Montpelier, VT – The Associated General Contractors Of Vermont (AGC/VT) headquarters was ground zero for the July flooding that turned Montpelier and its surrounding neighborhoods into an extension of the North Branch and Winooski rivers.
“It looked like a war zone. Silt and sludge covered everything – it was plastered on our chairs, desks, conference table. It was caked on the floors and carpets. Saying it was a mess was an understatement,” said Richard Wobby, executive vice president of AGC/VT, who was first on the scene to assess the destruction. “We are in the best possible position to deal with an event of this magnitude. I estimate between our insurance policies and grants that we will apply for, we’ll have about three-fourths of our expenses covered, leaving us with about $150,000 worth of equipment and materials that we’ll need to pay for to get our facility up and running again.”
The association was forced to suspend all its training and education programming, until the room can be rebuilt. The association staff relocated their workstations to the attached warehouse and garage space, which suffered minimal damages, and Wobby secured contractors who could work through the weekend to rip out the walls, insulation, and carpets; begin mold remediation; and start the process of removing moisture so reconstruction could get started as soon as possible.
Wobby says the recovery effort has been possible with the help of AGC/VT staff and members, and friends of the association like Ken Goslant, state representative and owner of Goslant Granite Company.
“I can’t say enough about how hard our people worked,” said Wobby. “Marcia and I pulled 12-hour days in the beginning trying to clean and save as much as we could. I was blown away by how many people showed up unannounced on the weekend to help me, Marcia, and Debbie empty the offices and facility so the contractors could get started. I even fielded calls from our banking representatives from Northfield Savings Bank, who reached out on Wednesday asking what we needed. I’m forever grateful for all the people who gave up their nights and weekends to help us in those early days. We wouldn’t be where we are now if it wasn’t for them.”
It took the association about 12 days to clean out the offices and go through what equipment and materials could be kept (with a very deep clean) and what needed to go to the landfill.
For the most part, all of AGC/VT offerings have remained, except for the training classes and education programs. However, Wobby said he hopes to hit the on switch in September, which is much sooner than he had originally estimated. “Since contractors are in such high demand, I had initially thought the rebuild would have to happen in stages, likely finishing in the winter. However, that timeline got expediated when H.P. Cummings Construction had a window of availability while they waited for a project with the State of Vermont to begin.”
The office and training facility is slated to reopen to members and the public in September.
