Morris Twp. debris to be removed by Dec. 17

MORRIS TWP. --  The township’s  public works department plans to have all the branches and debris littering streets and yards since the Halloween snowstorm cleaned up by Dec. 17.

Township Committeeman Daniel Caffrey said Wednesday two-thirds of the township has been cleared of the debris.

The township crews were augmented by three outside companies and five roll-up containers were filled with debris, Caffrey  said. The goal, he said, is to get the debris cleared before another major snow storm.

Township Administrator Timothy Quinn said crews removed 10,000 cubic yards of material, equal to 330 garbage trucks. The branches have been taken to Greystone Park in Parsippany, where the Morris County  Park Commission set up a  holding area where county towns could dump the debris.

The committee as a whole praised the effort of the township workers.

“Anyone who has driven around knows that it was not just Morris Township that got hit,” said Mayor Scott Rosenbush.

While a few towns told residents municipal crews would not pick up the storm debris, Rosenbush said,  Morris Township was committed to provide the service.

He said an issue that came up after the storms was how to communicate information to residents.

Councilman Peter Mancuso asked residents to send their email address to the  township so they could be added to an emergency communications list.

Rosenbush said he  has been speaking with the management at WMTR/WHDA radio about supplying the station with township information during storms and emergencies. It would provide another outlet for residents  to find important information, Rosenbush said.

In other business, Western Avenue resident  Ken Higgins asked if the township could lower the speed limit  on the road or take other action to  slow down speeding traffic.

“Cars fly down the road, and there a lot of kids,  and my fiancée and I find it dangerous to walk our dog,” he said.

Rosenbush sympathized, saying he takes the road from Morristown to Mendham Township daily.

Higgins said he knows that the road was laid out years ago as a farm road, but now it is a commuter route and a cut-off to Route 202.

He said the speed limit  in the Morristown section is 25 mph, but past the township’s former reservoir the speed limit is 35 mph then changes to 40 mph.

Rosenbush said he would speak with the  township’s police department about the issue, and Quinn told Higgins that someone from the traffic enforcement division would be in touch with him.

Rosenbush said the township is collecting non-perishable foods  that will be donated to the Interfaith Food Pantry.

Food items may be dropped off at the township’s  municipal building, he said.