Town and Village

Townshend seeks repairs of East Hill Road

By Eben Holderness/The Commons

TOWNSHEND—Selectboard member David Dezendorf continued to work on preparations for a FEMA aid request through the state of Vermont on repairs to East Hill Road, which was washed out during Tropical Storm Irene.

The project was put on hold for much of 2012 while the Selectboard worked on submitting an appeal to FEMA after learning the town was to receive significantly less aid money toward replacing the Dam Road culvert than expected initially. The town’s first appeal was rejected. The Selectboard submitted a second appeal following its Dec. 3 meeting.

Meanwhile, Dezendorf said he was working on furnishing Vermont Emergency Management with construction estimates for fill and tree removal. The Vermont Agency of Transportation will then work with Vermont Emergency Management to ensure that all forms are in order prior to submission to FEMA.

According to Dezendorf, the project is moving slowly, but definitely ahead.

“Rather than [have] us move forward too quickly and have to make an adjustment, FEMA started giving us information about the fact that the original project worksheet was to pull fill from the damage off of a neighbor’s property, and they started saying you can’t do that, you’d have to pay for it. So we backed up and tried to make sure we had a consistent message from FEMA."

Delays in repairing the washed-out road, however, have upset residents who said they used the road frequently before Irene.

“If any one of you lived up there you’d realize that it’s too long for it be in disrepair,” Townshend resident Janet Stowell said. “I’ve lived here for quite a few years and it’s a hell of a mess out there.”

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