Flood Update

Thanks to everyone who has reached out after the flooding last week. We’re grateful all of our staff and board are safe and sound. But the same cannot be said for our office, much of downtown Montpelier and many other parts of the state.

Like so many other businesses on Main Street in Montpelier, our basement office was completely submerged and nothing in it was salvageable. We were able to get into it late last week alongside our officemates at Voices for Vermont’s Children. And an amazing group of volunteers showed up and helped us, working tirelessly in the rain and the mud to clear everything out.

Fortunately, we have been working remotely much of the time since the pandemic began, and in this era of electronic record-keeping most of our important documents and information are recoverable.

However, we do rely on old-fashioned snail mail and our main phone line to stay in touch with some of you. The post office has informed us that the mail that was in their building when the flood hit was lost, so if you’ve sent us mail or tried to be in touch via our main phone line and voicemail in the past few weeks, please check in with Steph directly at steph@publicassets.org.

It was heartbreaking to see all of the damage to Montpelier in person and know it’s a long road to rebuilding, not just in Montpelier but in so many communities across the state. We feel incredibly lucky that we can work remotely and that our staff and board are all safe. We know that’s not the case for so many Vermonters and beloved Vermont businesses in Montpelier and beyond.

Just as Vermonters did during Irene, it’s clear that many people are ready and willing to help with recovery. We know this is going to be a long process and it will be important to ensure that we respond to this crisis with actions and policies that make our state more equitable and sustainable for all. We are figuring out how Public Assets can best contribute to the recovery efforts and will be in touch soon with our next steps.

In the meantime, please reach out to Steph directly with any questions and take good care during this challenging time.