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Jeff Potter
Governor Jim Douglas chats with Putney Historical Society President Stuart Strothman.
PUTNEY—With Governor Jim Douglas having appeared in front of the Putney General Store March 20 to present a symbolic check to the Putney Historical Society, the $200,000 expected for the project from the state has all but assured the society's successful completion of renovations and continued ownership of the former general store in the heart of the village.
“Like so many similar stores around Vermont, the Putney General Store has been a community gathering place in addition to a place of business,” Douglas said. “These funds will help the Putney community as it works to restore this important structure."
The grant was announced with a second Vermont Community Development Program grant of $480,000 will provide a deferred loan to a housing limited partnership set up by Housing Vermont and the Brattleboro Housing Authority for the Ann Richards Redevelopment project.
The Vermont Community Development Program is a division of the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
Members of the historical society milled about in the minutes leading up to the governor's arrival as employees of the general contractor, Ingram Construction Corporation of West Swanzey, N.H., swept the building's now-enclosed shell.
For some, it was their first time in the building, until now closed to all but the work crew. "I never thought I'd be walking up these stairs again," said Maryann Toffolon, a member of the historical society's board of directors as she made her way to the second floor.
There the open windows to the balcony overlooked the location where the governor would soon speak, and a new roof and rafters now contrast with the blackened beams that remain from the original structure.
The award includes $200,382 from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, whose funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is administered through the states. The historical society will match $24,024 of the grant.
An entourage from Putney testified in February to the Community Development Board, a nine-member group of citizens appointed by the governor. One basis of the grant was the loss of 13 jobs from the store's closing and the economic effects of the store's disappearance on the remaining entrepreneurs.
Among those visiting Montpelier to advocate for the grant included Lyssa Papazian, an independent historic preservation consultant who to date has volunteered to manage the project; Windham Regional Commission Senior Planner Susan McMahon, who will ensure federal compliance as the grant is administered; Cor Trowbridge; Paul Bruhn and Ann Cousins of the Preservation Trust of Vermont, which provided funding that enabled the quick purchase of the building last fall; State Rep. Mike Mrowicki; Randy Ziter, proprietor of the Putney Inn and a lead on the fundraising committee; and Penelope Wurr, a glass artist whose studio abuts the former store.
The funds will subsidize the time-critical repairs to the building. PHS received bridge financing to hire Ingram to begin work last fall.
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