LONDONDERRY, Vt. – Rich Phelan, emergency management director (EMD) for Londonderry, announced, “we are in recovery mode now,” at the July 17 selectboard meeting. He then thanked all the crews who have been working tirelessly on the roads and bridges.
Phelan reported the town had a number of homes with flooded basements, and seven businesses that were severely flooded. “Hopefully the outcome will be good news for them with FEMA.”
Board chair Tom Cavanagh added that FEMA would be at Neighborhood Connections for economic help and resources “for the next few days,” and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) was there as well.
Martha Dale said she had forms from volunteers who have signed up. “I feel like we’re doing a fairly good job matching volunteers with businesses who need help,” she said, noting that Neighborhood Connections is “the hub” of volunteer work and resources. She is also acting as “the face of the board” as she connects with volunteers.
Taylor Prouty noted that most roads are passable at this time, but everyone should still drive with caution. Work is continuing to get done, but some roads are still one lane such as Cobble Ridge Road. FEMA needs to come assess all the damage “before we put it all back at 100%,” he added. There is not a definitive timeframe when the representative will be scheduled to look at all of the town roads and bridges, noting it is a different individual than who is assessing all of the residential claims.
Town administrator Shane O’Keefe reported the Department of Environmental Conservation would be inspecting Williams Dam the week of their July 17 meeting.
It was also reported that 125 water tests arrived on Tuesday, July 18. Homeowners are encouraged to test their well water.
Kelly Pajala and Jed Hughes transitioned to discuss the Music Monday flood relief fundraiser that is being planned for Monday, Aug. 14, from 4:30-9:30 p.m. Hughes’ idea was to have the proceeds from this event donated to the Londonderry Volunteer Rescue Squad (LVRS) and the fire departments for Londonderry, South Londonderry, Weston, and Peru.
The original Music Monday “turned into a bigger event very quickly,” Pajala said. Saints & Liars will be playing, and additional artists are being added to the list of performances. They plan to have food for sale, and Eric Nathan offered to do a live auction between acts. Saints & Liars is taking lead on the fundraising portion, and the parks board is taking the lead on the Music Monday part of it, “the original plan that has shifted some.”
Pajala asked permission for the event to be BYOB, being an outdoor concert with a longer duration. The board discussed a possible insurance policy for the event with the possibility of alcohol and eliminating any liabilities on the town.
Pajala also requested from the board that they get traffic control from the Windham County Sheriff at the bottom of the hill, and for pedestrians walking into the event. Prouty said, “In the spirit of the benefit, I think it should be a service that the town hires.” The board agreed the sheriff will take care of the event under the town’s original contract.
The Bennington-Rutland Supervisory Union (BRSU) has been contacted for use of two of their busses and drivers, as there will be no parking in the park itself, using the limited spaces for musicians and participants. Pajala reached out to Best Septic to donate porta potty services. Pajala also plans to contact all of the homeowners in the area of a road closure to through traffic, noting she hoped residents would be attending the event.
Cavanagh thanked Pajala and Hughes for all of their work and planning for the event, stating, “I think I can say you have the board’s full approval.”
The board then moved to ratify contracts for storm damage emergency repairs. Cavanagh stated they plan to enter into contracts with all of the contractors they have been working with, including David Chaves Excavating, Hunter Excavating, TK Trucking, Hart’s All Season Maintenance, Woodland Earthworks, and Raymond Smith Excavating. They “all really came to our rescue at time of need,” he commented, and “it’s good practice to ratify those contracts.” Moving forward, any town official can hire any of them to do work that needs to be done.
The board then deliberated on setting their fiscal year 2024 tax rate, and debated adding a $100,000 surplus into the funding. With the surplus, the rate would be set at $0.4945, and without it, the rate would go up to $0.5122. “The homeowners are really hurting right now,” Cavanagh said, “we should use the surplus.”
The motion was passed to “set the town tax rate for fiscal year 2024 at $0.4945 per $100 of assessed home value, and to acknowledge the homestead and non-homestead school tax rates at $1.5981 and $1.6557, respectively.”
The board adjourned and will meet next on Monday, Aug. 7 at 6 p.m.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article gave the date for the Music Mondays concert at Oct. 14. It will actually be held on Aug. 14.