On Wednesday, July 23, Barnard residents voted in favor of the town to lease the Old Fire Department building to BarnArts Center for the Arts, a community theater non-profit, for an agreed upon 15-year term, with an annual rent of $1 and the ability to renew for another 15 years.
The vote was decided by paper ballot from the floor, 73-42. The vote came in the wake of the town’s initial vote for the same conditions held in March that passed 66-41. Due to an unfinished lease agreement, the Barnard Selectboard and Linda Treash, executive director of BarnArts, renegotiated. Once a final lease was decided on by both parties — which included the stipulation that BarnArts be used as an arts space for the benefit of Barnard residents and the community at large — a second town meeting was scheduled.
Following this most recent vote, Treash spoke to the Standard about the future of BarnArts and her plans for the building now that she has secured a lease for the space. She said, “This has been such an interesting process because we are only at the beginning of our journey to make this building what we’ll need it to be. I appreciate the selectboard very much for their support along the way, and for understanding that we are bringing a great opportunity to Barnard by offering to rebuild this space.”
Next steps for Treash include connecting with potential builders and contractors to create a construction timeline and launch a capital campaign. She said, “I would love to get the construction work done in 2026. I’m not sure if this is feasible, but it’s the goal as of now. The biggest obstacle for how quickly we move through construction is raising the money and finding an available builder to do the work.”
For more on this, please see our July 31 edition of the Vermont Standard.
