We need to get some facts straight concerning the Spotswood snow removal of 2010.

My first issue began about two years ago, when I asked Mayor Thomas Barlow and the Borough Council to send out postcards to all residents of Spotswood to find out where handicapped and disabled individuals reside. This helps officials know who needs assistance first in the case of snowstorms, etc., but the borough has not been willing to send out the postcards.

My second issue is with the removal of the snow itself. During the snowstorms, I called borough offices many times, only to get telephone recordings. On Feb. 17 I called the borough administrator’s office and was informed that snow-plowing trucks were on Manalapan Road and were working their way down the side streets.

I later heard that the trucks were unable to use their steel blades to remove any of the snow because the drivers had no knowledge of where the manhole covers or other steel objectswere in the road. If they used the steel blades, it would damage their trucks completely, and manhole coverswould be broken, costing the borough thousands of dollars. Every year we have retained and paid CMEAssociates thousands of dollars — they have prepared a survey of each and every street in Spotswood. Therefore, we do know where every manhole and steel object is located in the road.

I see some solutions. Give all drivers a copy of the survey for the streets they are responsible for so that they may plow those streets properly and efficiently. Why not have Bruce Koch or other CME employees ride down each street? Having CME help us out might reduce frustration for our staff over time.

We should have no excuses for not using the steel blades on our streets and no excuse for any damage done. We pay thousands of dollars a year, and all this could be put to good use.

Also, I did not see any salt or sand on any streets. Why are these elements not used for the safety of our citizens?

The employees of the Public Works Department work extremely hard, over and above the call of duty. I, along with the rest of the town’s citizens, should applaud them for that. However, if we have government officials running this town and not knowing how to properly remove and manage snow, maybe they should do a little more research, take a look at the CME Associates surveys, and let the trucks go.

Terry J. Dunn

Spotswood