This story was originally published by WCAX on September 3, 2025.
JOHNSON, Vt. (WCAX) – The town of Johnson is among several flood-prone Vermont communities aiming to move some services to higher ground. And it’s taking advantage of a decades-long partnership with Vermont State University’s Johnson campus to make it happen.
Although Johnson’s Gihon River might be at the lowest level that it’s been in in years, local leaders are making a push to make the community’s civic infrastructure more resilient two years after devastating flooding downtown.
“In the face of disaster, you have to think outside the box,” said Johnson Town Administrator Tom Galinat.
While the community waits on 17 buyouts, including the post office and health clinic, it’s also looking to higher ground for its future. Up the hill, Vermont State University’s Johnson campus is adjusting to declining enrollment and a rethinking of higher ed. About one-third of buildings on campus are vacant.
“It’s really this big problem that’s facing a lot of communities that rely on those universities’ presence to define who those communities are,” Galinat said.
Johnson is planning on applying for a $10 million federal grant to relocate its civic infrastructure, including administrative offices, post office, and health clinic out of the floodplain and into the college’s Martinetti Hall.
“If this all goes according to plan, I can see a campus of the future that’s really a community in of itself, that’s meeting the needs of students and of the broader community, and in some ways is serving as an extension of the village itself,” said VTSU President David Bergh.
The long-term plan is to include child care, elder care, and business development services on campus, too.
James Dombrowski, a VTSU environmental science student, says having more people around will breathe new life into campus. “Maybe people who would have never even have gone to this campus at all will just see it for the first time, and that’s how people will see the college,” he said.
