Fall 2003 Edition 

After the Blackout   By Chris Neidenberg   Borough Manager Joanne Kwasniewski said all required municipal manpower quickly mobilized in effectively responding to - and helping residents cope with - the Great Blackout of 2003, which left persons in the dark over vast stretches of the United States and Canada Aug. 14 and 15.   But Kwasniewski and Mayor David L. Ganz cautioned that the mobilization will come at an added cost to taxpayers in the form of overtime paid out to those municipal employees who needed to cope with the ramifications of the historic outage. The mishap was deemed the worst power failure to hit the United States since the legendary Northeast blackout of 1965.   This, during a year in which the municipality took prior austerity measures that included a "no increase" municipal budget and a hiring freeze on new personnel that will last until at least November.   The incident - which hit the eastern United States shortly after 4 p.m. Aug. 14,  left portions of the community without power well into the next day's daylight.   In addition to straining the budget, Kwasniewski revealed to Fair Lawn News that the massive outage exposed a technical flaw in the municipality's relatively new audio warning system that can send amplified voice messages throughout Fair Lawn. The manager said the borough needs to rectify the problem.   Under the system, messages are broadcast from the Office of Emergency Management. The system was installed about two years ago.   Instead of using the audio system, she said, the borough opted to implement its "Reverse 911" system - which via computer, targets areas of the community to be called on the phone and alerted in emergencies.    "The problem with the audio warning system is that it can be difficult for people to understand the messages due to the sound quality," said Kwasniewski, adding that the power outage alone would not have affected the borough's ability to use the system if it wanted   The power outage marked the third unusual and major incident requiring Kwasniewski to centrally direct large numbers of municipal emergency employees and volunteers within the past year from the manager's chair.   The other incidents: the tragic fire which ravaged Fair Lawn Plaza and the brutal Holy Thursday slaying of Police Officer Mary Anne Collura. It was her handling of the Collura incident which sparked the council to elevate Kwasniewski from acting manager to manager.   "Further evidence that it really has been a rough year for our employees," said the manager.   Kwasniewski explained that the blackout required a quick and intense response from the police department (for tasks such as manually directing traffic at dangerous intersections losing traffic lights), the Department of Public Works (DPW), and the emergency management office as directed by Coordinator Tom Metzler.   "The DPW employees needed to be placed on standby because the blackout affected our municipal wells," she explained, referring to the fact that the system is normally powered via electricity. "There will definitely be costs in overtime, yet the precise amount and its impact on the budget, still need to be determined."   While some portions of the borough had power restored as early as 1 a.m. - nine hours after the outage started, the manager noted that other areas were not turned on until well after the next morning's sunrise.   "When the power went out in Borough Hall, we were able to immediately keep the building running using our emergency generator," she pointed out.   Resident Jean Baratta said she was preparing dinner while her husband  was in the backyard  working with power tools, while taking a day off, as the outage hit during what was a relatively pleasant afternoon.   On that sunny day, she added, the family celebrated the installation of its brand new swimming pool. Her children invited some friends over for a swim.   "When the lights went out.  I blamed it all on my husband," Baratta recalled, obviously, along with many others, not immediately aware of the outage's far reaching scope.  "I was sure he caused the power to go out."   As day turned into night, when the blackout's effects became most obvious, Baratta said the family stayed calm and even tried having a little light-hearted fun, playing Monopoly by candlelight.   "It was a beautiful night," she remembered. "We all stayed in the yard and enjoyed the twinkling night sky. We lit some outdoor torches and I had glow necklaces that all the kids put on.   "Even our golden retriever, Comet, wore a glow necklace," Baratta added humorously.. During a recent council meeting, resident Leon Wender expressed concern that "Reverse 911" might not have effectively gotten the message out to people perhaps unable to get to a phone, such as elderly shut-ins and the disabled.   "Over 4,000 residents were alerted through the use of Reverse 911," Ganz told Wender, adding that those with unlisted numbers or electrically-powered phone systems were beyond the borough's reach. "I think that shows it was a great success."   And Deputy Mayor Martin Etler assured Wender that seriously disabled persons and others, deemed as having special needs, and who have registered with the municipality under a specific program, were checked on.   Volunteers visited over 100 people determined to have special needs," he explained. "These people were very appreciative that someone came and knocked on their doors, making sure they were all right."