Gov Malloy – Nonessential employees stay home, President approves aid request

“Getting streets clear and making them safer for everyone is a priority, so I am asking nonessential state employees to stay home tomorrow.” – CT Gov. Malloy.

By Brenda Sullivan | HTNP News Editor

In a statement issued this afternoon (Feb. 10), Gov. Dannel P. Malloy asks all nonessential State employees to stay home on Monday (Feb. 11) as the cleanup effort after Storm Charlotte continues.

However, evening and midnight shift employees should report to work as normal on Monday, Gov. Malloy said.

“Getting streets clear and making them safer for everyone is a priority, so I am asking nonessential state employees to stay home tomorrow … I understand that everyone wants to get back to normal as quickly as possible. Crews are working around the clock to accomplish that goal, but the last thing we need at this point is a typical morning rush hour commute. Traffic build-up will only delay the effort to clear our roads,” Gov. Malloy said.

Gov. Malloy also announced today that his request for a presidential emergency declaration in the wake of Friday’s historic winter storm has been approved.

“This declaration will provide much needed assistance to the state and our towns and cities as we continue to recover from this historic winter storm,” he said.

This emergency declaration provides for direct federal assistance, including possible snow removal equipment and personnel, power generation and other commodities.

The declaration also provides federal disaster funding for 75 percent of the cost of emergency protective measures incurred by municipalities, state agencies and eligible nonprofits for a 48-hour period.

In addition, Gov. Malloy urges residents to continue to limit driving. “This is particularly true for tractor trailers. Every time someone gets stuck, it is preventing plows from doing their jobs,” he said.

He also stressed the following:

Due to road conditions and limited parking availability, residents should begin making plans to carpool to work Monday morning, particularly with state employees.

To help prevent roof collapse — clean snow from roofs of buildings, especially if they are flat roofs. Also, make sure drainage areas are clear. With precipitation (rain, freezing rain) predicted for Monday, this is an especially important to address today.

Truckers are urged to delay travel until the evening hours, if at all possible, so that crews can continue road clearing.

Calling 2-1-1 should be used to find locations of shelters and warming stations, only. 2-1-1 does not have information on when streets will be plowed. Please do not call 2-1-1 for plowing information.

Please realize state and city public works personnel are working very hard to get our roads clear. This was a historic storm and so, recovery is going to take some time.

Gov. Malloy also will hold a media briefing today at 6 p.m. at the State Emergency Operations Center at the William A. O’Neill State Armory in Hartford.

Posted February 10, 2013

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