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Community Spotlight: Flood Recovery in Barre and Montpelier, Vermont
Left: Kathy La Plante, Anne Ball, Abby Furrey, Traci Lewis, and Gary Holloway. Photo by Tripp Muldrow. Right: Contractors work on repairing a downtown business in Montpelier. Photo by Kathy La Plante.
Last week, I traveled to Montpelier and Barre, Vermont, with Anne Ball (Program Director at Maine Downtown Center), Abby Furrey (Coordinator at Boston Main Streets), Traci Lewis (Executive Director at Barre Downtown Partnership) and Gary Holloway (Downtown Program Manager at Vermont Downtown Program) to learn about the impacts of the flooding that occurred in these Main Street communities as a result of prolonged heavy rainfall in mid-July. Here are some stories from business owners and residents.
Dente’s Market remains closed after the flooding. The owner barely escaped with his life, as he couldn’t get either of his doors open due to the rushing water. The flood water came up so quickly and high; he couldn’t imagine the water’s strength. His upstairs tenants helped him to push his back door open part way. Inside the market, several hundred-pound coolers were floating. His family has been in the location since 1907.
We visited with one of the owners of Bear Pond Books, which just recently reopened. They were warned about flooding at 11 am and by 5 pm the streets were filling with water. They lost 3,000 books and all of the store's computers – including all of their data. Everything – inventory, customer database, etc. – gone.
Some businesses do not know if they will reopen. They know it will flood again. Flood insurance is so costly. Anne noted that Maine communities have buildings that no one will buy because of past flooding and the cost of insurance. In Montpelier, people were talking about moving HVAC systems out of their basements and not using them for storage anymore – but now they worry: where will they store everything? One restaurant has their prep kitchen in the basement – they can’t anymore.
Many businesses had small signs in their window sharing the ways that people can support them through this time. Even if they aren't fully open yet, people can still shop online or buy gift cards for future use. The communities have really come together to support local business owners where possible.
From left to right: Speaking with the owner of Dente's Market; Restoration work in progress at a business in downtown Montpelier; A Montpelier business uses a sign to communicate their current operations. Photos by Kathy La Plante.
In this video, learn more about the Williams’ family story, how the business is helping to revive downtown Helena, and the impact they’re having on a national level.
In honor of National Disaster Preparedness Month, we are providing some practical steps that Main Streets can take to prepare for the next, inevitable disaster.
Main Street America is leading a coalition urging that the EPA make available the GGRF funds for adaptive reuse and location-efficient projects because of the substantial greenhouse gas emissions reduction offered by such developments.
On May 9, the National Trust for Historic Preservation released its list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2023 which included a cultural district located within a designated Main Street America community.
From 19th-century mill girls to Maine's mill redevelopments and the regional manufacturers of tomorrow, learn about the amazing history and promise of the New England mill.
This article was published on January 10, 2023, by Next City, a nonprofit news organization focused on socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable urban practices.
Learn how Rethos, the Coordinating partner for Minnesota Main Streets, has partnered with Reuse Minnesota and the Minnesota GreenCorps Program to encourage community-led preservation.
Main Street organizations and other public-private partnerships can provide the focal point needed to fulfill the large number of roles required to reuse or redevelop a house of worship in a way that benefits the community.
How do those amazing Main Street rehabilitation projects happen? And what policies and public support make them happen? In the Behind the Ribbon Cutting series, we look at a project or businesses from concept to opening day to break down the partnerships and funding brought to bear and recognize how we can advocate for policies and resources for revitalization across the country.
Main Street America welcomed the National Association For Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) to our Twitter channel to share stories of resiliency in Latino communities.
We sat down with Lindsey Wallace, Director of Strategic Projects and Design Services and manager of the the National Park Service Main Street Community Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Program, to learn more about her perspective on disaster preparedness on Main Street.
To support Georgia Main Streets throughout the recovery process and position them for long-term sustainability, Main Street America launched the Georgia Main Street Innovation Grant Program, made possible through generous support from The Williams Family Foundation of Georgia.
The Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) Main Street Task Force is working to increase education, compile examples and data, and provide recommended changes at the national level where necessary.
In 2016, the North Carolina Main Street & Rural Planning Center partnered with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Department of Interior Architecture (UNCG) to provide design assistance to Main Street communities.
In 2015, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) partnered with the University of Wisconsin–Madison to engage Wisconsin Main Street organizations and farmers markets in the Metrics and Indicators for Impact – Farmers Markets (MIFI-FM) toolkit.
With 413 National Park areas¹ and over 1,000 Main Street America programs, it’s no surprise that many of the communities following the Four Point Approach serve as gateways to our national parks.
We measure the effectiveness of our last marketing campaign, weigh whether the investment in new street lights outweigh the political capital spent, and debate if the thousands of volunteer hours are worth the impacts created by a one-day event.
Main Street Iowa, a program of the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center, created a one-of-a-kind three-year program to provide help for performance venues located in Main Street districts.