Maybe this event was enough crisis to spur action, though I doubt it. Our small (1400 or so) town dithered for 30 years about replacing our decrepit and wholly inadequate fire station, and about the moldy and asbestos-filled town office for the latter half of that period. Even a winter of seeing the office equipment under plastic (roof leaking) when one visited the town clerk for excise tax, dog licenses, etc., didn't move the needle, though I think it kind of prepped things. Then last fall an asbestos-wrapped steam pipe blew, forcing the office to close - nice folks in Chesterville made a place for our town clerk to work temporarily. That did the trick - a well-attended meeting early last December presented plans for a new town office/fire station and attendees approved the expense by an 11:1 margin. Most of those folks had voted down a (better, IMO) proposal 3 years earlier. Squeaky wheels come in many forms.
Edit: Saw yesterday that my old NNJ stomping ground was mostly still dark, and Jersey Central said that 95% of its customers would have power back by this coming Tuesday. Yay!