Governor, lawmakers: State workers will return to Waterbury, state hospital to be 25 beds
by Anne Galloway | March 15, 2012 vtdigger.org State workers will move back to Waterbury and the replacement facility for the Vermont State Hospital will be 25 beds.Governor Peter Shumlin announced the double-whammy decisions today at a hastily called press conference with a phalanx of Democratic leaders and members of key committees standing behind him. In remarks, Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, lauded the plan.Governor Peter Shumlin. VTD/Josh LarkinShumlin said lawmakers and his administration have agreed to replace the state office complex that was damaged by Tropical Storm Irene with ‘Plan B,’ the option presented by the architectural firm Freeman French Freeman last Friday that calls for restoration of the historic buildings on the Waterbury campus and construction of a new ‘state of the art’ facility.The Waterbury compound offices had been home base for about 1,500 workers from a handful of agencies. The new state offices would accommodate 900 employees, all from the Agency of Human Services. About 100 Department of Health employees would remain at offices in the Burlington area and 300 workers with the Agency of Natural Resources would be moved to the National Life office complex in Montpelier. About 200 AHS and Department of Public Safety employees have already returned to buildings in Waterbury.The original pricetag for Plan B was roughly $135 million. Shumlin said he would be asking architects to go back to the drawing board and design a smaller ‘state of the art’ facility that could be constructed at a much less cost. He declined to name a target figure for the project, except to say it would be greatly reduced.The state’s insurance company has offered $15 million to $20 million for replacement and renovation costs. FEMA reimbursements would be similar. That could leave the state with $40 million to $50 million in out-of-pocket costs, depending on construction estimates.Shumlin told reporters: ‘I want it to be as cheap as possible.’‘We’re going to push as hard as we can with Freeman French Freeman to lower the costs that came forward,’ he said.The House is working on a capital bill that is supposed to be voted out of committee in the next week. Shumlin said the administration will work as aggressively as possible to nail down costs this legislative session.‘I do want to suggest it’s quite possible we won’t have all numbers we need before the Legislature adjourns,’ Shumlin said. He said legislative leaders need to find a way to work together to approve figures after adjournment.The governor wants renovations to start immediately and he hopes to start construction in the fall. He said the construction will be phased, starting with renovations, and moving forward with razing damaged buildings.The governor had pushed for a 16-bed psychiatric facility to replace the Vermont State Hospital, which was located on the Waterbury state office complex campus and was also ruined by floodwaters. He maintained that the federal government would only provide operating funds for a 16-bed facility.Lawmakers have been wrestling on the right size for the hospital, which under federal law is an institute for mental disease. The administration has said the state would not be eligible under Centers for Medicare and Medicaid rules for operating funds for a facility larger than 16 beds. The House voted for a 25-bed facility; the Senate and the administration wanted 16 beds.At the press conference, Shumlin announced he had negotiated an agreement with Kathleen Sibelius, the secretary of the federal Department of Human Services, at 4 p.m. on Wednesday that will allow the state to continue to receive federal reimbursements through 2013.‘We have an agreement from CMS that we will be unaffected by any reimbursement issues, should we build a 25-bed facility until that global commitment waiver expires 2013,’ Shumlin said.After that, he said CMS will allow the state to pull its license for 25 beds if the federal agency decides against a waiver for a 16-bed facility.The administration is looking at sites in Berlin near the Central Vermont Medical Center. FEMA would pay for 90 percent of the cost of the replacement facility for the Vermont State Hospital. March 15, 2012 vtdigger.org