COURTNEY McCLURE, The Standard
SCUGOG: The decision to declare the Township of Scugog under a State of Emergency was made on February 20th.
Although the State of Emergency set for Scugog Township has ended, how does the Township decide to declare a State of Emergency?
According to the Director of Community Services for the Township of Scugog, Lori Bowers, the State of Emergency was declared because of high winds, blowing snow, and other factors.
These weather conditions caused public work crews for the Township to work overtime. So, the Acting Director of Public Works and CAO recommended Mayor Bobbie Drew declare a State of Emergency.
Declaring a State of Emergency would help the public works crews keep local roads cleared and as safe as possible.
According to Ms. Bowers, a few factors came into play when declaring a State of Emergency on February 20th.
In the Township’s opinion, the situation was an ‘extraordinary’ event, so they had to take ‘extraordinary’ measures.
“The situation required a response that exceeded the capabilities of the municipality in both resources or deployment of personnel,” explained Ms. Bowers.
The safety of the community and the Township operators is the Township’s first priority. And a State of Emergency allows the Township to deploy more staff members if needed.
It also allows them to extend operational work hours.
The Township of Scugog is currently under a State of Emergency because of COVID-19.
Once a State of Emergency has been declared, the Township will notify the public through a news release. The Township will also provide notice through social media platforms like Facebook.
During the State of Emergency declared of February 20th, the Township worked with community partners to assess road conditions and keep roads open for essential use.
This includes keeping roads open for emergency vehicles like ambulances.
“A big thank you to all of our neighbouring community partners who stepped up to give us support,” said Mayor Bobbie Drew. “As well a heartfelt thank you and appreciation to our Scugog Public Work Operators and staff that continued the work to keep the plows on the road, keeping roads open for essential travel and emergency services.”