Township Ready for Winter Weather, Says Administrator

Barnegat hasn't seen as much as a single snowflake yet this winter, but township administrator David Breeden said the Public Works Department is ready for whatever nature dishes out in the coming months.

“We’re fortunate this year, unlike the past two years, in that we’ve had no snow before the new year,” Breeden said. “Nevertheless, the snow fleet is prepared to go into operation." 

Each vehicle used to clear snow from township streets has had a thorough checkup, Breeden said, from the hydraulics that run the snow plows to the mechanics of the salt spreaders.

The township has plenty of salt stored away for future storms, too, he said.

The public works team has almost the same manpower as last year, said Breeden, but the township can also call on staff and trucks from the school district to help out with cleanup. “We definitely needed them with the blizzard last year,” he said.

A year ago today, Barnegat and the rest of the Shore was battered by a “Boxing Day blizzard” that struck the day after Christmas. Nearly three feet of snow fell in some parts of the area, requiring extensive clearing operations.

“Snow is a challenge enough, but during the holiday season, it’s more difficult,” Breeden said. Workers are counting on having time with their families, and it can be harder to muster the resources needed to have a quick response. “It just adds to the burden,” he said.

And last year’s white Christmas cost the township a lot of green. Plowing efforts over the two days when the storm was at its worst totaled $125,000, officials said back in February.

Still, Breeden said, “we are prepared.”