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State historic-preservation officer urges more funding as demand outpaces Building Communities and barn grants
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Summary
Laura Richmond told the Senate Institutions Committee that Vermont's Building Communities and Barn Preservation grants regularly receive more qualified applications than available funds, cited program history and economics of small grants (up to $20,000 with a 50/50 match), and said the agency recaptures unused funds to reallocate.
Laura Richmond, the State Historic Preservation Officer, briefed the Senate Institutions Committee on the Building Communities historic-preservation grants and the Barn Preservation program, asking the committee to consider higher funding levels to meet demand.
"The historic preservation grants are for municipalities and nonprofits," Richmond said, describing the Building Communities grants (started in 1986) and the Barn Preservation program (started in 1992). She reported cumulative figures the office tracks: roughly $7,000,000 awarded to 676 community buildings and over $5,000,000 awarded for barn-related projects. Richmond said the programs typically offer up to $20,000 per grant and require a 50/50 match from applicants.
Richmond said the office often serves as the "last funder" to get a project over the finish line, maintains five-year easements on funded buildings, and works with the Buildings and General Services (BGS) and Arts Council to coordinate funding so applicants are not double-funded. She and staff described a pattern of recurring applicants and noted that award caps and limited appropriations leave many worthy projects unfunded; she reported that in a recent round the office awarded 20 projects out of 29 applications and left roughly $157,000 not awarded.
Committee members probed whether funding increases lead to more applications; Richmond said some increases raised demand but the office could not absorb unlimited growth without additional staffing and review capacity. She also updated the committee on the Constitution House project, saying FEMA had provided some funding and that engineers are evaluating whether to elevate the building or implement floodproofing measures before the main block can be reopened room by room for planned events.
Why it matters: The grants preserve community buildings and agricultural infrastructure that state officials say support local economies and cultural heritage. Committee members acknowledged the program's community benefits and discussed whether the capital bill should include additional targeted funds.
What happens next: Richmond thanked the committee and offered to provide charts and application data; the committee indicated possible interest in revisiting funding levels during capital-bill negotiations.
