Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Maximum Saturation Point

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. It could be a little less humid, but it's not an incubation chamber so who am I to complain. Any time there isn't condensation on the bathroom mirror before turning on the shower is a happy day.

The Battle for the Shire, part one, is shaping up. This will be longer and more involved than Tolkein ever dreamed up. Frodo didn't have to deal with paperwork and bureaucracy. 3-5 years before anything's on paper, says the BHA Director, to whom I spoke on Westy's radio show this morning. There are many bits and parts. What the gummit says, what the regs are, what funds are available, what flood mitigation can be done, what ultimately cannot be saved... there are so many things that even having a plan in 3 years is highly optimistic. Next Thursday will be the first of some Public Meetings about the whole deal. More info at
http://brattleborohousing.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/public-community-meeting-visions-and-concerns/
Everyone with an interest in what happens to Melrose, Hayes Court, Glen Park and the whole West B floodplain should get their arse there.

I've asked the local djs to announce it and will chat up my neighbors as much as I can stand to. The Princess will be going with me. I'm going to call our local tv station to make sure they're covering it.

What happened here last Summer is considered a "Hundred Year Flood", meaning it happens once in a hundred years. However, not knowing what Mother Nature may do at any time, Best Practices need to be done. We're walking into a minefield here and with the little research I've done it's obvious there are so many risk assessments and $ issues in so many areas that that alone is going to be a year. So, deep breath, we're going under for a long time.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

No shortage of things to think about in your little corner of the world.
Here's a little something light and fun for a change of pace for you..
tag...you're it!!

CarrieBoo said...

You're a trooper, Laura. They are lucky to have you in their corner over there. It's quite complex.

Austan said...

Lawless- That was a great distraction! I barely have time to keep up with comments here!

Carrie- Thanks, sweets. It's a Rubik's Cube of issues for sure.

Allyson said...

hundred year actually means that there is a 1% chance of it happening annually. that's really how that all works.

are they looking at acquisition and demolition through a federal grant? what the h is really being talked about here? if it is acquisition/demolition they can't build anything in that space ever again. has to be green space in perpetuity.

Austan said...

Ally- You're invaluable to my life in so many ways. Thank you. I don't think the PTB even know that stuff. A/D has been bantered about, especially for the trailer park area, but flood mitigation is the main thing right now here. We may lose the 2 buildings that were badly hit and be able to save the rest. But this is just the start of the process.

Allyson said...

here's a little one-stop-shopping on HM: http://lilbuddy.megalink.net/~oxctyema/mitigation.htm

overview of available programs.

last i knew Pre-Disaster Mitigation is going away soon, but what do i know. We had property that was A/D in Canton. it is a several year process and there needs to be buy-in from all participants. it gets dicey. and very personal.

Austan said...

Ally- You Rock! Thank you! All info is welcome and helps. On top of what is totally unknown is what the PTB are willing/unwilling to share with us, so there's that, too, for us civilians to climb over. SO glad I have you. :D