Selectmen authorize Hoyle Tanner amendment for levee bid documents and plan to pursue FEMA appeal

The Board of Selectmen authorized an amendment to Hoyle Tanner’s engineering work on Jan. 12 to prepare contract documents and bid materials for levee scour repairs, and directed staff to pursue options to appeal FEMA’s new flood‑insurance mapping determinations.

Interim Town Administrator Paul Sanderson said the town had received wetlands permits to repair levee sections damaged by scour and beaver activity, and that the next practical step was to prepare bid documents to hire a contractor. Hoyle Tanner previously performed permitting work under a $14,500 authorization; the board approved an amendment (additional $10,000) to complete bid documents and specifications and authorized the TA to sign the contract, with the cost charged to the Levee Capital Reserve Fund.

Sanderson also briefed the board on a recent FEMA letter commencing a 90‑day appeal period for new Special Flood Hazard Area maps. He said FEMA’s modeling treats Farmington’s levee as if it does not exist because it is not currently accredited under FEMA engineering criteria; that treatment can raise flood‑insurance rates for properties in downtown Farmington. Selectmen asked staff to search town records for prior Army Corps of Engineers work or documentation and to take appropriate steps to lodge an appeal if the town has a viable basis to challenge FEMA’s technical assumptions.

The board voted (Scruton moved; Staples seconded) to authorize the Hoyle Tanner amendment and to fund it from the Levee Capital Reserve Fund. They also instructed the TA to report back about any existing Army Corps or contractor records that could support an appeal.