Cheverly praises 'heroic' staff response to Winter Storm 'Fern', rolls out volunteer shoveling program and emergency improvements

Town Administrator Delaine Galloway and department leaders described Winter Storm "Fern" as unprecedented and delivered an after‑action recap at the Feb. 12 council meeting, while praising staff for long deployments and outlining next steps to improve resilience.

"This storm was unprecedented…we had a significant amount of snowfall followed by freezing rain and a long period of low temperatures," Galloway said. He said emergency access was maintained, operations shifted from snow removal to ice mitigation, and that equipment failures and salt clumping reduced effectiveness during peak hours.

Director Bremen, speaking for Public Works, accepted responsibility for shortcomings and praised staff work: "I hold myself accountable for not having those lessons already learned," he said, adding that crews worked extended hours and that coordination with police — which blocked areas to help plows — improved effectiveness.

Chief Dave Morris and his staff highlighted the police department’s role coordinating with public works, assisting vulnerable residents with shelter and outreach, and ensuring command‑and‑control communications with allied agencies.

Galloway announced two concrete follow‑ups: an emergency operations center (EOC) to be established at the EV Building for future storms and a volunteer shoveling program to assist seniors and other vulnerable neighbors. "The new shoveling program…each council member will be provided with five shovels and safety vests to assist in identifying volunteers within their ward," Galloway said, adding that volunteers must be trained and their contact information submitted to the clerk.

The administrator also said the town had secured additional outside funding: "I was informed yesterday that the town has received an additional federal earmark for the amount of $650,000 for the Maryland 201 Bike Trail," he said, noting that this money supplements earlier state funds.

Council members repeatedly thanked staff and urged the town to formalize lessons learned, including a possible "silver shovel" policy prioritizing help for seniors and medically vulnerable residents during extreme events.

Town leaders said an after‑action report will be distributed and that staff will recommend equipment purchases (including skid steers) and training improvements; the council discussed seeking state funds to buy more heavy‑equipment to avoid contractor shortages in future major events.