Community Corner

East Hampton Residents Approve Financing for Pine Brook Road

Town assured state will reimburse $400,000.

East Hampton residents at a town meeting on Monday night at the high school unanimously authorized the town to go ahead with up to $400,000 for costs associated with repairs to be made to Pine Brook Road.

The source of the problem has been a culvert under the unimproved road that has been unable to handle Pine Brook’s rise and flow during times of heavy rain and snow melt.

On March 7, the rushing water was more than the culvert could take and the overflow took out a 30-foot chunk of the road, making it impassable for two families with no other way out.

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It wasn’t the first incident where Pine Brook wreaked havoc for residents, but perhaps it will be the last.

The plan is to replace the existing culvert with two 30-foot long, 9-foot x 12-foot pipe arches of corrugated metal, sized to pass the 100-year flow and raising the roadway elevation above the 100-year flood elevation to eliminate the roadway flooding culverts.

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The $400,000 appropriated for the project will be reduced by the amount received through grants from the state. The town anticipates receiving grants to defray all or a portion of the costs for the project.

Town council chairwoman Melissa Engel went a step further during discussion.

“We have been assured by the folks at the state that the $400,000 is going to be reimbursed to us through grant money,” Engel said.

Said moderator Red McKinney: “It’s as good as here."

McKinney added that the project "would not start until our financing is absolutely in place.”

The meeting also set the date for the next budget referendum. The budget failed to pass the May 3 referendum by a vote of 585-581. The next referendum will be held May 31 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the high school.


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