MONTPELIER — At the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, one of the many downtown Montpelier buildings covered by floodwaters, recovery will take “months, rather than weeks,” according to a press release posted to the library’s website Friday.
Severe flooding earlier this week swamped the capital and wreaked havoc on homes and businesses. Cleaning efforts continued on Friday as the city closed down large swaths of the city’s downtown for the afternoon.
Around 5,000 donated books that were being stored in the library’s basement were ruined, along with damage to the building’s main controls, including elevator, electrical and sprinkler systems, Dan Groberg, the library’s executive director, said in an interview.
As repairs and reconstruction begin, he said, the library plans to reopen as early as next week the curb-side pickup service it started during the pandemic.
Cleanup efforts were briefly complicated after oil was discovered in the water that was being pumped out of the library’s basement on Wednesday, Groberg said. The oil spilled from tanks that were being stored in the basement. His team received authorization from the state Agency of Natural Resources to keep pumping to “stabilize the building and the collections,” he said.
A Department of Environmental Conservation spill team responded to the hazardous spill on Friday morning.
Stephanie Brackin, a spokesperson for the Agency of Natural Resources, said that these spills were a common occurrence in homes and businesses where oil tanks are stored in basements. She pointed to a press release the agency released providing guidelines on how to safely pump out a flooded basement. If oil or petroleum is present in the floodwater, residents are asked to report it to the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Groberg, who is three weeks into his position at the library, said, “it’s been an interesting start.”
