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Plainfield faces up to $15 million in damages
by Mike Bielawski
Repairing July flood damage to St. Johnsbury town property will cost $3 million. But that’s small change compared to Lyndon, the smaller town to the north, where the select board has decided to take out an $8 million line of credit. And Plainfield in Washington County faces up to $15 million in repairs.
Plainfield
The Town of Plainfield may have the toughest situation, they face $8-15 million in repairs. The small town only has about 1,240 residents according to the most recent census data.
Town clerk Bram Towbin on Monday offered to VDC that estimate and said many are working hard on plans to continue repairing bridges and washed-out roads. There are several instances of each around the village and surrounding roads.
The final repair plans and estimates won’t be known until FEMA makes clear what they can offer. “We have to know what’s coming,” Towbin said.
He said that the town can expect up to 75% to be covered. He added that even with the FEMA funds, remaining costs are expected to be “unsustainable” and grants will likely be needed to make up the difference.
A historic apartment building on Mill Street that was often called the ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ was washed away, it went down in about 15 minutes but everyone was safely evacuated.
Some of the roads that have been washed out and/or have damaged bridges include Lee Road, Rec Field Rd., Cameron Rd., Bean Road, Brook Road, and more.
Passing through the central village these days reveals people are still working hard to get their neighborhoods and lives back in order. A bridge on Mill St. has been at least temporarily rebuilt.
Lyndon
The Town of Lyndon was reported to have taken out $8 million in a line of credit to repair damaged roads. The Caledonia Record reported, “The funds will be used to rebuild east Lyndon roads and bridges washed out by a catastrophic 500-year storm on July 30.”
St. Johnsbury
A report by the Caledonia Record indicates that the St. Johnsbury municipal budget should be able to absorb the $3 million in costs without looking outside its revenues. That could change though.
Town Manager Chad Whitehead told them, “One bridge could really make a big difference.”
Costs higher than 1st expected
An initial survey by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets, put total estimated costs for the flooding from July 2024 at $4,675,214, it now appears that estimate was far below what municipalities are dealing with.
The North Star Monthly also did an initial assessment of the damages. They wrote, “Parts of the Northeast Kingdom were some of the hardest hit areas. The sudden deluge caused rivers and streams to swell rapidly, leading to flash flooding in several communities. Homes and businesses were inundated, roads became impassable, and two lives were lost.”
Town Clerk of Troy Terri Medley shared with VDC on Monday that getting federal FEMA funds makes a big difference, especially for small communities. “We certainly appreciate that FEMA was available,” she said.
She explained that the money meant they didn’t have to put what amounted to over $100,000 in damages from the 2023 flooding directly onto their taxpayers.
A report by WCAX from earlier this month reveals that farmers are reluctant to leave Vermont despite its recent flooding issues at least in part because land values are rising.
“According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an acre of farmland in Vermont sold for $4,600 last year, a 9.5% increase from 2022,” their report states.
The writer is an author for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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Categories: Disasters and Emergencies
This is super Democratic party ridiculous…tax the victims of flood repair, and dont give a crap about their welfare…
Interesting report out of Oxford, CT yesterday. The town of Oxford suffered considerable damage from torrential downpours causing a flash flood. The reporter “on the scene” of one washed out road, stated it could take several weeks or months for a federal response – she actually said it twice.
While the federal government (FEMA under Department of Homeland Security) is paying up to $2 billion to house, feed, free transport, and $2400 to illegals, those who pay taxes, pay for the infrastructure, and pay for their own housing, get to leave voice mail messages, fill out some forms, and wait, and then wait some more.
Well, there is squandering of money on illegals…..great point. We are fiscally irresponsible for sure.
And then there is a group of people set on subverting our country too.
weather warfare////connecticut/// ten inches of rain//// any questions////
What was the name of that hurricane that just swept our coastline?
Maybe direct all grant money, and all fed funded projects that nobody wanted, but for the planners that got 100% financing and use toward these repairs. Maybe building expensive bridges that need repair frequently without flooding is not the answer,
We did it smarter and easier when we relied upon our own ingenuity and finances.
Of course, we never thought of saving ANY money for a rainy day, which is also part of the general American problem. We’ve lost track of what is important and needed vs. what is nice.
Move all the money for bike paths and rail trails to the main roads. They are nice but no needed at this point.
We have massive financial mismanagement in Vermont
Hey how about this instead of giving free money to rich people to buy electric cars, instead of paying $60k for a hotel room, instead of paying $200k for a pocket park, instead of paying $10k for people to move to Vermont….
We take care of our own. Suddenly when things get tough it puts into perspective the massive waste, fraud and misuse of money within our states boarders.
WE HAVE PLENTY OF MONEY TO DO THESE REPAIRS……THEY JUST DON’T GIVE A S**t WHICH IS CLEARLY EVIDENT WITH THEIR PRIORITIES…
WHERE IS FISCAL SENSE?
Financial mismanagement is better known as fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. There is never detailed audits of the “books”. There is never full disclosure of how, to who, to where billions of taxpayer money goes to and for what. There is never anyone held to account for screwing up under the Golden Thunder Dome or within the Capitol corporatation complexes. Every policy is implemented with a price tag, an appointed board/commission/task force, an NGO or non-profiteer, and then whatever pittance remains, may go to the actual issue. Grifters gotta grift – from inception to deception to thievery.
Maybe this is incorrect, but I read a report yesterday claiming that FEMA’s disaster relief fund is pretty much empty. Meaning that any repair funding from FEMA (F ‘Em, Mission Accomplished) is at least 2-3 months out. Can anyone confirm?
And by the way, where exactly is this $4600 per acre farmland? I just might be interested in buying me a “big spread”.
I’m afraid there will be that one day when our collective shoelaces will break and there will be hell to pay over which the state and national govt will literally have to lock themselves indoors for months if not years.