Dear Community Members,
We are writing to update you on the driveway renovation project for the Browns River Middle School and Underhill ID Elementary School campus. Plans to improve the safety and efficiency of the driveway and parking areas for our campus have been underway for years. We formed a committee this fall which included school and community members to work with an engineering firm to finalize our safety and renovation plans. This committee devised a successful plan that is ready for construction. One final part of this process is for the campus to receive a stormwater permit. This permit is contingent on the Environmental Protection Agency issuing new regulations for the Total Daily Maximum Loads of phosphorus for the Lake Champlain Basin. We had every expectation that these stormwater regulations would be issued in March. Unfortunately, the EPA still has not issued these regulations. Without these regulations, we cannot get a stormwater permit and without a stormwater permit we cannot get an Act 250 permit. This project must be done in the summer when school is not in session. Without the necessary permits, we can no longer meet our construction start date. Therefore, we must postpone the project until next summer.
The administration is recommending the funds raised for this project be held in reserve and necessary pothole repairs be made so our current driveway will serve us until renovations can be completed. In addition, the campus administrative team will be considering interim steps to elevate safety.
We appreciate your patience as BRMS/UID continues to move forward with this process. Please direct any questions that you might have to your school principal.
Sincerely,
David Wells
Principal of Underhill ID Elementary School
Kevin Hamilton
Principal of Browns River Middle School