Goodbye, Archery Building. At their next meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard will be voting to tear down the old train yard building to make room for paved parking spaces.
They will also hear another first reading of the proposed Rental Housing ordinance, hear updates on community marketing and the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, consider tax exemptions for five properties, and continue with their review of the FY22 budget. If you are so inclined, you can add to the agenda by bringing up other items during public participation.
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The Brattleboro Selectboard will meet on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at 6:15pm using Zoom (with no physical location due to the ongoing social distancing requirements of COVID-19). The attached agenda and administrative report contain information about how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.” Information about how to connect to the meeting is also posted on the homepage of the Town’s website. ASL interpreters will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
230 Main Street, Suite 208
Brattleboro, VT 05301
(802) 251-8100
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BRATTLEBORO SELECTBOARD
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020
REGULAR MEETING – 6:15PM
NOTE: This meeting will be held with no physical location using Zoom.
Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86067892659
Passcode: 12261753
You also can call in using your telephone by dialing any of these toll-free numbers in the United States:
833-548-0282
877-853-5247
888-788-0099
833-548-0276
or you can access a list of non-toll-free numbers for locations around the world using this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/u/k2Hdbk6mA
The “Meeting ID” for this meeting is:
860 6789 2659
The meeting will be carried live on BCTV:
On Cable TV: Channel 1085 or Channel 10
Streaming Online: https://www.brattleborotv.org/channel-10-stream
Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/brattleborotv/
AGENDA
1. CONVENE REGULAR MEETING
2. APPROVE MINUTES – November 10
3. CHAIR’S REMARKS
4. MANAGER’S COMMENTS
5. SELECTBOARD COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
6. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
7. CONSENT AGENDA – None
8. LIQUOR COMMISSIONERS – None
9. WATER AND SEWER COMMISSIONERS – None
10. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A. Ordinance Regulating Housing Lease Deposits and Creating a Housing Board of Review – Chapter 8 (Health, Sanitation and Fire Safety Inspections), Article 5 (Rental Housing Security Deposits), First Reading
11. NEW BUSINESS
A. Chalet Permanent Supportive Housing Project – Update from Windham + Windsor Housing Trust and Groundworks Collaborative
B. Community Marketing Initiative – Downtown Brattleboro Alliance and Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce Update and Request for FY22 Funding
C. Downtown Brattleboro Alliance (DBA) – Update and Request for FY22 Funding
D. Potential Representative Town Meeting Articles – Requests for Property Tax Exemptions (i) Brattleboro Post #5, American Legion, Inc. (Little League Field) (ii) Camp Waubanong, Inc. (iii) Garden Path Elder Living (for Holton Home) (iv) Garden Path Elder Living (for Bradley House) (v) The Family Garden, Inc.
E. Amtrak Station Project
(i) Summary of Amtrak’s Plans to Build a New Passenger Train Station in Brattleboro
(ii) Proposed Modification of Depot Street Parking Lot to Support New Amtrak Station
F. FY22 Proposed Budget (i) Assessor’s Office (ii) Planning Services Department (iii) Brooks Memorial Library
12. CORRESPONDENCE/FYI
A. Warrants
13. MEETINGS
See Town Calendar
14. ADJOURNMENT
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MEMORANDUM
To: Selectboard
From: Peter B. Elwell, Town Manager
Re: Administrative Report
Date: November 25, 2020
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The following will summarize the proposed motions for the Selectboard meeting on Tuesday, December 1, 2020. The meeting will begin at 6:15pm on Zoom (with no physical location
due to the ongoing social distancing requirements of COVID-19).
The public may join the meeting from a computer, tablet, or smartphone, using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86067892659
Passcode: 12261753
You also can call in using your telephone by dialing any of these toll-free numbers in the United States:
833-548-0282
877-853-5247
888-788-0099
833-548-0276
or you can access a list of non-toll-free numbers for locations around the world using this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/u/k2Hdbk6mA
The “Meeting ID” for this meeting is:
860 6789 2659
The meeting will be carried live on BCTV:
On Cable TV: Channel 1085 or Channel 10
Streaming Online: https://www.brattleborotv.org/channel-10-stream
Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/brattleborotv/
7. CONSENT AGENDA – None
8. LIQUOR COMMISSIONERS – None
9. WATER AND SEWER COMMISSIONERS – None
10. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A. Ordinance Regulating Housing Lease Deposits and Creating a Housing Board of Review – Chapter 8 (Health, Sanitation and Fire Safety Inspections), Article 5 (Rental Housing Security Deposits), First Reading The Board has previously discussed the possibility of adopting an ordinance to regulate security deposits required in rental housing leases. At the November 17 Selectboard meeting, a majority of Board members indicated a desire to resume consideration of such an ordinance, so it is on this agenda for a new first reading. Several documents previously provided to the Board are included again in the back-up materials for this meeting, as set forth in the memorandum dated November 24, 2020, from Town Manager Elwell.
NO ACTION IS REQUIRED ON THIS ITEM.
11. NEW BUSINESS
A. Chalet Permanent Supportive Housing Project – Update from Windham + Windsor Housing Trust and Groundworks Collaborative The Windham + Windsor Housing Trust and Groundworks Collaborative have partnered to establish the Chalet Permanent Supportive Housing Project on the site of the former Dalem’s Chalet in West Brattleboro. As set forth in the letter that WWHT+Groundworks sent to Chalet neighbors (received by the Town Manager’s Office on November 20, 2020) the Project will include a 28-unit permanent supportive housing community that will include an office for on-site staff in the main building to provide supportive services, case management, and site supervision to ensure long-term housing success for the residents of The Chalet. Representatives from the two organizations will discuss the Project and be available for questions for the Board and public.
NO ACTION IS REQUIRED ON THIS ITEM.
B. Community Marketing Initiative – Downtown Brattleboro Alliance and Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce Update and Request for FY22 Funding Stephanie Bonin, Executive Director of the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, and Kate O’Connor, Executive Director of the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, will update the Board on their plan for FY22 joint promotion of Brattleboro. As set forth in their November 18 memorandum, Ms. Bonin and Ms. O’Connor will discuss a Request for Proposal (RFP) to find a marketing firm for the FY22 year and other aspects of the Community Marketing Initiative. $37,551 for the Community Marketing Initiative is included in the proposed FY22 budget.
POTENTIAL MOTION: TO INCLUDE IN THE WARNING FOR THE 2021 REPRESENTATIVE TOWN MEETING AN ARTICLE RELATED TO FUNDING
THE FY22 COMMUNITY MARKETING INITIATIVE OVERSEEN BY THE BRATTLEBORO AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE DOWNTOWN BRATTLEBORO ALLIANCE.
C. Downtown Brattleboro Alliance (DBA) – Update and Request for FY22 Funding Stephanie Bonin, Executive Director of the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance (DBA), will be present to discuss the DBA’s accomplishments and finances for the past year and the DBA’s proposed FY22 Budget and Annual Work Plan. $80,000 for the DBA is included in the proposed FY22 budget, funded (as usual) by a special assessment on the properties in Brattleboro’s designated downtown area.
POTENTIAL MOTION: TO INCLUDE IN THE WARNING FOR THE 2021 REPRESENTATIVE TOWN MEETING AN ARTICLE RELATED TO FUNDING
THE DOWNTOWN BRATTLEBORO ALLIANCE FOR FY22.
D. Potential Representative Town Meeting Articles – Requests for Property Tax Exemptions (i) Brattleboro Post #5, American Legion, Inc. (Little League Field) (ii) Camp Waubanong, Inc. (iii) Garden Path Elder Living (for Holton Home) (iv) Garden Path Elder Living (for Bradley House) (v) The Family Garden, Inc.
Five properties owned by non-profit organizations were granted tax exempt status in 2016 by Representative Town Meeting for municipal taxes, as set forth on the “2021 Grand List – Proposed Voted Exemptions” submitted by Town Assessor Jenepher Burnell. The properties’ tax exemptions expire on April 1, 2021. Per the written requests received from the applicable organizations, the Board is asked to add an Article for each organization to the Warning for the 2021 Representative Town Meeting.
POTENTIAL MOTION: (i) TO ADD THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE TO THE REPRESENTATIVE TOWN MEETING WARNING FOR MARCH 2021: “TO SEE IF THE TOWN WILL APPROVE EXEMPTION OF THE MUNICIPAL TAX PORTION OF REAL ESTATE TAXES FOR BRATTLEBORO POST 5 AMERICAN LEGION’S LITTLE LEAGUE FIELD FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS.”
POTENTIAL MOTION: (ii) TO ADD THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE TO THE REPRESENTATIVE TOWN MEETING WARNING FOR MARCH 2021: “TO SEE IF THE TOWN WILL APPROVE EXEMPTION OF THE MUNICIPAL TAX PORTION OF REAL ESTATE TAXES FOR CAMP WAUBONONG, INC., FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS.”
POTENTIAL MOTION: (iii) TO ADD THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE TO THE REPRESENTATIVE TOWN MEETING WARNING FOR MARCH 2021: “TO SEE IF THE TOWN WILL APPROVE EXEMPTION OF THE MUNICIPAL TAX PORTION OF REAL ESTATE TAXES FOR GARDEN PATH ELDER LIVING’S HOLTON HOME FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS.”
POTENTIAL MOTION: (iv) TO ADD THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE TO THE REPRESENTATIVE TOWN MEETING WARNING FOR MARCH 2021: “TO SEE IF THE TOWN WILL APPROVE EXEMPTION OF THE MUNICIPAL TAX PORTION OF REAL ESTATE TAXES FOR GARDEN PATH ELDER LIVING’S BRADLEY HOUSE FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS.”
POTENTIAL MOTION: (v) TO ADD THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE TO THE REPRESENTATIVE TOWN MEETING WARNING FOR MARCH 2021: “TO SEE IF THE TOWN WILL APPROVE EXEMPTION OF THE MUNICIPAL TAX PORTION OF REAL ESTATE TAXES FOR THE FAMILY GARDEN, INC., FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS.”
E. Amtrak Station Project (i) Summary of Amtrak’s Plans to Build a New Passenger Train Station in Brattleboro (ii) Proposed Modification of Depot Street Parking Lot to Support New Amtrak Station Amtrak is proposing to build a fully ADA compliant train station in Brattleboro. As set forth in the memorandum dated November 24, 2020, from Assistant Town Manager Patrick Moreland, the new station will be constructed in 2022 on the east side of the existing railroad tracks. In anticipation of the construction of the new train station, the Board is asked to authorize staff to move forward with a plan for replacement parking in the Depot Street Parking Lot in 2021. The building of the station and the surrounding construction area will consume the parking spaces currently located in that location. Staff is proposing to increase the number of parking spaces in the lot by expanding into area where the Archery Building is now located. The cost of the building demolition and parking lot construction is expected to be approximately $365,000. In March 2019, Representative Town Meeting (RTM) approved $250,000 for ADA related capital improvements to the existing Union Station (train station). As set forth in the memorandum dated November 19, 2020, from Town Attorney Robert Fisher, those unspent funds may be used for this project since it will achieve the same purpose. Staff plans to bring further actions related to the final design and funding of this project for consideration at future Selectboard meetings.
POTENTIAL MOTION: TO AUTHORIZE TOWN STAFF TO MOVE FORWARD EXPEDITIOUSLY WITH PLANNING FOR MODIFICATION OF THE DEPOT STREET PARKING LOT WITH THE INTENTION OF COMPLETING CONSTRUCTION DURING 2021.
F. FY22 Proposed Budget (i) Assessor’s Office (ii) Planning Services Department (iii) Brooks Memorial Library Town Assessor Jenepher Burnell, Planning Services Director Sue Fillion, and Brooks Memorial Library Director Starr LaTronica will be present to discuss their departments’ proposed FY22 budgets.
NO ACTION IS REQUIRED ON THIS ITEM.
