Brandon Robertson Talks Outages on WTIC News Talk 1080

After repeated attempts to get airtime on WTIC News Talk 1080, Avon Town Manager went on Mornings with Ray Dunaway at 9:35 a.m. on Monday to discuss how over 2,000 residents are coping with their tenth day of no power.

And you better believe he had something to say.

"Give us the worst case scenario, not a rosy scenario," Robertson told Dunaway on air regarding CL&P's full power restoration projections. “We need to know that because we’re dealing with elderly people, we’re dealing with compromised people.”

Only 58 percent of power is restored to Avon customers, as of 10:33 a.m., over 40 percent short of CL&P's initial goal of restoring power to 99 percent of town by 11:59 p.m. Sunday. That is an increase from the power situation at midnight, which reflected about 68 percent restoration. According to CL&P, 3,655 people don't have power in town. Areas that have regained power in town have lost it again as the crews work. The town has warned residents that this might occur.

In some cases, Robertson also said earlier in the week, CL&P has told the town there will be a certain amount of crews on the ground that haven't showed up. The National Guard has been in town for the past few days helping CL&P and Avon public works workers clear the roadways, but there are certain roads with downed wires and branches on wires that need CL&P's attention before it is safe for them to remove the trees.

The other major problem is were to put all the brush from not only the roadways and powerlines, but also residents' property. Robertson told Dunaway that Avon has at least 100,000 cubic yards of tree debris and that quotes for the cost of removal have ranged from $3 to 4 million.

“We have a small town and we can’t take that kind of expense," Robertson told Dunaway.

Town officials spent the weekend drafting an emergency request for proposal and the Town Council will have a special meeting at 6 p.m. in the Selectmen's Conference Room in Town Hall Wednesday to discuss the town's options and possibly hiring a contractor.

The other issue is that once power is restored to all the schools, is being used as a shelter. Robertson told Dunaway it will take time to clear. Avon High School will now be the polling location for two voter districts, as Roaring Brook School, one of the usual voting locations, still does not have power. Those voters will vote in the high school old gym. The other location is Town Hall.

"It’s basically been turned into a hotel," Robertson said of the high school to Dunaway, adding that Human Resources Director William Vernile has upon occasion made grilled cheese sandwiches for shelter guests.

One town over, Simsbury already plans to move its shelter from the high school to the .

Robertson has also appeared before the press alongside U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5 and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, including , The Hartford Courant, WFSB, NBC Connecticut and Fox CT, as well as a in Simsbury with other Farmington Valley municipal leaders, to talk about Avon's power and storm cleanup situation.

Town officials, who normally have the weekend off, staffed Town Hall Saturday in the Emergency Operations Center, also taking call after call from residents in the Town Manager's Office.