Town of Halifax, VT

MINUTES – Emergency Meeting

October 25, 2011

Call to Order

An emergency meeting of the Halifax Selectboard was held at 74 Winchester Road in Halifax in response to a short notice request to meet with Mike McDaniel, of Witt Company, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene.  The meeting was scheduled to start at 4:00 pm on Tuesday, October 25, 2011, but was not officially called to order until approximately 4:12 when Lewis Sumner arrived.  Edee Edwards, Selectboard member was present.  Witt Company had been scheduled to attend the Selectboard meeting on Tuesday, October 18th, but did not arrive. Selectboard chair John LaFlamme was able to join by phone at 5:20 pm.  Others in attendance were Christina Moore and Warren Summers from FEMA.

New Business

The main point of the meeting was basic introduction of Mike McDaniel, of Witt Company, and his services, to the town of Halifax.  Mike McDaniel arrived at approximately 5:01 pm.

Mr. McDaniel stated that his role would be to assist the FEMA Project Specialist, Warren Summers, as required.  His work would be billed on FEMA “Category Z,” and his firm was hired by the Governor’s office to assist towns in submitting Project Worksheets or Hazard Mitigation Proposals.  The firm’s contract is through November 4th, although they are hoping to have that extended.

Ms. Moore and Mr. Summers highlighted the work already done to submit our Project Worksheets.  It was not clear what services Mr. McDaniel would be providing beyond what has been done to date.

Selectboard members all expressed the opinion that there did not appear to be a need for Witt Company services at this time.

Old Business

Prior to the arrival of Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Moore and Mr. Summers went over a variety of administrative details about the Project Worksheets (PW).  Culverts can be put on 1 PW, with markings for which roads each culvert went to.  Green River Road project was submitted on a single project worksheet as a major project, using primarily the numbers from the Army Corps of Engineers study.  It may be possible for the town to get a 50% advance on that work.  In the meantime, actual costs for Green River Roads are also being captured and submitted.

Mr. Summers requested further information on the Reed Hill Road bridge, such as contractor specification or a bridge inspection.  Mr. Sumner stated that the last inspection was prior to 2009, before the new decking.  It may be possible to get basic specifications from the invoices or bids.  Mr. Summers also clarified that we could proceed with the temporary bridge at the Wineburg property without a hydrology study.

No motions or other actions were taken during the meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 5:29 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Edee Edwards, Selectboard member