Minutes – Emergency Meeting

December 31, 2011

Call to Order

An emergency meeting of the Halifax Selectboard was held at Bartelby’s Books on Main Street in Wilmington, VT, to meet with Sue Minten, the newly appointed Vermont Irene Recovery officer, from the Department of Transportation.  State Representative Ann Manwaring had notified the Halifax Selectboard via Lewis Sumner of the event with less than 24-hour notice.  The meeting officially began at about 4:01, when all of the guests had arrived.  Selectboard members Lewis Sumner, Edee Edwards, and John LaFlamme, were present, as was Christina Moore and Sirean LaFlamme.  Wilmington representatives included: Ann Manwaring, Susan Haughwart, Tom Consilino, Lisa Sullivan, and Mike Eldred from the Deerfield Valley News.  State officials included Sue Minter, Neale Lunderville (Irene Recovery officer through early January), Becky Blouin or Becky Pellett (?), and Joe Flynn.

New Business

Those present introduced themselves in round robin fashion, and gave flood history and updates.  New information for Halifax included these points:

•          Christina Moore noted that Halifax’s Green River Road project has been obligated by FEMA, which basically means that federal money has been earmarked for this specific project reimbursement for Halifax.

•          Edee Edwards noted that our next priority is bridges, and we were told that VTRANS District staff may be able to help us with temporary bridges.  Wilmington just got a Bailey bridge from their District.

•          The January deadline for Hazard Mitigation Grants is coming up soon, and challenges completing the paperwork–primarily lack of knowledgeable resources–was noted as a problem for both Halifax and Wilmington.  The time spent for the towns to do grant applications is not reimbursable, even if you do receive one of the competitive grants.

•          We heard again, although this had been denied by FEMA in the past, that there is a possibility for additional federal funds if the actual federal obligations for the state exceed a certain dollar value.

Old Business

Other Business

No formal motions were made or action taken

The meeting adjourned at 4:45 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Edee Edwards, Selectboard member