by Bea Peterson
On Wednesday, May 13, Hoosick Town Supervisor Marilyn Douglas and Highway Superintendent Bill Shiland met with Hoosick Falls Trustee Ric DiDonato and Building Inspector Dick Weeden, Rensselaer County Legislator Lester Goodermote and Tom Blanchard and Steve Len of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to look at some of the problems of Woods Brook.
Who’s Fault Is It?
Who’s at fault, where do the brook problems begin, where do they end and who is responsible for improvements are the questions that remain to be answered. At the start of the meeting the group reviewed the flood plain map of 2002. Blanchard suggested some of the home owners in problem areas look into funds available from FEMA for structure improvements. For example, if a cellar is being flooded and utilities ruined, the $30,000 from FEMA could be used to fill in the basement and build something to locate the utilities, such as water tanks and furnaces, above the flood plain. Those funds cannot be used to repair the Brook problems.
Another suggestion was that volunteers help clean up the debris that has accumulated along the Brook. Liability questions would have to be resolved before such a project could be undertaken. DEC would issue a permit for such work as it is considered routine brook maintenance.
The issue remains that Woods Brook runs through private property. Blanchard and Len suggested all Woods Brook property owners form a not-for-profit association and each property owner take responsibility for keeping debris, such as piles of leaves and fallen trees out of the Brook. It was suggested that perhaps Rensselaer County Soil and Water could be of assistance.
Another thought was that a flood district could be formed and Brook owners could be charged for maintenance. Len gave Supervisor Douglas a list of resources, including the Army Corps of Engineers. Should the Corps undertake the project, it could be years in the planning and more years in the works, he said.
A tour of the Woods Brook along Hall St. properties showed appalling conditions with walls being held in place by trees growing on the banks. In other places the roots of the trees were pushing walls out of place. Some of the bricks have fallen away and soil is pouring into the culvert under Main St.
Everyone agreed that before anything is done an engineering study should be undertaken. Clough-Harbour personnel have walked the Brook, at the request of the Village, to determine a cost for such a study. County Legislator Stan Brownell told Goodermote and Douglas that he is talking with NYS Senator Roy McDonald about funding the study.
Town officials believe the problems are from Main St. to the Hoosic River. Village officials and some residents are convinced the problem comes from above Main St. Brook residents are firmly convinced, wherever the problem lies, the Village or Town should undertake any repairs. Village and Town officials are convinced they cannot do work on private property. In reviewing the properties, Blanchard said some of the problems go back many years, perhaps a hundred or more. He said property owners have filled in some areas altering the Brook and in other places tried to change the course of
the Brook. Many homeowners say they have heard the Village did the work originally. Blanchard doubts that is the case since work in each property is done in a different style. Had it been done by the Village, the whole look would have been the same, he feels.
Today, he said, the State would not allow houses to be built in such an area.
Other Tour
Wednesday morning DiDonato and Hoosic River Watershed Association member Mike Batcher walked along the River with Blanchard and Len and members of the Army Corps of Engineers who were doing their annual review of the River flood control. They were shown where the Village would like the new Greenway to go. The men from the Army Corps were not engineers, so they could make no decisions regarding use of the berm for the Greenway. They also declined to review Woods Brook later in the day.
