Sandy Power Outages, Field Of Dreams Defeat And United Water Property Lead Month's Top Stories

PSE&G Power Update

Although the tidal surge that occured during Hurricane Sandy did not bring anticipated floods, it did hit New Milford hard with unexpected power outages. Sandy's punch took down wires and caused damage at the substations leaving most of the town without power for upwards of 10 days. During that time, Patch was plugged in and became a source of information for readers.

Democrats Take Election In Unofficial Count; Field Of Dreams Defeated

Democratic incumbent Austin Ashley and his running mate, Michael Putrino have won the two open seats on the council, unseating Council President Howard Berner. The most resounding loss of the night was the defeat of the 'Field of Dreams' referendum. 2,858 votes were cast against it, while only 1,669 were cast in support of it.

Perhaps the most resounding loss of this November's election was the defeat of the 'Field of Dreams' referendum. Mary McElroy and George Adelung -- both members of the Committee that worked on the Field of Dreams-- asked the council what their plan was now that the Field of Dreams referendum had failed to pass and given the fact that the town's current fields are often unusable after any type of inclement weather. 

New Milford Man Charged with Impersonating Cop

A 46-year-old New Milford man was arrested on charges ranging from simple assault to carrying a loaded handgun and impersonating a New York City police sergeant.

Hackensack Riverkeeper Supports Development of United Water Property

Hackensack Riverkeeper, Bill Sheehan, told Patch that while it would have been "wonderful" if New Milford had been able to acquire the United Water property for open space preservation, the land itself is "post-industrial" and, as a whole, offers no environmental protection against flooding, as SOD (Stop Over Development) contends.

New Milford's Coucilmen-Elect Eager To Get To Work

Incumbent Austin Ashley and Michael Putrino are "anxious to get to work on behalf of the residents of New Milford." Putrino was the top vote getter, while Ashley came in behind him, defeating Republican incumbent Council President Howard Berner and his running mate Peter Rebsch.

Campaign Ad Forces Rebsch's Recusal From United Water Property Hearing

In what many audience members called "an upset," Zoning Board member, and former councilman, Peter Rebsch was forced to recuse himself from the remainder of the United Water Property hearings due to a conflict raised by a recent campaign ad that he and Council President Howard Berner placed in the Twin Boro News while they were running on the Republican ticket for town council.

Council Votes Against Meeting With Planner On Rezoning United Water Property

Majority votes to set aside meeting with the planner on rezoning, effectively allowing the application for the development of the United Water Company property to run its course through the Zoning Board.