HARDWICK – Out of ten total closed FEMA buyouts in the State of Vermont, five are from Hardwick, according to Hardwick Zoning and Floodplain Administrator Kristen Leahy.
Nine Hardwick property owners have money in hand for their damaged and destroyed houses as of today, she said.
“There are two types of flood buyouts,” Leahy explained. One is funded by the State of Vermont through the Flood Resilient Communities Fund (FRCF) using ARPA dollars. That program is for properties outside of the FEMA-mapped floodplain.”
In 2023, Leahy said she submitted Hardwick’s first five properties without knowing the distinction. Four, including the Inn by the River, were not in the mapped floodplain and were routed to the state program. A property owned by James and Jada Anair was in the mapped floodplain and went through the FEMA process instead. Vermont Emergency Management approved all five requests, she said.
Hardwick was the fourth town accepted into the state program, according to Leahy. “The fund ran out of money after the seventh town was accepted in 2023.
“We became the first town in Vermont to demolish buyout properties through the FRCF program in 2024, just before the second flood. After that, the state added more money to the fund, and we were able to add two more properties from East Hardwick in 2024.”
“Meanwhile, the Anair’s property was joined by five more FEMA-submitted properties in 2023, and eight more in 2024,” said Leahy. “Those are in various stages of the FEMA process. As of this week, we’ve closed on five FEMA-funded buyouts,” including one just last Thursday.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
