Farmington's October Snowstorm Costs Decrease; Special Town Meeting Canceled

The Farmington Town Council will wrap up funding for storm clean-up associated with the October 2011 snowstorm (which the town calls Storm Alfred) without the need for a special meeting, originally planned for Jan. 8.

The council originally set the special town meeting to allow the public to vote on appropriating $320,000 from operating reserves to cover the cost of the clean-up. The council temporarily appropriated the funds last year to cover expenses.

But in the past three months, the town received all of the expected reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and has been notified it will receive $404,145 for debris clean-up along federal roads from the Federal Highway Administration.

The total cost remaining to the town will be about $400,000, officials said, $200,000 of which was appropriated by the council in November 2011.

That leaves just less than $200,000 to be appropriated and under town charter, the council is able to approve the funds without calling a special town meeting. The council is scheduled to address the balance at its regular meeting on Jan. 8 at 7 p.m.

Clean-up efforts in Farmington for the October snowstorm, which brought down thousands of tree limbs, closed streets and left most residents without power for more than a week, cost more than $2.2 million, of which the town was responsible for just $400,000. 

Town officials have said that Farmington saved millions of dollars by putting the contract for debris clean-up out to bid instead of using the FEMA contractor and by using town employees to oversee the process.