There Is No Joy in Montville

Today’s slick roads, freezing rain, slush and icky mush left Montvillians feeling less than cheerful.

For Don Bourdeau, director of the , a storm like this is more difficult to deal with than a more regular snow storm.

“Ice is a lot worse than snow,” Bourdeau said.

All the plows were out this morning, plowing and clearing town roads, Bourdeau said. This afternoon, DPW workers and plow drivers will spend their time clearing storm drains so that the puddles of melting snow and rain have a place to go.

Kristan Servidio, owner of , on Route 32, a state road, was ticked off at the state, for plowing a huge pile of snow over at least two parking places in front of her restaurant.

“All my customers are complaining,” she said today. “The town can’t do anything about it, it’s the state,” she said.

Wearing shorts, Seth Constantine was out in front of the shop, shoveling. His first goal was to get one parking space cleared.

 At , owner Bob Mrowka and staffer Alex Pesarik were frankly miffed at the . Mrowka said he and his tow-truck drivers have been called out repeatedly in the middle of storms, only to arrive and find that the vehicle in question was not there.

Either the state police got the wrong address, Mrowka said, or the car had already driven away. Either way, it is an irritation.

 “It’s time-consuming,” he said. “We’re home, we have to get up, we have to drive carefully here, clean off the truck, drive carefully to the location, and then there’s nobody there. If they (state police) would be a little more diligent in their calling, they’d save us from life-threatening situations.”

 Mrowka, whose business is in the state police tow-truck rotation, says other towing companies have the same issues, and have for years. He and Pesarik called several and were told that they, too, had the same issues with the state police.

Pesarik was particularly ticked off about calls to tow cars because of the parking ban. He said that in the most recent storm, the calls came at 3 a.m., when there was already 11 inches of snow.

He said the police should “put a ticket on, give them two hours, and then put them in a police impound lot. Make some money for the town,” he said.

“There are individual troopers who are good people,” Pesarik said.

“But if they would be more attentive and more accurate…” Mrowka said.  He related a story about a car he was called about on Monday. He asked the trooper to be more specific about its location.

 “He just said, ‘You taking it, yes or no?’” Mrowka said, making his voice gruff and clipped. “And guess what? It was gone when we got there.”  

Lt. Paul Vance, public information officer for the Connecticut State Police, said that if it takes an exorbitant amount of time for the tow driver to get there, the stranded motorist might very well be gone.

"Our main issue is to keep the highways open and clear," he said. If the trooper gets the motorist off the road and to a safe place, "we're going to move on to the next issue," Vance said.

"When we have multiple crashes and spinouts, we do the best we can to expedite service to the people who need it. We do the best we can with what we have."

Vance said that the tow truck drivers are "more than welcome to meetin with the troop commander, to see what both sides can do to improve."

"They work hard," Vance said about the tow-truck drivers. "It's no fun crawling out of bed at 3 in the morning to go crawl around a wrecked car in the snow."

Police

Lt. Leonard J. Bunnell Jr. said it was a busy day, but that there had been no major issues.

"A few crashes, a lot of disabled vehicles, nothing significant as far as injuries," Bunnell said.

He had had no reports of fires or power outages.

State Police Troop E said it was quiet at the moment, and that there had not been major issues on the highways.

State Emergency Operations Center

Following a conference call earlier this morning, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered a partial activation of the State Emergency Operations Center to monitor power outages and road conditions.

“I am urging everyone to take it slow on the roads, and if you don’t have to go out, please consider staying home until the plows have a chance to get through our roads following the morning commute,” said Malloy in a press release. “We are closely monitoring the situation and will make any necessary decisions in terms of staggered release or other actions later this morning. But in the meantime, please be safe and mindful of the elements at hand.”

The press release also urged Connecticut residents to alert authorities to any drooping power lines and be mindful of snow piled up on flat surfaces, which will continue to get heavier as rain and ice are added on top.

Power

Some trees along the roadsides in Montville are bent nearly double under the weight of the frozen ice and snow on their branches. Connecticut Light & Power is reporting almost no outages across the state.

Schools

Montville schools and are closed today.

UConn at Avery Point is closed, there were no morning classes at UConn-Storrs, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is on a two-hour delay.

Roads

Vance, interviewed on NBC-30 this morning, said this is a "very, very dangerous" storm.

Vance said there were accidents this morning on all major highways in the state, and on many secondary roads as well. The timing of this storm, and the icy nature of the precipitation make for a bad mix for driving.

"No matter what the DOT does, or the local crews, it's going to be very tough traveling," Vance said. "Cars will be losing control no matter how slow they go."

He urged parents with kids staying home to keep them away from roadways and sidewalks, and recommended to anyone driving that they take a blanket and a fully charged cell phone with them.

Forecast

The National Weather Service predict rain ontinuing this afternoon, with new rain fall amounts between a quarter and a half an inch.

Rain continues tonight, mainly before midnight. Wednesday, there's a slight chance of freezing rain before 10 a.m., with a chance of rain following.

The weight of water (and snow)

The heavy precipitation could add 30 to 60 percent more weight to and decks, causing building “failures,” according to William J. Hackett, Connecticut’s Director of Emergency Management.

In response to the forecast, the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) and the Department of Public Safety Division of Fire, Emergency and Building Services has issued a warning about the added weight the precipitation will bring to roofs and decks already covered by heavy snow pack.

 Hackett said if the state receives more than two inches of rain, the failure risk could increase significantly.

 “It is recommended that caution be exercised and roof and deck loads be monitored closely 
by appropriate personnel,” Hackett said in an e-mail. “People with concerns about their roof loads 
should contact their , or in case of emergency,
 their local Fire Department."

Here's an early warning: The weather service is saying snow is possible Thursday and Friday.