East Granby Town Meeting Scheduled for $350,000 Debris Management

East Granby has put a plan into action to clear the massive amount of debris left in the wake of the freak late October snowstorm that swept through the state recently, according to a town official.

First Selectman Jim Hayden said that the town was approaching the issue in several ways: the RCC is open to accept brush through the rest of the week; and a crew from the department of public works continues to go through town feeding tree limbs into a wood chipper.

Finally, the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance in special meetings on Monday approved the allocation of $350,000 for “limited debris management,” which, according to Hayden, would come in the form of additional wood chipping.

A Town Meeting is scheduled on Monday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Senior Center for approving the expenditure, for which the town would have to actually have to pay $87,500 after 75 percent reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Hayden said.

“We would not move forward unless we were assured of reimbursement from FEMA,” said Hayden, who could not provide a timetable of when FEMA makes a decision. “It could be tomorrow, it could be next Monday.”

The $87,500 expenditure that the town has to account for would mean that other projects, such as the re-roofing of Town Hall, would be pushed back a year, Hayden said.

In addition, the selectmen and finance board also approved the purchase of a used wood chipper for $17,000, Hayden said.

Granby’s Board of Selectmen approved a $1 million expenditure - at 75 percent reimbursement from FEMA - to have debris hauled out of town.

Residents of both towns who live on state-maintained roads have been instructed to leave their debris five feet from the curbside for the state to clear.