State preservation officials outline phased plan to dry out Bennington Monument; $525,000 RFP in capital bill

State historic preservation officials told the House Corrections and Institutions Committee on April 17 that the immediate next step for the deteriorating Bennington Monument is an RFP funded in the capital bill to design a system to dry and monitor the structure.

"That is really the next step that has to occur," said Laura Trishman, State Historic Preservation Officer, referring to $525,000 included in the capital bill to allow the State Historic Preservation Office to solicit designs and technical approaches. Trishman said the goal of the RFP is to identify how to "dry out the monument" and to define a scoped design that will inform later budgeting and repairs.

The RFP will target a temporary building-enclosure and mechanical drying strategy — including scaffolding to support a scrim or waterproof top, dehumidifiers, and fans to move air — so conservators can dry masonry, test repairs and monitor changes over time. Jamie Duggan, Director of Preservation for State Historic Sites, said the enclosure would provide a framework for temporary mechanical systems and instruments already purchased, such as humidity monitors, crack sensors and tilt meters.

"It's really important for us to get the monument dry so we can start mocking up and considering some of the repairs that would need to happen," Duggan said. He described a likely sequence: scaffolding and scrim to protect the monument during…