Vt. Health Department moves central offices to Waterbury complex starting Jan. 29

January 28, 2024 | By Lisa Scagliotti

Built after Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, the state office building at the Waterbury State Office Complex opened in 2015. File photo by Lisa Scagliotti

The Vermont Department of Health begins its move of some 380 employees from Burlington to the Waterbury State Office Complex starting on Monday. 

The move will be done in stages over the next two months, relocating the department’s Central Office Operations to the Agency of Human Services section to the Waterbury facility, according to the Health Department’s Jan. 17 announcement. 

The decision comes as the state is selling the Zampieri State Office Building that’s located at 108 Cherry St. in Burlington. That facility currently houses the Vermont Health Department and the Department for Children and Families’ Division of Economic Services local office. The state announcement notes that the Health Department’s headquarters has been located in Burlington for more than 75 years. 

“This move recognizes new realities of how we work,” said state Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D. “As a result of adjustments in how we operated during the pandemic, our nearly 380 Central Office employees have successfully adapted their work around remote, hybrid and in-person schedules. Relocation is a significant change, and it’s been inspiring to see everyone work with such resilience and positive energy as the move date comes closer.” 

Agency of Human Services Secretary Jenney Samuelson said the move represents the state’s commitment to a coordinated approach to addressing Vermont’s health and human services challenges. “Building a culture of health involves all of us,” Samuelson said. “By consolidating offices in Waterbury, our work on complex issues such as substance use that involve multiple departments will benefit from the greater collaboration that comes from operating under the same roof.”

A Waterbury welcome

Waterbury Municipal Manager Tom Leitz said he welcomes the news of the Health Department’s move. “This is a substantial number of employees, even if they will be mostly remote,” he said. “This certainly won’t do anything but help our downtown businesses.” 

To that end, staff at the local economic and community development organization Revitalizing Waterbury are putting information together about businesses and services in town to share with state employees. 

“It’s a spreadsheet that lists businesses like hair salons, restaurants, services. It lets people know what’s here,” explained Karen Nevin, Revitalizing Waterbury’s executive director.  “We’re excited to have new people coming to Waterbury and discovering all there is to do in Waterbury.”  

After Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, the flood-damaged Waterbury complex went through a transformation. The former State Mental Hospital was closed and most of the state workers there were transferred to other locations. Close to two dozen of the facility’s older buildings were demolished and the state invested $125 million in a new modern office building that opened in 2015. 

Despite the addition of the new facility, however, the staffing has yet to reach full capacity. The pandemic years saw a shift to remote work in many workplaces and industries including state government. As pandemic restrictions eased, many offices made hybrid schedules part of their regular routines with workers on site fewer than five days a week and that continues today. 

As a result, the number of state employees now assigned to the Waterbury complex with the Health Department move will exceed the facility’s total capacity. Kate Eberle, spokesperson at the state Buildings and General Services Department, said that the new office building can accommodate up to 800 workers full-time, but the Health Department workforce will bring the total close to 1,200.

The workers will not all be on-site at the same time, she stressed, but the space will be accounted for with the offices that will be in place by this spring. “There is no unused space now,” Eberle said. 

Employees working hybrid schedules in Burlington are not expected to need to move for their new assignments in Waterbury. Health Department spokesman Ben Truman, works at the Burlington office and lives in Chittenden County. Like many co-workers, he said he plans to travel to Waterbury a couple of days a week under the new arrangement.

The new staffing level is “right about on par with what it was prior to Irene” remarked Bill Shepeluk, former Waterbury town manager. “It’s different. They’re not there every day. But better a few days a week than none at all.” 

The new office building is situated behind the original complex facility, facing the Winooski River rather than Main Street. Shepeluk observed that downtown businesses may be more of a destination for state workers given the centralized security and orientation of the state facility now. “It’s a long walk around,” he said. 

The goal will be to encourage state workers to venture into town on their breaks, Nevin said. “We will try to entice people,” she said. “There's a lot in this town. We will welcome them.” 

Health Department officials also said that there are no changes planned for services during the move. Contact information for the department offices and programs, including new mailing addresses, can be found at HealthVermont.gov/Contact-Us. Department staff will update information online during the move including how and where to access public health services. For the latest information, check the department’s website, HealthVermont.gov.

Once the move is complete, the new Health Department offices in Waterbury will offer limited in-person services, according to the announcement. There will be a drop box in the lobby for anyone who cannot submit information or materials electronically or by mail. The HealthVermont.gov will have details on how to request birth, death, or other vital records, Food & Lodging licenses, and other services.

Other health dept., Human Services offices

The locations of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at the University of Vermont Medical Center and the Public Health Laboratory in Colchester are not involved in this move. 

Burlington’s Local Health Office now in the Zampieri building will move to a new Burlington location in March. The office is one of 12 regional local health offices that provide WIC assistance, immunizations, and other public health services. It serves Chittenden County and will remain open at 108 Cherry St. in Burlington until March 8. After that date, it is scheduled to move to 128 Lakeside Avenue in Burlington’s south end. The new location is situated on the GMT bus route and offers ample free parking, department officials said.

Dr. Levine emphasized that the Health Department’s other offices providing community health services around the state will not be affected by this move. Other state offices located in the Zampieri building also will be relocating to other spaces in Burlington. Those include: 

• Department for Children and Families – Economic Services local office moves from 108 Cherry Street to 128 Lakeside Avenue on March 9

• Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living local office at 110 Cherry Street move to 128 Lakeside Avenue on March 2

• Department of Vermont Health Access – Vermont Chronic Care Initiative office at 110 Cherry Street move to 128 Lakeside Avenue on March 2

The move schedule notes that dates are subject to change due to weather or unforeseen circumstances.

The Vermont Health Department traces its history back to 1886. Information on how the department evolved over its 138 years is online at HealthVermont.gov/Our-History.