Preservation Trust of Vermont 
In This Issue
Lunch a Month!
2008 Highlights
Historic Bandstand: Free to Any Town
PTV Resources
Support PTV
Help us to help communities throughout Vermont by making a donation today through our on-line giving program. 
 
Join Our Mailing List
Greetings!
 
A big thank you to all of you who participated in our annual Silent Auction.  The auction was once again a success, raising nearly $20,000 for the Trust.
 
All winning bidders have been notified this week either in writing or over the phone.
 
If you participated in the auction but did not place a winning bid, it's not too late!  Please read below for an additional spectacular late addition to the auction as well as other ways in which you can help PTV.
 
My best wishes for happy and healthy holidays to all!
 
Sincerely,
 
Paul Bruhn
 
Late Addition to the Silent Auction: A Week in Vieques, Puerto Rico!
Vieques, PR

One week in Vieques, Puerto Rico.  This two-bedroom furnished home on two acres sits atop a hill on the island of Vieques. 
 
Transportation on your own from the main island of Puerto Rico is either by small plane or ferry.  Rental car is a necessity.  Includes cleaning fee and escort from airport.  
 
PTV PR DonationSome date restrictions -- arrangements to be made with donor in January 2009.  Must be used by December 2009. 
 
Value = $2,000. 
 
 Minimum bid = $1,000
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To place a bid on this item, please email [email protected] by December 31st.  Highest bid wins, and in the event of a tie, the bid that is received earlier is the winning bid.
If you would still like to help us, how about giving us a "lunch" a month?
 
There are other ways to support the Preservation Trust!  One way is to make a secure on-line donation.  For about the cost of a lunch once a month, you can be one of a growing number of individuals choosing to become a $10/month donor at the Preservation Trust.  Our goal is to gain 200 new monthly donors at this level in the upcoming year.
 
Click here to make a monthly contribution that will enable us to continue to do our work to help keep Vermont Vermont.
 
Thank you!
 
2008 Highlights  
 
The Preservation Trust of Vermont was founded in 1980 to initiate and assist community and statewide efforts to preserve and use  Vermont's rich collection of historic, architectural, and cultural resources.  A primary focus is on downtown and village center vitality.

The Preservation Trust works primarily by building local capacity through technical assistance, encouragement, and grant support.  On a statewide level, the Trust and partners lobby for legislation that protects and strengthens downtowns, village centers, and the Vermont character.

Claires Building HardwickCommunity Supported Enterprises 
This year we began a new initiative to support our downtown and village center work.  In many small downtowns and village centers, residents have realized that there are a handful of essential businesses that are necessary for a vital community center. 
 
Though it may be different from community to community; village stores, restaurants and cafes, and bookstores are the kind of enterprises essential for successful places. There are a lot of antecedents to this effort: community supported agriculture is one general example, and so are other specific projects we've worked on in the past, including the Grand Isle Lake House and the Latchis Theater and Hotel in Brattleboro.
 
In Hardwick this year, we helped Claire's Restaurant get organized, and we are supporting their first year of operation.
 
In Putney, local supporters and we helped a young entrepreneur start up a new bookstore to replace a store that closed earlier in the year.
 
Elsewhere, we're helping others who are working on village stores, community cafes and bakeries, and an art movie house that is a key part of its community's vitality.

For more information, visit the Community Supported Enterprises section of our website.   
Here are a few more highlights of this year's activities:
  • Ferrisburgh GrangeProvided field service support to 245 historic preservation projects in 139 different communities.  Two examples are the Ferrisburgh Grange and the North Hero Community Hall which were "rescued" by their respective communities with technical assistance and financial help from the Preservation Trust.  The Field Service Program is a partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
  • Partnered with the Freeman Foundation to provide Preservation Grants totaling $590,000 to 19 projects around the state.
  • Awarded 56 seed grants to assist a wide variety of local initiatives through our Robert Sincerbeaux Fund.  The Fund is named for our first benefactor who provided support to us through his two foundations.  
  • Warren DamProvided grants to the Warren Town Hall and the Warren Village Dam Preservation Trust through a generous gift from the Adelard A. and Valeda Lea Roy Foundation.
  • Supported funding for the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board in Montpelier.  In addition, we worked in partnership with Smart Growth Vermont for the tax credits that support the rehabilitation of historic buildings in our downtowns and village centers. This year we were successful encouraging the Legislature to include increased Designated Downtown and Village Center tax credits in the economic stimulus package- a real validation of the importance of historic preservation in the economic development process.  Preservation Retreat, Grand Isle Lake House, Grand Isle, VT
  • Hosted retreats and mentoring programs at The Grand Isle Lake House for 75 local organizations that are involved in a variety of historic preservation and community revitalization efforts.  The Lake House began operation in 1998, after it was donated to us by Bob and Cindy Hoehl.  Now it is a special events facility with particular emphasis on using it during the week as a site for nonprofit retreats, training, and mentoring. All told, over 90 community groups and nonprofits held retreats and training sessions at the Lake House.  In addition, with support from the 1772 Foundation, we began the next phase of rehabilitation work on the Lake House.
  • Assisted in the completion the $1.6 million capital campaign for the rehabilitation of the Single Chair Ski Lift in partnership with Mad River Glen Cooperative.  The life is a tangible piece of the early ski industry in Vermont and the nation and is the last remaining single chair in its original location.  

 

Our Current Challenges

Shard Villa, SalisburyEnergy use in historic buildings is a big challenge for many, including Shard Villa in Salisbury.  Reconciling annual costs with the inherent long-term sustainability of historic buildings is one of our tasks.  In 2008 Eric Gilbertson and Ann Cousins joined staff members from the Division for Historic Preservation, Efficiency Vermont, and Jeremiah Parker Restoration to learn about weatherization options and adopt agreed-upon treatments for historic buildings.  An open letter outlining those treatments can be found on our web site www.ptvermont.org.
If you travel in parts around the nation, you will see dead and dying downtowns in state after state. Vermont is lucky to have its downtowns still largely successful, but they all are very fragile and some have numerous vacancies.  
 
WalMart BenningtonOur work on sprawl and out-of-town big box development continues.  This year Home Depot pulled their permit application in central Vermont in the face of a weakening economy and strong opposition from a very committed group of local citizens and the Preservation Trust.  Wal-Mart continues to have pending applications in Bennington and St. Albans, and we continue to work with local citizens and the Vermont Natural Resources Council to encourage better in-town solutions.  There are also threats of other big boxes in St. Albans and Derby.  In Middlebury, we are supporting a citizens group that is opposing a proposed Staples south of town.
 
Complete List of Grants Awarded
This year we awarded 19 Preservation Grants in partnership with the Freeman Foundation, 57 Robert Sincerbeaux Fund Grants and 6 Barn Assessment grants.  Click here to see the specific projects that were awarded funds...
 
 
Where We Worked
We've been at work in every county and nearly every town in Vermont!  Click here to see the keyed 2008 Map of Where We Worked
 
 
Historic Bandstand: Free to Any Town! 
Norwich Bandstand 
Built in 1915, this octagonal bandstand is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure to the Norwich Village Historic District.  The Town of Norwich plans to replace it with a larger bandstand and has offered the historic bandstand to any Town that is willing to move it before mid-January, when it is slated for demolition.  Some funding is available to help with the move and needed repairs.  For more information, please contact Ann Cousins 434-5014 or [email protected].  
  
Our regular newsletters will resume beginning in January 2009.  If you have any news, stories, articles or ideas that you would like to see included, please contact [email protected].  We welcome your thoughts!