HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Spared several times from being closed or even worse during its 220-year history, Connecticut’s Old State House faces a new threat now that responsibility for the historic landmark, which hosted presidents and the Amistad slave ship trial, is being transferred to a state agency already struggling to find the money to keep 109 state parks running.

Officials at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, surprised by their new responsibility, must determine how and whether the agency can handle security at the downtown Hartford site to educational programming. Last year, the Old State House, which includes a museum, educational center and shop, last year attracted about 53,000 visitors and hosted approximately 70 events.

“These are tough times to take this on,” said DEEP spokesman Dennis Schain.

State lawmakers included language in a budget bill that transferred management of the building and grounds from the Office of Legislative Management, which oversees the state Capitol complex, to DEEP. Schain said his agency did not ask to run the Old State House and was unaware of the General Assembly’s plans until the final moments of this year’s legislative session.

Under the budget bill, $400,000 is transferred to DEEP to help run the Old State House. However, Schain said it costs about $800,000 a year to operate the facility. Also, DEEP’s budget was cut $10 million cut. It recently announced plans to reduce funding to state parks by $1.8 million.

The legislation requires DEEP to run the Old State House beginning July 1. However, it’s unclear when DEEP will officially take over because it’s still negotiating a sublease with the Office of Legislative Management, which has run the building since 2008.

State Capitol Police now patrol the location. The contractor that handles maintenance at the Capitol added the Old State House to its duties. Also, the Connecticut Public Affairs Network, which runs Connecticut Network, the media service that provides coverage of the legislature and state government, operates the educational programming component. Theoretically, that would all become DEEP’s responsibility.

William Bevacqua, a spokesman for Connecticut Public Affairs Network, said it’s possible the Old State House will close temporarily after June 30, calling it an “evolving situation.” But Bevacqua said he’s “not hearing anything that it is going to stay closed permanently.”

Bevacqua said his organization was also surprised by the building’s transfer, but wants to remain involved with the site.
“We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished there,” he said. “We’re ready to start the discussions up again when folks are ready for us.”

The Old State House originally operated as one of the two Connecticut state Capitols. The other was in New Haven. The old Senate Chamber appears as it did in 1820. George Washington’s portrait by Gilbert Stuart, painted especially for the room in 1801, hangs on the wall.

Presidents from Andrew Jackson to George H.W. Bush have visited the site.

In 1915, the Old State House was abandoned. In 1921, a group of citizens raised money to protect the building. By the 1970s, there was talk of tearing it down for a parking garage. In 2003, the historical society took over the operations and the state provided $2.9 million to help renovate the building.

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By SUSAN HAIGH, Associated Press

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AP-WF-06-28-16 1958GMT