As of now, Town Hall and municipal facilities are expected to be open tomorrow, Friday, January 5th. Facilities include the Middletown Township Public Library, the Middletown Arts Center, the Senior Center, Poricy Park, and the Health Department. Middletown Township Public Schools will be closed tomorrow due to the inclement weather.
Governor Chris Christie has declared a state of emergency. The National Weather Service reports that the blizzard warning remains in effect until 7:00 p.m. Township emergency personnel will be staffed through the night.
A wind chill advisory remains in effect from 1:00 a.m. Friday until noon on Saturday. With the temperature dropping overnight, we encourage all motorists to stay off of the roads.
Some reminders/updates:
- Crews have been continuously plowing roads. The Township has over 100 pieces of equipment at its disposal to clear snow from more than 650 lane miles of road. The fleet includes over 80 Township plows, brining machines, sanders, and other heavy equipment. Another 70 plows are provided by local contractors who augment Township snow removal efforts as needed. Please keep in mind that it is the Township’s priority to allow emergency response vehicles access to all roads as quickly as possible during a snow event. Crews will return to every street to widen them curb-to-curb when the snow has stopped falling.
- Garbage collection in the North Zone will be on Monday, January 8th. If your garbage carts are currently on the street, please bring them in so that crews can plow the streets safely. Since there were two missed pickup cycles, the Township will have the contractor collect excess garbage that does not fit in your new cart on Monday only. Please place excess garbage in another container (but NOT your recycling cart).
- Garbage collection in the South Zone is still scheduled for tomorrow.
- If recycling was not collected in your neighborhood in the North Zone on Wednesday, it will be collected on Friday. Please place your blue cart at the curb this evening for Friday morning collection. If you have any questions or concerns, please email recycling@middletownnj.org.
- If you have a fire hydrant on your property, we would appreciate it if you could help our volunteer Fire Department by shoveling around it rather than putting snow on top of it for safety reasons.
- With the extreme cold, we want to caution residents about pipes freezing. Keep your faucets on a slow, steady drip on medium temperature. You should also keep cabinets under your sink open to ensure that heat gets to the pipes.
- Do not use kerosene heaters as they are frequently the cause of multiple fires. If you are using a space heater, please CLICK HERE for safety tips.
- Residents are reminded to clear snow from all vents around the house. This includes flue pipes and dryer vents. When the vents are blocked, dangerous carbon monoxide can build up inside the home. If you have any questions or concerns, please call the Township’s Fire Marshal, Buddy Skelly, at 732-615-2270.
- Residents with home generators need to be aware that they must be placed at least 20 feet away from any habitable structure when they are in use for safety reasons. Now is also a good time to start up the generator and make sure it is in working order. It is also a good idea to have extra fuel stored in the appropriate containers on hand.
- Please limit 9-1-1 calls to emergencies only. To report hazardous conditions to the Road Supervisor, call 732-615-2000 and press 1. In the event of power outages that do not involve hazardous conditions, contact JCP&L directly at 1-888-LIGHTSS (544-4877). If you lose power, the Township will make a warming station/shelter available. If you need to make arrangements for shelter, please call our Office of Emergency Management at 732-615-2129.
- Stay informed by registering for emergency alerts from Middletown Township at middletownnj.org/emergencyalerts. Be sure to include a home or local address since messages are sometimes sent based on geographic location.
- Updates will also be posted on the Township website, www.middletownnj.org, on Facebook at Middletown NJ Town Hall, and Twitter at @middletownnj. You can also visit the Township’s Alert Center for updates at https://goo.gl/zTRzX7.