The town was almost ready to put the project out to bid this spring when
the state Act 250 permit for the project was appealed by two people
whose properties adjoin the land where the town's water supply is
located.
In 2006, the town drilled a well in a right of way on the Class IV Reed
Road. The town took an easement on two separate 0.4-acre pieces of
property from the two landowners who are appealing the Act 250 permit.
The town paid both landowners $7,500, twice the appraised value of the
easements.
The appeal now goes to Vermont Environmental Court, where it will be
heard when its time comes. This delay means the water project does not
go to bid and final engineering cannot be completed until the appeal is
decided. It means a delay of indeterminate time and means the town may
lose its federal and state funds for the water project.
But the consequences go beyond just the water project. While the water
project was in the planning and voting stages, two other projects have
also been underway. One is a sidewalk project, 17 years in the making,
for which the town has received 90 percent of the funds needed to
construct a sidewalk from the Waitsfield Elementary School to Bragg
Hill.
The second project is the state's sorely needed repaving of Route 100
from Waitsfield to Warren. The timing of all three projects has been
juggled and shifted so that water would be first, paving second and
sidewalks third - minimizing the need to dig up Route 100 repeatedly.
Now the town faces some tough decisions: Delay the sidewalk and hope not
to lose that funding; or delay the water and face losing some of those
funds; proceed with the sidewalk and face additional costs with the
water due to having to reconstruct the sidewalk and Route 100; ask the
state to postpone paving; or delay the sidewalk.
These are not great options and the town wants public input on how to
proceed. The select board will hold an infrastructure forum on May 3 at
the Big Picture to take that input.
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