Millis board approves engineering contract to challenge FEMA flood‑map changes

The Millis Select Board on June 15 voted unanimously to approve a phase‑two engineering services contract to pursue a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) to FEMA after recent flood-insurance maps placed a large share of the town’s industrial parcels in a flood zone.

Economic development and planning director Bob Weiss told the board the town has appropriated funds and contracted Weston & Samson Engineering to prepare hydrologic and geologic materials that FEMA did not use in its update. "The letter of map revision will take about 50 Main Street parcels out of the flood zone," Weiss said, explaining the town will use local data to ask FEMA to revise its model-based maps.

Weiss said FEMA’s recent update — using modeling rather than on-site fieldwork in many places — resulted in substantially expanded flood zones that would raise insurance costs and building requirements. “They were working off maps from the mid‑1980s,” Weiss said. He described the town’s phased approach: phase one reviewed FEMA’s materials and found missing information; phase two will produce the letter of map revision; phase three will submit materials to FEMA next year.

Resident Joyce Bardi asked why FEMA used older maps and whether the agency evaluated local changes; staff responded that FEMA applies a model and periodic updates, and that the town’s submission will incorporate local hydraulic data and recent observations. "This will update all of that stuff and, hopefully, leave us alone for 20 or 30 years," a board member said.

The board’s motion to approve and sign the phase‑two engineering contract with Weston & Samson passed by voice vote with no recorded dissents. The town administrator said the study will take roughly six months to complete before the town forwards materials to FEMA.

The board did not set a public hearing date for the LOMR; next steps are the engineering study, the town’s submission to FEMA, and subsequent review by FEMA. The board’s action authorizes staff to proceed under the contract terms as presented at the meeting.