LUDLOW, Vt. – The Ludlow Selectboard met Monday, Jan. 8, for their regular monthly meeting.
As he has since July’s flood, town manager Brendan McNamara updated the board on the town’s progress working with FEMA to recover money spent on repairs and reconstruction. According to McNamara, Ludlow has spent nearly $1.9 million to date on flood recovery, a number which does not include repairs to the town’s heavily-damaged wastewater plant. Despite assuring the board that Ludlow was on track to recover the money it is owed, McNamara expressed some frustration with the federal agency’s lack of consistency. “We are on our fourth project manager from FEMA since the event,” he informed the board, noting that each change of project manager slows the process considerably as the new project manager is brought up to speed. However, McNamara expressed his belief that the town would see its full 75% FEMA reimbursement for all relevant expenditures. The State of Vermont is also contributing 12.5% to reimbursement, leaving Ludlow footing the bill for the remaining 12.5%.
The board also began discussions of an upcoming town reappraisal, which would happen in 2026. Ryan Silvestri of the Ludlow Planning Commission spoke to the board, saying that this would most likely be a “statistical appraisal,” in which town records and construction and renovation data are used in place of active inspection of all parcels in town. This would, Silvestri said, necessitate 10% of properties or “about 360 parcels” to undergo full inspections, to assess whether the town’s records were accurate, though he was confident that they were.
Ludlow has seen significant appreciation of property values since the last appraisal in 2021, and Silvestri explained to the board that, as a result, the state’s calculation of Ludlow’s share of the education tax had increased. The problem, as Silvestri explained, is that, “If we’re underassessing properties versus what they’re selling for, [the state] is going to make sure they get everything [they are owed].” This means the increased cost is distributed evenly among all Ludlow residents, rather than being apportioned based on property values, “so that’s where it really becomes inequitable,” Silvestri said.
Moving on, the board then heard updates from McNamara about the repairs to several waterways and dams throughout town through the Emergency Watershed Program. Specifically, Jewell Brook Dam sites 3 and 5 have recently generated concern due to visible damage to their spillways. McNamara said that Ludlow has been approved for 75% funding through the USDA to make repairs to those dams’ spillways, as well as to a an area of the Black River abutting the back of the fire station, and two locations along Route 100 South where the river is “jeopardizing land that will ultimately jeopardize town infrastructure.” McNamara also explained that he is investigating whether all or part of the remaining 25% of the cost can be funded through FEMA reimbursement or state programs, though this remains unclear. He expected work on the repairs to begin in the spring, after project engineering has been completed and the project has gone out to bid.
The Ludlow Selectboard’s next meeting will be a special meeting held Jan. 24, to determine what, if any, action to take on the long-discussed possibility of a short-term rental registry.