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Kurn Hattin Demolishes Vermont History!

'Historic resource that should not have been destroyed'

WESTMINSTER - A building that's at the center or an appeal to the state Environmental Board is being torn down. The debate over whether it is a historic may now be moot.

Demolition crews began work Wednesday to take down the old manual arts building at New England Kurn Hattin Homes, said the school’s executive director, Christopher Barry. The Environmental Board was scheduled to take up the question of whether the building was a historic resource later this month. Kurn Hattin was granted an Act 250 permit last July by the District II Environmental Commission, authorizing removal of the three story brick building, which was built in 1935 by students and staff. However, the district commission's decision was appealed to the state board by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, which argued that the structure was a historic resource that shouldn't be destroyed.

The appeal was scheduled to be heard at a pre-hearing conference on February 27. John Ewing, chairman or the Environmental Board, said Thursday that his board had not received formal notification of the demolition by either the school or the historic division. Once that notification is given, the board will met to determine what impact the demolition might have on the appeal, he said. Although the district commission's had been appealed, Ewing said the division had not requested that the permit be stayed while the appeal was being heard. Thus, Kurn Hattin did, in fact, have a valid permit for the demolition, he said, an opinion that was shared by Kurn Hattin's attorney, George Nostrand.

Nostrand said he advised Kurn Hattin to proceed with its plans to demolish the structure because the original permit was valid. "They've had the permit for six or nine months, they want the project to go forward," Nostrand said. "They don't want to held up for another year while the agencies dispute the findings. " Nostrand said the historic preservation division contended that it, and not the district commission, had authority to determine what constituted a historic resource. The district commission had concluded that the manual arts building was not a historic resource; the division maintained that the building, which was placed on the National Register Of Historic Places last year, was a historic resource. Ewing said his board was being asked to decide whether the division made final determination, or whether the district commission could carry out its own evaluation.

"There is an intriguing interagency dispute here that really doesn’t involve the applicant," Nostrand said. From the standpoint of Kurn Hattin they have no interest in the matter that is on appeal. Nostrand added that he had been told by representatives of the Division for Historic Preservation that the division did not intend to block the proposed demolition, but simply wanted its own authority clarified. Barry said Kurn Hattin, a residential school for children of families in crisis, wanted to demolish the building because it was obsolete and because the site was needed for new construction. "It was basically a shell of a building which we had no further use for," Barry said. "The demolition had been scheduled all along, and we held off. We had delayed and delayed and delayed, and for us it was a real liability."

Barry said officials were concerned that children or others would get into the vacant building and hurt themselves. Barry the property itself was identified as the most likely spot for construction of a new cottage for students because it was level, close to existing utilities, and had adequate play space. The school is operating at capacity now, he said. Barry said the demolition, being done by Hodgkins and Sons Inc., would be completed within the week. The site Will then be leveled and seeded. Construction of a new cottage is not likely in the coming year, Barry said, since the school is still assessing its need for new space. - Brattleboro Reformer

Historic or Not: What the Kurn Hattin Case is Really About - “What is really at stake here is whether decisions about Vermont's natural and historic resources are subject to the rule of law. If a district environmental commission rules that a resource is not historic when it has legally been declared so, that ruling should be overthrown. If Kurn Hattin can proceed as it has without any consequences, then anyone in Vermont can destroy a resource protected by Act 250 and then claim the matter moot, and that should not be permitted.” - Richard Ewald, Westminster

Contrary to Barry's claim, Kurn Hattin never built a new residence for children in its care during the more than thirty years since the printshop was torn down in 1995.

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The Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation announced today that New England Kurn Hattin Homes, the owner and operator of a public water system in Westminster, was fined $6,750 for violations of the Vermont Water Supply Rule and has been directed to bring the water system into compliance.

Owning a public drinking water system comes with the responsibility to maintain drinking water standards and protect public health,” says Jason Batchelder, DEC Commissioner. “It is important for these systems to be established and operated in accordance with the VWSR to minimize the risk of potential impacts to public drinking water.

New England Kurn Hattin Homes operates a year-round residential home and school serving children. Its public drinking water system, which is subject to permits from the DEC’s Drinking Water and Groundwater Protection Division, serves approximately 200 residential users. During a routine sanitary survey in 2022, the Agency found that the water system’s Operation and Maintenance Manual was not up to date and that the company had not completed in-plant testing of the water system’s filter vessels, as was required by its permits from 2020.

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