Selectmen May Become Flood Control Board

Last year, the Board of Selectmen asked the Representative Town Meeting to create a Flood Control and Erosion Board, but the RTM has little interest in creating another town commission.

Instead, the RTM is considering whether or not to give responsibility for flood control and erosion projects to the Board of Selectmen. The RTM may also recommend that the selectmen's board set up an advisory flood control and erosion commission to keep its eye on flood problems and suggest measures to the selectmen.

"We think that we can pass a resolution removing the flood and erosion control board responsibilitiy from the Environmental Protection Commission and add it to the long list of responsibilities the Board of Selectmen is responsible for," RTM Moderator Karen Armour said Tuesday evening at a meeting of the RTM Rules Committee in .

The idea of removing flood and erosion control responsibilities from the Environmental Protection Commission has been a proposal before the RTM for about a year, said Armour, who represents District 6. "We have reflected upon this and discussed this so much, I think it has crystalized" in RTM members' minds, she said.

Darien Town Counsel Wayne Fox said there was a concern among some town officials, including at least one member of the Environmental Protection Commission, that there was a potential conflict of interest if the commission were to review a flood control project for environmental reasons when the same board members had already voted to support the project for flood control reasons.

Joanne K. Hennessey, another committee member from District 5, said members of the Environmental Protection Commission itself were concerned that if, for instance, they approved a sewer project that was best for drainage, they should have to reconsider the same matter from the point of view of how that might hurt the environment. "They didn't think the decision should rest with the same persons," she said.

Seth Morton, a member of the Rules Committee from District 3, pointed out that under state law some of the powers of a flood and erosion control commission include authorizing its own bonds and taking property through eminent domain. The Board of Selectmen already has those powers, he said.

Peter Kelly, a member of the committee from District 1, said he was concerned that the Board of Selectmen might not take flooding issues seriously, and therefore ignore them. A separate town board for flood control problems would make it much more likely that attention would continue to be focused on flood control problems, he said.

Armour replied that the RTM would suggest to the selectmen that they appoint an advisory commission on the subject. In the past, she said, that "has worked very well."

Fox said he doubted the RTM could force the Board of Selectmen to appoint an advisory commission, since that power appears to rest solely with the selectmen under the Town Charter.

With Kelly dissenting, the Rules Committee voted 9-1 to ask the Town Government Structure and Administration Committee to examine the matter and report back to the RTM on it.

Correction: A comment originally attributed to RTM Member Gary Swenson was actually made by RTM member Patrick Kelly.