Wetlands delay Popple Dungeon repairs; education taxes discussed by Select Board

By Shawn Cunningham

©The Chester Telegraph – 2014

Proposed work to the decaying portion of Popple Dungeon Road has been put on hold because the Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Vermont have declared that an area that would be used to straighten the road and pull it away from a hillside is wetlands.

The northern edge of this stretch of Popple Dungeon Road is giving way. The south branch of the Williams River is a contributing factor. Photos by Cynthia Prairie Click to enlarge.

“The Army Corps of Engineers has found that almost the entire area that we want to straighten they consider a wetland,” said town manager David Pisha during the Wednesday, July 16 Select Board meeting. “And so the project has come to a halt … Naomi (Johnson of Dufrense Engineering and a planning commission member) is working with them to see if we can set aside other wetlands in perpetuity so we can alter these and there’s also payments the state may require.” Pisha’s assistant, Julie Hance, said last Friday that if these can be resolved soon, the project could still be done this year.

Also, Pisha reported that a compaction roller belonging to Cold River Bridges was tested on Green Mountain Turnpike to see whether it would help stabilize the road with an eye toward using less gravel and labor in the spring.

The town of Chester was hoping to move Popple Dungeon above the current roadbed, but two agencies claim this is a wetlands. Click to enlarge.

Board member Derek Suursoo said he understood the idea, “…but I want to see how it works on Smokeshire, and on Trebo and in our problem areas, Popple Dungeon. The fact that we can compact Green Mountain Turnpike and make it an even smoother dirt highway isn’t interesting to me.” DeBenedetti said that he wants to see how Green Mountain comes through the winter before looking at spending money to buy or rent a roller. Suursoo said that if the board wants voters to get behind spending for a roller the town needs to demonstrate what one can do “in front of their houses.”

The board reviewed the town’s financials, then viewed a slide show prepared by Pisha showing small growth in the municipal and school spending, but substantial increases in the state education tax.

Pisha noted that, “We are on the edge of becoming a sending town.” This continued a discussion of the calculation of education taxes and the desire of the board to hear from someone at the State of Vermont to explain the system. The board decided to ask Sen. Dick McCormack (of the Senate Education Committee)  to speak to the board – before the election season gets going – and that the board would call a special meeting to fit the senator’s schedule.