Second, the State appointed a Chief Recovery Officer.  Montpelier needs one as well.  I think that position should live outside City government so as to be able to work hand in hand with Doug Farnham and Bill Frazier while retaining the independence to advocate strongly on behalf of Montpelier residents and businesses even when those interests run counter to current regulation. 

We often invest those same functions in City government/ officials and then complain when there’s no dedicated resources or the guidance is mired in bureaucracy. Whether it’s managing the acquisition and development of a potential housing parcel or planning for a wholesale redevelopment of our downtown, we need a strong advocate unencumbered by dual loyalties. 

What about raising the foundation and raising the house a floor so people can park under the house instead, kind of like they do in hurricane areas? This would need to be done at a large scale rather than one at a time as the cost would be astronomical. Places that I have seen this done a lot is Galveston, TX and I believe the Outer Banks. VT could definitely put the VT spin and look on it.

What about closing down Main Street during the week so that the businesses can do business like street vendors? If not, what about allowing them to do business near Vermont College? And provide signage for people to know how to get there.

Does Vermont college on the land behind them that is currently forest? What about moving a large portion of downtown up there and turning the current downtown into a wetland. 

Dredge the canal and upstream? Then put some vegetation in there with the assistance of environmentally knowledgeable people.

Review what Northfield did after Irene to fix the flooding issues. Their damage sounded like it was a lot less than when they were hit by Irene due to addressing some of the Rivers needs.

Any purchasing that is done should be pooled so that there can be a discount rather than every being hit with normal pricing. This also would help save the environment with one large delivery rather than multiple small deliveries.

With rebuilding, are we looking at any possibility for fast tracking out of state trade license transfer to VT to allow skilled workers to come and assist. Are there any locations that temporary housing can be provided (RVs, Mobile homes, large empty warehouses)? Additionally what about offering one and out of state trade schools to come and do hands on work to help fast track them in the trades. Is the city and state able to extend construction working hours in order to expedite repairs? Is there a way to get and additional City inspector to expedite and streamline approvals and maybe have a central location or section of the town they review each day to make the process more efficient for them?

If we are looking at affordable or low income housing it appears we as a state avoid apartment complexes. Looking for large unused plots of cleared land why isn’t there a look at building something around the airport in Berlin?

Kyle 
Renter

We listened to the first forum on recovery and resilience this past Thursday and would like to offer two observations.

First, we are concerned about the inadequacy of the responses to the catastrophe from our governmental leaders.  The Scott administration’s BEGAP budget, for example, would appear to be wholly inadequate to the financial needs of local businesses; a number of them will not be able to open for lack of grant funding to repair and replace.  The Vermont Legislature is surprisingly not planning to convene in special session to consider additional funding.  And at the local level, it would have been helpful to hear ideas, or at least inspirational words, at the forum from Montpelier's mayor and city manager.  What is their plan for recovery and resilience?

Second, Montpelier should be reaching out to experts on flood recovery and resistance from other parts of the country and the world--experts on river and flood control, architectural and engineering approaches to elevating or otherwise protecting buildings from flooding; mass relocation of business districts; and so on.  Convening local citizens is important, but we also need the best ideas from the best minds on what can and should be done--from places like New Orleans and Holland that have faced similar challenges before.  This is no time to reinvent the wheel.

Hopefully these points will be addressed in the next two forums.  In the meantime, thank you for providing this opportunity to comment.

Elliot Burg
Middlesex, Vermont
Tel. (802) 272-4920
Email eburg4@gmail.com

 

The five teams - local to global! - that were the ‘winners’: (see also uploaded Team Bridges Project Workbook for example)

1.     Team Bridges

2.     Scott and Partners

3.     White and Arup

4.     Gossens Temkin

5.     Weimann Lamhere 

 

The stated guiding principles for sustainability (see more in uploaded 19-page doc):

1. Environmental Sustainability – new structures will be Net Zero in their energy

demands, and utilize local materials where possible. Convert valuable real estate

downtown to an integrated, efficient transportation network emphasizing pedestrian, bicycle and shared transit. The future movement of goods and people will also be more efficient (via rail, transit, vans, or more efficient vehicles, where possible).

2. Social Sustainability – Human Centered Design must be incorporated into the

envisioned city spaces and buildings, encouraging people of all ages and abilities

to make Montpelier a place in which to live, work and play. Successful designs will

promote community gathering, shared work and maker spaces and opportunities for celebration. Illustrate how the built environment can encourage people of all abilities to make full use of the future city. Access and use of the surrounding natural environments, particularly the riverfront, must be incorporated, reflecting a nourishing and fun community to live in.

3. Durable Sustainability – Designs should consider the long-term effects of time

and natural forces. Flood plain areas must be addressed, and durable materials used

to survive for 100 years with minimal maintenance and reconstruction, including low carbon concrete and longer life rebar. Designs should allow for the future incorporation of improved technology with minimal disruption and expense, and be adaptable for other uses in the future.

Hanif Nazerali 
hnazerali@cs.com
Ecologic Community Health Organizer
ex- Sustainable Montpelier Coalition 

Reducing the damage from flooding in Montpelier must consider many small, doable  solutions that each solve a part of the problem. rather than seeking a few large actions that may  not be practical and are expensive

The possible actions must address the many contributors to the amount of flood damage including but certainly not limited to the following.

Reducing the volume of water entering the City


FEMA should fund a hydrological study of the entire watershed and because any reduction in water volume will save everybody money in the future.  The City should push for this.  At a minimum the study could include:   
* Restoration and creation of wetlands particularly in the upper reaches of the watershed where volumes of water are still low during a rain event.
* Reduction of impermeable surfaces in all areas of the watershed
* Finding flood plains where flood water could enter without doing damage and making them functional.                                                               
*Take a hint from the beavers and create many---perhaps 100's of small dams on the scale of   farm or beaver ponds that accommodate usual water flow through carefully sized outlets that will allow water to be stored and released over time.  Think large rain gardens.  Perhaps these could be placed in the upper reaches of the watershed and designed in a way that avoids any human action during flooding and require little maintenance

Controlling the water that comes into the City.
The Wrightsville dam functioned as designed to accomplish this in July.
Are there other ways or locations for dams?

Finding ways to make the buildings water tolerant.
The City is already requiring utilities, electrical and heating systems to be located above the flood level.   
Can basements be fixed so that cleanup is easy using impermeable materials
Can check valves be installed to prevent sewer and drain back up.

Finding materials to use in buildings that are less likely to be damaged by flood water.
Impermeable materials such as steel studs, plastics that are cleanable. 
Is there a waterproof impervious replacement for sheetrock?
Can metal be used in place of the usual wall covering.   Metal roofing has been used.

Removing or controling source that contaminate the flood waters
In Minnesota a person filled the basement with clean water to match the flood level and so prevented silt and contaminated water from entering.  With the water pressure we have downtown could basements be flooded ahead of the rising water?

Can the possible sources of sewer water and petroleum be found, controlled and eliminated?

Conclusions

I want to thank Steve Everett, Bob Neeld, Jeff Cueto and Jay Boeri for listening to my ideas and adding comments and pointing out problems


This is not intended to be a complete list----only a start.   For certain all of these ideas are not feasible.   My professional history is in historic preservation but often it is necessary to consider solutions and look beyond the buildings.  Saving the vitality of downtown is my goal and that is probably not reachable until the flooding and the resulting damage are under control..

Thanks to Montpelier Alive and the Montpelier Foundation for creating a venue for public input.

I have lived in Montpelier since 1976 and  witnessed the three floods and the July flood has done the most damage.   I currently chair the Historic Preservation Commission which has offered to advise people on preservation and mitigation measures for buildings.

It will take community action. to make good things happen and Montpelier can do that.

Eric Gilbertson  
7 Richardson Street
Montpelier
802 272 8543

1.       We need to understand/model what happens (hydrologically) when water backs up in the Winooski River basin (including North Branch) into the low parts of Montpelier. Where is it being constricted/slowed down so that it backs up? 

2.       We could model how to appropriately channelize or otherwise manage the river to reduce the backup and also restore/add floodplains/wetlands further up and down stream – the goal is to protect the built infrastructure that can remain. Could we move the water away from the city more quickly without increasing the problems downstream (possibly even decreasing problems downstream)? Are there places upstream where  the river could/should be ”dechannelized” and restored? 

3.       The model would likely need to include appropriate resistance in the river, to absorb some of the force of a flooded river (and to add habitat and to compensate for any new channelization). Adding/restoring meander should also be a part of the model. 

4.       Perhaps some water storage capacity (retention ponds), that only fill at appropriate high river water levels, might be a useful addition to the floodplains/wetlands. 

5.       Is there a possibility of more active flood management of dams already existing on the rivers? 

6.       If a model was built, could that model be a basis for improving the situation at other major flood points in the Winooski basin and other watersheds in Vermont and beyond? 

7.       I recognize that we need to be careful to replace or not destroy significant habitat (and recreation?). I further recognize that it may make sense to buy out some properties, in order to open up floodplains/wetlands and/or allow better water flow across the land. 

A comprehensive model is a serious challenge, but model building seems like the appropriate way to attack this painful problem. Any model will have multiple challenges to becoming reality (buy this property or that, where to get enough money, what are compromises of environment vs property protection, how much can the risk be reduced, how to select/”sell” a best solution, etc.?). 

One other possible use for the model (and additional river gauges) would be better prediction of maximum flood height. We were caught off guard when the current model suddenly rose from about 17 feet to over 22 feet – a major difference when it comes to deciding to take action to prevent/reduce flood damage. It would also help if the model could be extrapolated to describe the expected height at multiple places in the city rather than just where it is measured and projected at Cemetery Curve. 

I hope to see the development of a useful river model to help achieve a recovered, resilient Montpelier. 

Allen Clark 802-476-5321 

*hire a firm with the mapping capacity to generate building-by-building maps and elevations for what various levels of flooding would mean for EACH building in the flood plain. Something I heard from various impacted business owners is that they couldn't really assimilate what "21 feet" meant for their property.  One person suggested that in addition to each building in the flood plain having these maps and elevations, the city could encourage folks to paint blue lines on their walls that represented various levels of the Winooski flooding, e.g. 15', 17', 19', 21',  as a distinctive form of Montpelier "decor." Someone suggested that all of the above could be helpful because Montpelier is not FLAT. While "21 feet" for one building in the floodplain could mean water lapping at its front steps, it could mean 5' of water in the interior of another.

*perhaps part of the scenario planning with the city could include working with Montpelier Alive to recruit volunteers who would be prepared to be on standby in the event of a significant flood warning.  I find myself thinking about what it could have looked like if Montpelier Alive could have mobilized even a 10th of the 2,000 volunteers who showed up AFTER the flood BEFOREHAND. Even without the city hiring tractors trailers and drivers, individuals could have helped residents and businesses empty their spaces in the flood plain, perhaps even on Sunday, July 9th, and thereby have saved so much of what ended up being ruined. 

*also as part of the scenario planning, see if there is a way that an emergency shelter could be opened sooner than in the middle of a flooding event, including providing transportation for the elderly, shut-ins, and those without cars. And consider designating a shelter within Montpelier so that folks wouldn't need to be crossing the Winooski when it was at risk of flooding

*also, develop a plan with business owners for guidelines in terms of employees being able to leave the floodplain/go home in the event of a flood warning. I've heard stories of employees who were told by their bosses that the could not leave work on the afternoon of Monday, July 10th, even as the river was hitting the underside of every bridge over the Winooski, and these workers ended up being trapped at work because by the end of the work day, either they couldn't safely leave the city or reach their homes because of road washouts. 

*also, develop a plan for quickly determining how many residents lose their housing--either temporarily or permanently--due to a flooding event, as well as a contingency plan for housing them until new housing can be found. 

Sadly, in the context of accelerating climate change, the likelihood that Montpelier will continue to experience significant flooding is high. Perhaps doing the above kind of scenario planning could help our city weather these events with less destruction, trauma, and loss.