VILLAGE RECEIVES FEMA FLOOD AID

    Step one, of the many required, to remove the flood damaged home on Roberts Road has been approved by FEMA, according to Afton Village Mayor Sally Muller.

    The Roberts Road property is one of two that were severely enough damaged in the September 2011 flood to be condemned and requires removal. The mayor said a section of the house was pulled away making the home unsafe. She said while the process is long and involved, she hopes the buyout by FEMA will be finished by the end of next year.

    An application has been made to FEMA for buyout within the village, but it has not yet been approved. The flood damaged over 100 homes in the village and town of Afton. The village and town are working together to mitigate future possible flooding. (Also see Afton Flood Mitigation Report in this issue.)

   In the coming spring and summer season, the village will continue to add sidewalks with the aid of the $90,000 federal grant, Safe Routes to School. The next section of the village to receive sidewalks in the 2013 season will be High Street, the mayor said. Sidewalks have been completed on Caswell Street and on East Main Street, which included a pedestrian crossing on Route 41, making it safer.

(This article from page 5, Winter 2013 issue, The Afton Vision)