Amenia submits grant application and quashes rumors

AMENIA — On Thursday, Oct. 6, the Amenia Town Board held a special meeting to approve its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application, which is requesting $130,000 for reconstruction of a section of Tower Hill Road, a dirt road located in the southern part of Amenia.No paving on Tower Hill is included in the grant application, nor is any paving planned for that road for the foreseeable future, explained several Town Board members during the meeting.A flurry of emails was sent among town residents and to the Town Board members from Tuesday, Oct. 4, to Thursday, Oct. 6, expressing strong opposition to the rumors of paving on Tower Hill Road.The board took care to debunk those rumors during the meeting.Originally, the town had planned to apply for the CDBG to pave Cascade Mountain Road, but Highway Superintendent Stan Whitehead said that on Monday, Oct. 3, the group putting together the application was informed that Cascade Mountain Road was not eligible for the grant because it is not a low- or moderate-income area.Whitehead said that the Town Board then rushed the completion of the application for the Tower Hill project.The deadline for the CDBG applications to be sent to the country was Friday, Oct. 7.According to the application, an 800-foot section of road will be reconstructed. That section of road “experiences severe erosion during heavy rain storms,” stated the application.“The drainage swale along the north side of Tower Hill Road drains a very large area. Sections of the swale have steep grades, and as a result, the water velocity during large storm events is significant,” explained the application. “The swale in the project area has several rock outcrops that protrude into the swale that cause the heavy water flow to be redirected toward the road rather than flowing parallel to the road. The heavy flow then erodes the road bank and travelway.…During these heavy storm events, the road needs to be closed.”Whitehead said that the section of road has washed out at least eight times during the 18 years he has been working at the Highway Department.He continued to say that the washouts have become more regular in recent years. The road washed out twice in 2005 and once in 2007.Every time the road washes out, the Highway Department needs to obtain permits from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) before repairs can be made.“We just want to make the road safe and passable at all times,” said Whitehead, who explained that it is very difficult for emergency vehicles to travel on the road, especially after bad storms.According to the application, the grant money will be used to raise the road approximately 18 inches, widen the road (where possible) to an average of 18 feet, remove rock outcrops that prevent the stream from running parallel to the road and line the stream bank with heavy stone fill to prevent further erosion to the new road section.“I could never do this with my budget,” said Whitehead in an interview. “It’s really an easy job … but very expensive.”Since many of the concerns voiced from the public about the Tower Hill project revolved around maintaining the rural character and charm of the road, Whitehead also addressed those issues. “The road’s not going to look much different than what it does now once the brush grows back,” he said.Whitehead said that he anticipates hearing back about whether or not he will receive grant money by early 2012, but will not know the final amount received until late spring.He said he hopes to complete the entire reconstruction project by the end of 2012.In a section of the grant application that cites census information provided by the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development, it is stated that the total population of the project area is 2,015, and that 1,028 low- to moderate-income people will be benefited.While discussing the need for the project, the application stated that when the road is washed out, it costs the town over $7,500 to complete repairs needed to re-open the road. It also explained that since so few roads intersect Tower Hill Road, it is difficult to create detour routes around the washed out section of road.