Campbell apologizes

Republican First Selectman David Campbell apologized for his absence during this week's storm at a special meeting of the Darien Board of Selectman Thursday night.

"I'd like to apologize to the town for my bad choice of leaving town on Sunday for a vacation with my wife," Campbell said to the approximately three dozen Darien residents and officials in attendance.

"I'd like to thank David Bayne who was the acting First Selectman. I put him in a difficult position, balancing a full-time job in New York ... and helping the town during the disaster we went through, which we're still going through. He did a great job communicating with everyone. ... I'd also like to thank Jayme Stevenson who also did a great job," the first selectman said.

He also thanked several others during the first few minutes of the meeting.

"I will say that ... Since Tuesday, what you guys have done has been heroic," he said to the Connecticut Light & Power officials in the room. The utility company has brought in help from around to northeast in the wake of the weekend's storm, including aid from Quebec, Ohio and Maryland.

"We saw a truck from Texas," Campbell said.

"I think CL&P has gotten a bad rap from the first day, but since then what you guys have been able to accomplish has been incredible," he said.

The rest of the meeting was dedicated to updating Darienites on the town's continuing progress since the storm.

CL&P Spokesman Mitch Gross said Darien is in the "homestretch," with 40 line crews, 20 tree crews and six surface crews dedicated solely to working in the town.

"Right now there are 700 still without power. But midnight tonight, that number will be down to 100," Gross said during the 8 p.m. meeting. As of 1:05 p.m. on Friday, 29 Darien homes were still out of power.

"By midnight [Friday] that number will be down to zero," Gross said.

Marc McEwan, director of Darien's Office of Emergency Management, told the Board that he is working to compile damage estimates within the town to submit to the State, due to the current state of emergency.

"If anyone had damage to their home, I need to be contacted to get to work on getting you on the radar screen for the State of Connecticut," he said. "I need the information before Monday."

McEwan can be reached at his Town Hall office by calling 203-656-7345, he told the Board.

As of Thursday night, McEwan said he knew of at least five homes that were struck by trees.

"I don't have a clear understanding of the property damage, because to this point, even yesterday, there were a lot of streets we could not adequately pass through," McEwan said.

Department Works Director Robert Steeger reported that his is still working on the clean-up process.

"The estimated cost of this clean-up effort, at this time, we are looking at $32,000 in overtime, $34,000 in contractor cost, $80,000 in disposal cost and $8,000 in miscellaneous cost," Steeger said. This comes to a total of about $154,000 cost to the town for the department's effort.

Darien Police Chief Duane Lovello reported that the police department would have its "after incident reports" completed by Wednesday, March 24.

The transfer station will be open for extended hours again this weekend, according to Campbell. The station will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday for debris only, Campbell said.