Residents Approve Storm Cleanup Expenditures

East Granby residents at a special Town Meeting at the on Monday evening approved $367,000 in spending for the cleanup of debris left in the aftermath of the historic late-October snowstorm that brought down trees and limbs in unprecedented numbers in the area.

Specifically, about 60 residents in attendance unanimously approved $17,000 for the purchase of a used heavy-duty wood chipper that will be utilized by town crews to reduce the amount of debris left curbside on town roads.

First Selectman James Hayden said that crews from the department of public works were already working on chipping wood left curbside, but that the newer chipper would be able to handle trees and limbs 12 inches in diameter. The current equipment that crews are working with can handle trees up to 6 inches in diameter, Hayden said.

Every resident except for two voted in favor of appropriating $350,000 to hire an outside contractor to pick up and dispose of the 10,000 cubic-yards of debris that’s also left curbside. That expenditure will only be made pending FEMA’s approval for 75 percent reimbursement, meaning that the town would only have to account for $87,500 of that appropriation.

“We’re talking about historic amounts of snow and historic amounts of debris,” Hayden said.

Among the questions that were asked of Hayden by residents was whether the wood chipper appropriation was eligible for reimbursement (maybe); whether the town would assist in hauling trees to residents’ curbs (no); and where the money would come from (the capital improvement fund: A $35,000 expenditure for a new wood chipper was already approved; with the purchase of a used one, the town will save $18,000, which will go to offset the debris removal. The remaining $69,500 will come by pushing back re-roofing the ambulance barn and Town Hall building for another year or two, Hayden said).

Depending on how quickly FEMA announces that the $350,000 appropriation is eligible for reimbursement, the town could enter an agreement with a contractor as early as a week to 10 days.

The hope, Hayden said, is to have the debris removed before heavy snowfall in December.