Department of Public Safety requests $4 million for Clarendon field station; $150,000 sought for additional barracks planning

The Vermont Department of Public Safety told the Senate Committee on Institutions on March 25 that it is seeking $4,000,000 in the fiscal 2027 capital budget to build a Clarendon Field Station to replace the Rutland State Police barracks.

Commissioner Jennifer Morrison, Department of Public Safety, told the committee the Rutland barracks is “woefully past its shelf life” and that land purchased in 2013 in Clarendon has been set aside for the replacement. She said the $4,000,000 line item is intended for that Clarendon project and that an additional $150,000 is included to begin land acquisition, planning and design for another replacement barracks.

The request is part of the department’s longer program to modernize state police facilities. “We have about a 20 year plan to continue to refresh all of the state police barracks,” Morrison said. She told senators the department is down to the final three barracks to be replaced under that program; Clarendon (to serve Rutland) is the higher priority of the two projects discussed, and St. Johnsbury is expected to be the final replacement in the sequence.

Morrison said the department uses a prototype design developed over the last decade for most new field stations; plans are adjusted to fit site geometry and staffing needs but the facilities “are gonna look remarkably the same because they have...found the sweet spot for what works.” She also offered to arrange site tours for committee members, naming Westminster and Williston as field stations with larger footprints because they also host public safety answering points and partner agencies such as Fish and Wildlife.

Senators asked for additional detail about the schedule and priorities for the remaining projects. Morrison said the department intends to proceed on multiple fronts — moving ahead with Clarendon construction while beginning planning work for the other replacements — but provided no construction start date in the meeting.

Next steps: the committee will continue capital‑budget review in subsequent hearings; Morrison said staff will provide more information on project timing and can arrange tours of existing stations for senators.