MONTPELIER, Vt. -
"It's been a whirlwind of emotions. Literally it feels like a roller coaster ride," said Denise McCarty, a displaced Vermont state worker.
McCarty's desk has moved twice since Tropical Storm Irene hit. Now she and 11 of her co-workers inhabit what was an empty office building next to the Goodwill in Williston.
"It's like being homeless; you don't know where you're going to be," she said.
McCarty, like most office complex workers, wants to return to Waterbury. She's afraid the absence of 1,500 people is wreaking havoc on where she says she belongs.
"The Sweet Tooth candy shop has closed. I think that's just the beginning of businesses being impacted," she said.
Aside from missing her town, McCarty says work in Williston has become inefficient. People she needs to communicate with are miles away and few locations are permanent.
The majority of workers are in Williston; 223 state workers have been displaced to that location, 185 are at IBM in Essex Junction, 151 are in Montpelier and 145 are in Winooski. The rest are spread between seven other cities and towns statewide. But it isn't that simple; not all workers in each town are in the same building and if they are, they aren't necessarily on the same floor.
"We want to be very, very cognizant of any changes that we make what the changes are down the road," said Rep. Alice Emmons, D/W-Springfield.
The House Institutions and Corrections Committee received updated employee locations Wednesday. Their job right now is to learn everything they can about state government workers before receiving options for rebuilding in Waterbury or elsewhere in March.
"Can we do some of that at the Waterbury complex? That is the hope for many members at this point and let's look at how we can work more effectively in state government," Emmons said.
"I don't want people to forget that we're here. I don't want people to become complacent and forget that we're displaced all over. It's really inefficient," McCarty said.
The feasibility report is due to the House Institutions Committee by March 2. That will lay out the cost and time it will take to rebuild in Waterbury or elsewhere.
Click here for more details on where state offices have been relocated and how much it has already cost the state.
