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Vermont Historical Society asks for emergency capital work after basement flooding at Barre site
Summary
The Vermont Historical Society told the committee that drainage failures around its Barre facility led to water infiltration that damaged collections and building systems; the society requested $700,000 in emergency funds and described larger follow‑on needs.
Steven Perkins, executive director of the Vermont Historical Society, told the Senate Committee on Institutions that the society’s main facility in Barre suffered significant water infiltration following recent floods and that the organization is requesting emergency capital repairs.
Perkins said the society relocated its collections and offices to the former Spaulding High School site in Barre after repeated flooding in Montpelier and that the building’s drainage system, installed in the late 1990s, failed during the 2023 floods. “The drainage system around the building … it wasn’t moving water away from the building,” he said.
Perkins said the society hired engineering and assessment teams, including Brattleboro‑based specialists, and now seeks an initial $700,000 for immediate, emergency work (drainage repairs, masonry and roof work). He said the full project would approach an additional $2 million but that federal partners were being pursued for larger scale work. “It’s fixable,” Perkins said. “The drainage system … has failed, much in the same way that Laura described with the drainage at the Morrill Homestead.”
Perkins described the society as a quasi‑state entity: it receives roughly half of its budget from the state, houses the state Department of Libraries collections and the Office of the State Archaeologist, and uses classified staff who function similarly to state employees. Jennifer Blair, the society’s director of finance and operations, joined Perkins for testimony.
Committee members said they would review the documentation the society provided and consider a site visit. Perkins said the society is prepared to meet with committee members and supply detailed spreadsheets and images of the damage for appropriation review.
Why it matters: The society holds archives, library and archaeological collections valued for public research and state heritage; basement flooding and drainage failures threaten collections and require capital repairs to protect irreplaceable material.
Perkins asked the committee for expedited consideration of the emergency request and offered to provide detailed cost breakdowns and to host a site tour for committee members.
