond. They are calling in crews from out of state. Madison has generously offered us help with JCP&L if/when they get their power completely restored. Believe it or not, many other communities and vulnerable populations (hospitals, nursing homes, etc.) were hit much worse than Chatham, and those big clusters are taking priority. That being said, patience is wearing very thin. We are all frustrated and your borough officials are continuing to fight to get JCP&L into Chatham. For the latest updates, go to the JCP&L map to find your home and an estimate on restoration: FirstEnergy Storm Center NJ.

• As of 10am Sunday morning 64 Borough homes have had power restored, and more are scheduled for today. 
• Ice and water are free for residents at ShopRite through JCP&L. 
• The police station HQ at 54 Fairmount Avenue opened for cooling and charging, and the senior center and library generously opened on July 4 for the same. Today, Sunday, July 5, the library will be open at 12:00–6:00pm, and police station lobby will open after 6:00pm.
• Memorial Pool has day passes available, and when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees, is free for residents over 62

As always, SAFETY FIRST:

• Stay away from downed wires or trees/limbs touching any wires. Only JCP&L can safely clear trees or brush that are in contact with wires. 
• Check on elderly or vulnerable neighbors. The police have a list of residents reliant on electric medical devices, but it only includes residents who informed our CBPD.  Non-emergency police calls can go to (973)635-8000. For emergencies always call 911.
• If you haven’t signed up for our “Alert Chatham Borough” Smart 911 alerts, please do so here:  Log In - Smart911  We use that alert for vital information that we all, as residents, need.

LOOKING AHEAD—tonight and this week:

• Our parade and fireworks are generously organized by our Chatham Fire Department Association. They had to make the difficult decision to cancel the July 4 parade and fireworks. Stay tuned for an announcement about tonight’s July 5 rain date for fireworks. In the event inclement weather or lack of available staffing from the sheriff’s office or CBFD causes the cancellation of tonight’s fireworks, they will look into the possibility of rescheduling the fireworks at a later date. 

• We will open the Chatham Borough Mulch and Recycling Depot every day this week for residents to drop off smaller broken limbs or brush. Open hours will be posted on the Borough website and FB.

• The DPW will do sweeps of the town this week to pick up curbside brush. Stay tuned for timing and instructions.  

• We realize some residents will, unfortunately, need to dispose of spoiled food. Put bagged, spoiled food in garbage bins. To help with excess garbage, residents can put extra bags of garbage out this week without purchasing stickers.  If you’re disposing of food, try to fit that all in the bags in the closed bin and double bag any food not fitting into the bin, waiting until early morning, if possible, to put it curbside to avoid animals getting into it.

The Borough Council and I cannot adequately thank our OEM coordination and all staff, Chatham Borough DPW, our Borough Administrator and officials, our Chatham Borough Police Department, Chatham Borough Volunteer Department and Chatham Emergency Squad. We are incredibly grateful to The Library of the Chathams and Senior Center and staff for coming in to work on a holiday to give much-needed relief to our residents.  Our OEM Coordinator, Administrator, DPW Director and Staff, and CBPD Chief and officers have been working around the clock to keep us all safe and informed, with CBVFD and CES at the ready.

We thank you, our neighbors, for your patience, generosity toward one another, and resilience in the face of a storm that not only took out power, but canceled our beloved July 4 festivities. And on the 250th birthday of our nation!! We found “bright spots” and spaces for celebrations, even if we couldn’t enjoy our usual traditions: our CBVFD and even some parade cars and floats rode up and down passable streets, waving to residents; our new Representative in Congress, Analilia Mejia, even though her greeting at our flag raising ceremony was canceled, visited Chatham to check in and say hello;

I enjoyed commiserating, chatting and laughing with residents over ice pops while we cooled off at the library; neighbors helped neighbors and new friendships were formed and old bonds renewed. We will be talking about the “4th of July that wasn’t” for a long time. Friends, please be safe, take care of one another and please know your borough government is doing its best to take care of you. Stay posted for updates and please, please sign up for smart 911! God bless you, Chatham and the U.S.A.! 

With gratitude and solidarity,

Carolyn Dempsey

Mayor