Above: Former Fire Chief John Mauro Jr. speaks to selectmen and emergency management personnel last night
There’s no question about it, a considerable amount of work went into preparing for Tropical Storm Irene last month, and yesterday the Board of Selectmen recognized all the town employees and volunteers who put in “hundreds and hundreds of hours” before, during, and after the storm.
“The town was in a great position to handle everything,” Selectman Bill Boland told emergency management personnel at last night’s board meeting. Tropical Storm Irene downed trees and power lines, knocking out power to a majority of town when it hit on August 28.
In particular, Boland recognized the efforts of then Fire Chief John Mauro Jr. and Southborough Emergency Management Director of Operations Neal Aspesi who managed the planning, response, and clean up activities.
“Neal shined when the moment came … He is probably the only one of us who was disappointed when the hurricane didn’t really hit,” Boland joked.
For his part, Aspesi thanked town department heads for their “enthusiasm” and volunteers from the Southborough Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) for their “very coordinated and very dedicated” response.
Police Chief Jane Moran said she was impressed with the whole operation. “It was wonderful to see everyone pull together in such a professional manner and work for the good of the town,” she said. “It was a tremendous effort by all.”
Representative Carolyn Dykema, who also attended last night’s meeting, said the Emergency Operations Center convened to manage the response to the storm was an “impressive sight,” but acknowledged the town faced challenges communicating with the utilities.
Dykema said in response to the experience in Southborough and other towns, the Department of Public Utilities is launching an audit of events during Irene in an effort to improve the relationship between towns and the utilities.
Aspesi said overall the emergency response went well, but the town identified some areas that could be improved for next time, such as inadequate generator power at key sites like the Fire Station and Senior Center.
Along that line, selectmen last night authorized Facilities Director Phil Rinehart to request quotes from consultants to evaluate the town’s emergency generator services and suggest improvements.
