The severe cold we dealt with in early February caused numerous problems around town and around the state. We didn’t lose power, but the eastern part of the state experienced numerous outages. What we did experience, however, were incidents of pipes freezing, the worst of which was at the Senior Center.

You find out about frozen pipes when the weather warms up, and the freeze thaws. I received a call at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 (a Monday) from Senior Services Director Austin Hall, who was at the Senior Center with the burst pipe. When I arrived, there was standing water in the lobby, which was spreading toward the rooms at both ends of the building. We located the water main and got it shut off. Austin called the Facilities Department, which was sending in a crew to start a clean-up. They brought in water extractors and began the process of cleaning up all the water they could while we waited for a restoration company to come and assess the damage and complete the clean-up.

The leak went into the room that houses the computer server and telephone lines, and those facilities were disabled. On Tuesday, our IT team came in to determine what was needed to restore service. They cobbled together a system to get our phones working and get us back on-line. While that was happening, the restoration company found the burst pipe and repaired it.

Because of everyone’s quick work, the damage was limited, and the Senior Center was back in business within 24 hours. They served their regular “Meals-on-Wheels” clients on Tuesday, which didn’t seem remotely possible the night before.

I’m very proud of the work done by our facilities, Senior Center, and IT personnel and I’d like to congratulate them on a job well done!

First Selectman Tom Banisch

Madison