The town of Johnson made headlines back in April when it moved its flood-prone public library up to higher ground.
The town literally picked up the building and rolled it half a mile down Route 15, out of the flood plain.
But towns can’t always just pick up and move their infrastructure. And a number of municipalities are still figuring out how to protect their public buildings after the past two years of summer floods.
The town of Hardwick sits along the Lamoille River. When there are ice jams in winter, heavy spring runoffs or torrential summer rains, the first building to flood is the fire station.
“The standard operating procedure for the fire department, when we’re going to get flooding, is to move the fire trucks out of the fire station,” said Hardwick Town Manager Dave Upson.
It's not a great situation, but they managed to make it work — that is, until the summer of 2023, when about 3 feet of water crashed through the building, causing almost $150,000 in damage.
Upson said the flooding that year, and the following summer, forced the town to deal with the problem.
“This building can’t stay here,” Upson said. “This is a FEMA map flood plain. We know that we shouldn’t be here and our time is limited here.”
Hardwick has stabilized the building, but the town is holding out for a long-term solution.
The town is pursuing what’s known as an alternative project with FEMA, which would let it use federal money to build a new fire station on higher ground instead of rebuilding on the same site.
This building can’t stay here.Dave Upson, Hardwick town manager
FEMA projects always take time, and they can get mired down in red tape, but a project like this is even more complex.
“Instead of just rebuilding something where it stands, they’re considering taking some money and potentially building something somewhere else,” said Vermont Emergency Management Recovery Section Chief Mark Johnson. “Well, that does become complicated.”
Johnson said Vermont was one of the first states in the country to use this FEMA program when it rebuilt the state office complex in Waterbury after Tropical Storm Irene.
After a disaster hits, municipalities have to keep their services going, and they’re even more busy cleaning up and helping their residents.
And so, Johnson said, the road back for town offices, wastewater plants and fire stations is never easy.
“What FEMA would prefer would be, the disaster hits, you fix it back, and they just cut you a check right there and you’re done,” Johnson said. “But rarely does that happen.”
Hardwick is still in negotiations with FEMA about both its fire station and wastewater plant. And across Vermont, other towns are trying to come up with plans to protect their public infrastructure from future flooding.
Ludlow and Johnson are trying to figure out how to come up with the money to move their wastewater plants. Montpelier is working with FEMA to try to use federal funds to move some of its municipal buildings to higher ground. And Wolcott has begun conversations about moving its highway department and fire station away from the flood plain.
Meanwhile, other towns, like Barre, put things back together pretty much as they were, and are hoping for the best.
When the future of your building is tied to the approval from FEMA, you’re limited to your options based on those purse strings.Thomas Galinat, Johnson town administrator
The town of Johnson spent almost $250,000 to reinforce its town office, which included installing a waterproof membrane and flood gates to protect the building the next time the Lamoille River jumps its banks.
Johnson town administrator Thomas Galinat said the town wants to move its offices out of the flood plain, but FEMA officials thought it made more sense to floodproof the existing building. So, Galinat said, that's what they did.
“When the future of your building is tied to the approval from FEMA, you’re limited to your options based on those purse strings,” he said.
Back in Hardwick, town manager Dave Upson said he’s still meeting with FEMA officials a few times a month to come up with a plan for the fire station.
The work is slow, and sometimes frustrating, but Upson said he’s hoping that the pieces all come together.
“When something bad happens, everybody looks to blame, and everybody looks to point fingers,” Upson said. “And I don’t know if it’s anger, or if it’s fear, or what it is. But there’s no immediate fix to pretty much anything in life, so you’ve got to work through it. And that’s what we’re doing.”
Upson said he’s hoping there’s an answer from the federal agency this fall, and that Hardwick can come up with a final plan for its fire station at next year's town meeting.
