Committee agrees to reallocate $419,000 toward Bennington Battle Monument planning and fence maintenance

A committee agreed on Wednesday to reallocate $419,000 remaining from a prior fiscal‑year appropriation for safety fencing at the Bennington Battle Monument to the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) for restoration planning, design and maintenance of the safety fencing.

The decision followed testimony from Laura Tushman, the Vermont State Historic Preservation Officer, who told the committee that roughly $81,005.79 of an original $500,000 appropriation had been spent to install the fence and that high winds shortly afterward damaged the fence’s entrance and roofing. “There is 419,000 remaining in the safety fence money,” Tushman said, adding that a contractor was scheduled to repair the damage and that the insurer was involved.

Why it matters: the reallocation is intended to fund phase 1A design work to prepare schematic designs, coordinate architectural and engineering work, and produce cost estimates and bidding documents that the preservation team says are necessary before any large‑scale construction or enclosure erection. Tushman told the committee that the phase‑1A work is estimated at about $500,000 and that the erection of an enclosure system is not included in that amount and is separately estimated in the millions.

What the committee heard and…