Citizen Portal
Sign In

State historic-sites staff tell committee monitoring lapse, elevator trouble slowed Bennington Battle Monument work

House Corrections and Institutions Committee · February 10, 2026

Loading...

AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Vermont State Historic Sites staff told the House Corrections & Institutions Committee that monitoring-data access for the Bennington Battle Monument lapsed for a short period due to contract and procurement delays, that new equipment and a contract are in place, and that elevator and moisture issues have driven maintenance costs and further study.

Jamie Duggan, director of preservation at Vermont State Historic Sites, briefed the House Corrections & Institutions Committee on Feb. 10 about ongoing conservation work at the Bennington Battle Monument, including a short lapse in monitoring data, elevator repairs and planned seismic and design work.

Duggan said the original monitoring contract led by Stevens and Associates ended, and Atkinson Nolan Associates has been the technical vendor supplying monitoring equipment. Because contracting was delayed under the state's procurement system (referred to as VT Buys), Duggan said some data collected through the summer and fall of 2025 remained hosted with a third party and had not yet been turned over to state staff; the state may need to pay a vendor fee to retrieve hosted data. "We have the data up until... I believe it was through November," Duggan said, adding the machines can store about a year's worth of readings.

Officials have ordered upgraded monitoring equipment and expect installation in a few weeks; Duggan said the new sensors will have improved precision and allow long‑term trend analysis. A seismic study by T.Y. Lin (formerly Sillman Associates) is underway with an anticipated report in about a month, and planned vertical‑access inspections by industrial ropes teams will resume in spring to photograph and remove loose material.

Duggan also described elevator problems that limited public access last season and required about $54,000 in troubleshooting and parts. The department contracted an elevator specialist for a full audit once procurement issues are resolved. Duggan said money from a previously appropriated planning/design allocation and a congressionally directed appropriation from the National Park Service (about $500,000) will support monitoring, seismic study, archaeological work and design toward a system that dries the monument for repairs.

Committee members pushed for clearer, month‑by‑month moisture and monitoring data from 2022–2025 to assess condition and help prioritize repair options. Duggan and staff said existing reports (a sizable, multi‑chapter investigation produced last year) are available and that the new funding and upcoming RFP will produce the next design stage. The committee asked the agency to detail prior appropriations and expenditures on the monument and to return with a timeline for the next steps.