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Barre City holds North End forum to shape post-flood recovery and seek $55M in CDBG-DR funds
Summary
Mayor Lozano and City Manager Nicholas Chimellatastro presented flood-mitigation priorities and invited public input on housing, green space and bridge modifications after the 2023 floods; officials said hydrology and storm-pipe studies will guide applications for county-level CDBG-DR funding.
Mayor Lozano opened a warned public forum to gather resident input on rebuilding the North End after major floods and to explain the city’s funding strategy. He told the audience that $68 million had gone to Vermont in 2023 and that Washington County will receive about $55,000,000 in Community Development Block Grant — Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds; the city will submit pre-applications in the next 30 to 45 days.
"This $55,000,000 has an emphasis on housing," Mayor Lozano said, asking residents to help the council prioritize projects. City Manager Nicholas Chimellatastro presented three projects the city intends to pursue first: redesigning the Harrington Avenue debris rack, a buyout and fortification at the Willie Street Bridge, and addressing the Berlin Street Bridge as a potential obstacle to river flow. Chimellatastro said the projects were chosen after state river engineers and a hydrology process identified choke points and mitigation opportunities.
Officials described studies the city commissioned to support grant applications: a hydrology study using LIDAR and a storm-pipe assessment intended to show where water concentrates and which projects provide the most mitigation benefit. "We successfully negotiated with the state this past year to remove the trestle bridge," Chimellatastro said, adding that engineering work and the new data will help the city prioritize projects for federal and state funding.
The forum also served as a listening session: residents raised concerns about emergency service access, traffic impacts, ongoing debris in the riverbed, and the constraints FEMA buyout rules place on redeveloping purchased properties. City leaders said the work will be multi-year and will require federal and state assistance; they encouraged continued public feedback and invited residents to complete surveys and follow up online.
