Selectmen Lewis Sumner and Bradley Rafus met at 10:00 a.m. in the Halifax Town Office with Windham Regional Commissioner Planner Alyssa Sabetto. Mitchell Green was unable to attend. Robbin Gabriel was also present.

Sabetto explained that the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) and Vermont Emergency Management are collaborating in an effort to identify up to five potential Town projects for possible grant funding. Sabetto and the Board worked with a list of projects previously established during the preparation of the Hazard Mitigation and Green River Corridor Plans, discussing priorities, estimated costs, work involved, and expected benefits of the improvements. After an overall review of the project list, Sabetto, working from a spreadsheet, posed a series of prepared questions designed to gather the desired information. Two projects in particular received the most attention. The first—not on the existing list—involves armoring the bank at a spot on Green River Road between the two Thurber Road intersections. At this point on Green River Road, known to some as Putnam’s Pitch, the road bed rises on a curve, with ledge on one side and a steep drop-off to the river on the other. Debris deposited on the far side of the river during Irene has forced the water closer to the bank below the road, causing erosion which is affecting the bank and the road shoulder. The second project is a culvert replacement on Hatch School Road near the beaver dam. The existing culvert has been deteriorating for some time, and current State regulations require that replacement must be a box culvert.

The meeting concluded at 11:30 a.m., and Rafus and Sabetto left to examine the Hatch Road and Green River Road sites.

Respectfully submitted,
Robbin Gabriel
Selectboard Secretary