VTrans came back to the Brattleboro Selectboard, granting their wish to pay less for the bridge on Western Avenue. The board was happy, but wouldn’t sign the documentation quite yet. And there is also the matter of VTrans not being able to build the bridge or even put the bridge project on their construction schedule yet. Maybe by 2027 or 2030? No one knew what the future might bring. It will be a great bridge someday, though.
There was some debate over the Town Manager’s interpretation of the audit findings. He saw proof of a solid financial situation going forward; others weren’t so sure since the document didn’t make such a characterization and hadn’t taken into account decisions made last fall, after the audit was finished.
Brooks Memorial Library gets a new roof and a new rooftop solar system, and taxpayers get a video about reducing property taxes.
Preliminaries
They start rather late. (Oeser and Degray are waving to each other in zoom while we wait. It seems Liz McCloughlin is signing in from home and also waiting. Franz Reichsman is remotely joining the meeting, too.)
Might be a new late record: 6:23pm
….
Chair Daniel Quipp – I wanted to say my usual bit about how meetings work and the code of conduct… (he explains the rules). Chair rules on all decisions, and points of order. Can be overruled by the board. No personal attacks. etc…. I wanted to reiterate some of that stuff. We have had a lot of challenging meetings and have conducted them for the most part really well. let it continue.
Town Manager John Potter – shout out to the DPW staff who have been very busy clearing up after all the storms. Snow will be cleared from parking lots and streets downtown tonight after 11pm. Winter Parking ban in effect. Also want to say the town trusts and continues to support the police department staff. They are operating under a spotlight that few other professionals have to contend with, and ask everyone to support them. They are going above and beyond. They will no longer answer individual questions, but will give weekly media statements. I attended a training with all the emergency and services organizations – we all got training to evaluate the people contributing large amounts of disordering. We will work on a triage basis with these people, bringing all …. (there is second audio going that is making it hard to hear him… someone has a TV on or something) … they are coming together and doing a triage approach. The situation table is great.
Quipp – there is background noise coming through… let’s hope it gets resolved. (It’s really bad… I could almost transcribe it instead…)
Public
Bob O – Can anyone hear me. I’m getting gestures. I want to highlight – something from the end of the last meeting and two questions were on the table – what is the total of EMS expenses, and what is the amount paid to Golden Cross to do EMS billing. I’d like to add – in the Golden Cross billing contract, it says they will provide us with current financial and other monthly. You might have to add in capital expenses…
Daniel – don’t think anyone has that number.
Potter – it was answered in an email. About 37k for billing, and the costs are too complicated to break it out from the overall fire budget. We haven’t done that work but if you want us to. Our emphasis has been on making sure the billing is working. We now have a connection to the Medicare and VA. That’s where the effort have been going, not any cost breakouts.
Isaac -candidate for selectboard on March 4. I want to echo the appreciation for the DPW, not only roadways but also sidewalks. I also want to appeared late the Rec & Parks people for Winter Carnival.
Cristina – on clearing sidewalks, I noticed that the clearing of parking spots ended where free parking began. All the metered spots were plowed. I wanted to give some feedback that plowing some free parking spots could be prioritized so it could be accessible for people coming to town.
(the video freezes) – I think Liz said she would check with open meeting law. I was asking from a citizen point of view if we could get more information (about Franz’s meetings)
Consent Agenda
A. Witjer Properties LLC (Walgreens) Property Assessment Agreement — Accept
B. Assessor’s Certificate of No Appeal — Approve
C. Annual Contract Renewal with Town Attorney — Approve
D. DPW Bucket Truck – Approve $12,000 Purchase
E. Brooks Memorial Library Design and Construction Services – Authorize $74,000 Contract
consented!
Bridge 54 Project – Update (6:35 PM)
Gary Laroche from VTrans – I ‘ll share my screen. (Western Ave over Whetstone Brook Project Update)… here tonight with me is Tiffany Card from Green International. Wwe’ll talk about the location, conditions, the project development process, meeting followup, alternatives, technology, traffic, finance, and schedule.
The location is 1 mile West of I-91 exit 2 near Melrose Street. The current bridge was 1914. Brattleboro owns it. It is Class 1 town highway. Reinforced concrete arch 31’ deck. Existing rating is 6 (satisfactory) as of June 2023. Currently on a 24 month inspection cycle. Next one is this June. Some cracking, some leakage, some exposed areas.
The devleopment process – last year we discussed preliminary plans. Since then we evaluated bridge alternatives and talked with town. Now we want a finance and maintenance agreement so we can proceed with final design, environmental permitting, and easement acquisition. During April 2 meeting, the board was concerned with the cost. We were asked to reduce your share or be more cost effective. After that we looked at fun bridge replacement vs alternatives, and bridge closure vs. temporary bridges. It is a long detour route to get around so after that we concluded a bridge closure of 47 days would be required, without a temporary bridge, plus night work. His disruption to adjacent property owners and community. VTrans still recommends a temporary bridge and the board agreed, so we developed preliminary plans based on that. It came within 1% of each alternative whether it was closed or a temporary bridge. It is 1 year vs 2.5 years construction time. I worked with Sue Fillion, looked for grant money, got some innovation funding for the project – the federal highway approved the application for additional funding. Town share is now 5% rather than 10%. Now, Tiffany and what the innovation is…
Tiffany – why we got the innocvation funding. We will implant a new infrastructure. Ultra high performance bulb tee made by Fort Miller in NY – a beam that is more durable. Typically we install beams on concrete decks – 28 days til final cure. Having these part of the super structure means it goes in quicker. Ultra High Performance Concrete is used. It is more dense and durable that conventional concrete. Higher quality in the most needed places. In beam in tension and at the base. We can minimize the superstructure depth and we have more flexibility for meeting geometry needs limited by conventional prestressed beams. Our design will be 70 foot span with a 30 degree skew to better align with the river. The current angle creates a conflict causing scour and agridation. There will be a new water line under the bridge. We also propose integral abutments – we can minimize the joint. Road salts and water will be able to less prone to getting in and wearing it down. The temporary bridge will have 2 lanes of traffic and a pedestrian sidewalk. We can get a prefabricated one in place. (Shows map with bridges, current and temporary). The temporary bridge is downstream, and there is a temporary detour for Melrose at Western Ave. We’ll have new temporary lighting, too, for all of this. We’ll have headlight mitigation fencing to block lights to properties.
Gary – the agreement – we have an agreement for the project for all municipal assets. It defines the costs splits for the project and engineering – 85% federal, 5 % town, 10% state… for engineering and for construction. Town still pays 10% for right of way. There are costs for cancelling, etc. Total cost is $13, 576,755; town cost is $681,337. The overall project design layout from last year has not changed except for the ultra high performance deck bulb tee. These are the latest estimated costs in our estimating software. Prices across the country have been known to increase due to inflation and other competitive bidding pressures that may be presented. Hopefully we don’t get another pandemic. Assuming we have the agreement in place, we’d have plans by September, … but VTrans budget is now constrained and we can’t do as many projects so we can’t give you a start date to advertise or begin. WE’ll develop until 2026, then pause until we have the funding again to build it.
Daniel – thanks – selectboard? Questions?
Richard – given the climate we are living in, what percentage of construction of materials are domestic?
Gary – all federal projects require Buy America so it is all in the US. All steel, etc.
Liz – thanks, to VTRans and for board members to rethink the municipal share. Thanks to Gary to getting us to a 5% match. We really appreciate your listening and acting on our behalf. I also want to mention – the Town has already placed the $500k amount in reserve, correct?
Potter – yes, we have $515k set aside for this project.
Liz – so the remaining funds are what we are obligating tonight, or soon…
Daniel – good question – we have set aside the $515k – the remainder and the timeline…
Potter – what I heard – Gray wants a commitment by April 1 to keep the project going forward. You could direct us to sign it or to consider to think about it until April 1. There is no start date and don’t know when they want the funding from us – probably in FY27 or FY28.
Liz – before the selectboard does agree I think we should have a session to make sure we understand how we are obligated and the risks and costs in the future.
Franz – I echo what Liz said and appreciate these changes. New fancy concrete sounds great. I like the price. I was hoping it would be near $850k rather than $1.5 million, so I’m glad it is even under $750k.
Gary Stroud – great presentation. With the current climate, have you factored in the future costs of materials into this? 2026, 2030? How will that look as a change of course? How will you equate that?
Gary – the soonest it could be is FY28, or FY30, hopefully not that long. It depends on future projections. As for projecting the estimate tonight, that is today’s costs. Inflation and contractor bidding climates are hard to project. If we have few bidders or no competition vs many bidders and lots of competition…
David L – a temper of the times question. Suppose Elon Musk doesn’t like the bridge, how firm is the federal highway commitment.
Daniel – let’s tay with facts, can we expect anything different from the federal highway ?
Gary – should stay consistent . I have confidence that we’ll get this funding.
Ivan H – How innovative is this new concrete to get extra money? Sounds like they know about our weather. Has it been installed for 10-15 years anywhere?
Gary – the ultra high performance concrete is now in the new codes. There is industry experience with it.
Tiffany – I’d say that with a lot of innovation, what =we are doing is not using brand new technology – using tested materials and applications in a slightly new way. It was been used for almost 10 years in NY state. It has been in place and years of testing and ASTRA standards, and tech specs they must adhere to, and the integration of the deck into a beam has been going on for a while. Many beams in Vermont are like this. It’s really combining the new concrete around pre-stressing bands. Just combining things in a new way for a first time.
Daniel – are we ready for the agreement? Liz proposed we’d have another conversation?
Liz – I want to make sure we all understand what we are obligating the Town for and what overruns could be, I’m in favor of this but we should be responsible and make sure we fully understand what we are agreeing to.
Peter case – I don’t see much changing, I think hitting a pose and understanding the impact is not a bad idea.
Franz – the right way to go.
Daniel – then in a public session, it will come back at our next meeting?
Potter – not at the joint meeting… next meeting in March?
Daniel – thanks for the presentation, we will consider it and hope to sign it before April 1.
Gary – if you have questions let us know.
FY24 Audit Findings – Discussion
Potter – the Town recently completed a third party financial audit. It ensures transparency and compliance. the audit provides an independent review of the finances and internal controls (he’s reading his memo)… this year it confirms that findings were mostly procedural issues. Two major procedural weaknesses were found. No indication of fraud or misstatements. The first finding was regarding the loan for Living Memorial Park – not recorded correctly – a classification issue. Second finding was around Trial Balance Adjustments. When we transitioned to OpenGov, we had some issues related to system migration. The Town will now adopt a pre audit checklist, clear communication with he auditor…the facts demonstrate a well managed municipality. No material weaknesses. Only procedural refinements. We intentionally used resources to respond to a public safety crisis and solid waste costs. It was an unusual use of reserves, but was in line with town policy. We have a reserve for unplanned emergencies like the chaos downtown last summer. if we didn’t use it people would wonder why it sits there. We have a plan to rebuild the fund over three years if the board wishes. Some critics have drawn comparisons to when the town had no funds to meet payroll. The 2005 crisis was caused by federal grants mismanaged, Now we have grants that are managed well. The town’s financial picture is stronger than 2005. As the audit shows, there is fund balances of 16 million to cover short term liabilities. No need to borrow to meet payroll. Debt levels are conservative… so we can invest in DPW and Rec & Parks. We get reports from staff, we get 3rd party repoints, and we do public updates. Financial decisions are made with transparency in open meetings. Brattleboro is committed to transparency… but nearby towns spend less than we do. Municipal services come at a cost. Brattleboro is not in financial crisis. Financial systems are sound and well managed. We are financially stable and well positioned for the future.
Richard – have we fully implemented Open Gov software?
Potter – on the finance side but not assets. Permits are partially implemented.
Franz – I’ve been through this a couple of times in our weekly sessions and had questions about red flags waving but I think he has answered them to my satisfaction for now. We’ll need to track things going forward. For now it is solid enough shape to not do anything rash or sudden.
Liz – I want to thank John for meeting with the auditor and giving us such a good report on town finances.
Cristina S – thanks for the report and you mentioned that the spending from the unassigned fund balance was totally within town policy. Could you send that policy to the finance committee. I am aware of guidelines from a decade ago for that spending. As long as there is an emergency situation you could use the funds for ongoing expenses, but the guideline recommend against using it for ongoing expenses. I’d love to see that Town Policy. My other question was for the article that RTM will be voting on, the one that refers to the audit – to accept the report. What are Town Meeting Reps voting on when accepting it.
Daniel – I think it is as simple as we accept it.
Potter -w e spoke with Bob about this…
Patrick – if there is somethings more we should ask Bob…
Cristina – I emailed him an didn’t hear back. If it doesn’t pass what happens, and if it is unnecessary why vote on it.
Potter – might have to do with our bond rating.
Bob O – the auditor’s report uses a word that might get people edgy. Certain funds all reported deficits…. why did they use that word?
Potter – this is what Patrick explained at the last meeting. Essentially there was a deficit in the General Fund. It was planned for that fiscal year. 1.2 million in reserves to keep taxes down in FY24. There were other areas where the budget didn’t perform as planned, such as tax revenues…
Patrick M – want me to show that? (shows chart form last week). The point I was trying to make – there was some unease that there was a deficit. While column A is adopted by RTM, two line items for revenue with no expectations of revenue arriving – almost 1.1 million. We will pay for some in taxes and some comes from the unassigned fund balance. Look at column A in column B – it shows we PLANNED a deficit. It is important to point out where the variation lives – it is on the expense side a bit – $76k of additional expenses (some private security expenses) and we should of seen it and better managed it, but mostly it is on the revenue side. A little all over the place – permit income, etc. $63k. The most is in current taxes – $224k of uncollected property taxes. This fiscal year is the first in our history where we did not follow through with a tax sale. Montpelier rules changed it to an every two year event. We will do a tax sale again, and if history is a teacher, we will collect all of that. It won’t do anything for FY24. What it will do is benefit FY25. It will be recorded as additional revenue in FY25 before this year is over.
Potter – there is also reference to the parking or utility fund with planned deficits…
Moreland – yes.
Potter – all panned! Board and RTM told us to.
Kate O’Connor – thanks for putting the audit on the agenda. I do however want to take issue with a couple things the town manager said. The audit in no way analyses the fiscal situation. It looks at our books through June 30 2024. Nothing to do with FY205. I disagree that we are not in a fiscal crisis. You can look at the audit and it makes no characterization of our financial situation. And no FY25 and FY26. It doesn’t analyze our situation. I feel we are still in a budget crisis and we’ll find out next year.
Daniel – we are talking about characterization – does the audit say we are in a crisis?
Kate – it doesn’t characterize us in any way. It is and analysis of FY24. It doesn’t say whether we are in a crisis or not. It doesn’t include t FY25 and FY26, so we have done a lot since this audit came out. So to say we aren’t in a fiscal crisis… the audit doesn’t say that one way or another and where we are is different can FY24.
Daniel – we checked with them and the presentation was fair.
Potter – I’d disagree with kate. The audit shows we have 16 million in the bank and we’ve used $880k. It shows we aren’t in a crisis to borrow anything.
Milicent – what is a tax sale?
Moreland – the town attorney could give a better answer but it essentially, when tax bills are issued there are four installments. At the end of the 4th installment, if you have a remaining balance, you are delinquent. Then a six month process which leads to a tax sale, where the property is set up for auction of the value of the taxes owed. We had 100 parcels last time, but none were there when the sale took place. Everyone paid up. It is the way we keep things fair. if neighbors get away without paying, why should you pay yours? It is an involved process. taxes get collected.
Gary S – question – revenue, other expenses… what does that represent?
Moreland (in the chart) it wasn’t any one thing – planning fees, town clerks fees… various revenue was down.
Isaac – I thank you for the report and analysis. One thing that was brought up were the decisions late last summer – taking reserve funds to pay for ongoing expenses in the police department. The finance committee asked about cuts and deferrals could impact the FY27 budget. Is that something the selctboard will provide for the RTM members to anayzie how the upcoming budget would impact the following budget.
Daniel – testing the millets of germaneness…
Isaac – this is in repose the town town manager’s comments on the audit.
Potter – the board didn’t do ongoing expenses last fall… they created a new program. That’s anew program. Looking at how it impacts future years isn’t an audit issue. projecting future years is complex and can have downsides. We do collective bargaining this summer – we could project scenarios and we’d make wild assumptions about that. I’m hesitant to make assumptions to make guesses about the future. We don’t know what is happening at the federal level.
Dick Degray – a couple weeks ago when we had this conversation a couple of things came out. The board was apprised of the defects at a September meeting and I looked at agendas and nothing discussed previous year allocations and expenditures. And of the $16million you just talked about, how much is restricted that is not available for the town to use. When you make a statement like that I worry about keeping financial accountability. Financial contrasts seem to go out the window. I’d agree with the budget wut it shows we had a deficit in revenue and an overexpediture in expenses. Can you tell me – how is the town going to make up those defects? Where will we take the money?
Potter – the meeting wasn’t in September it was in August and Kim Frost gave the numbers for the full year. What she reported is basically in the audit. Second, there are some restricted fund but there is also plenty that isn’t that could be borrowed against, and third, I forget. Deficits?
Daniel – we keep a 10% reserve based on a guideline and we dipped below it on purpose last Fall. Will we make a plan to replace those funds to build it back up. Potter mentioned a 3 year plan?
Potter – business for the next several boards.
Daniel – the audit is available, on the town website and in the report going to RTM members. Send us questions if you have them. It is 8 so let’s take a 5 minute break.
Global Warming Solutions Fund Allocation – Authorize $200,000
Stephen Dotson – I ask for approval of the use of the global warming solutions fund for rooftop solar. You approved a new roof, so this is a unique timing opportunity. We have the funds and they are to be used for this. I also show you what other projects we’ll set aside to accomplish this project. The fund balance is about $212k. We think $200k will get the job done. The grant are for essential upgrades. Solar panels could get more expensive if they come from abroad.
Daniel – the memo was pretty detailed. This would authorize the funds for the project.
Stephen – it is a renewable generation project. There is a limited amount left in the fund at this point, and we can do this big impactful project. Solar panels have a big payback. We want to use the resource well.
Liz – I want to thank Stephen and to say something Daniel will agree with. This is precisely what we envisioned when creating the fund. I’m really happy this project has been identifies and is being utilized. There is one thing – on page 57 of 95 – he says the likely the annual amount will be paused. The current budget has paused this funding for the next fiscal year?
Daniel – fair question.
Moreland – was the contribution reduced for the global warming solutions fund? Yes.
Richard – no questions – this was really comprehensive.
Franz – seem like a good use of the funds and see no problem..
Peter – what’s not to like?
Stephen – two months ago you approved using clean energy credits for them. Solar ones look to be benefiting red districts and are the least likely to go away. We should be able to recoup some of the initial investment.
Peter – lots of crystal-balling tonight.
Daniel – there is also the environmental benefit. Thanks Stephen.
Fric – I think this is a fantastic use of our resources and the idea we can get some back to recycle into the fund. Hopefully it will cost less, too. As a town meeting rep, what ends up in the budget is yet to be determined and can go up and down in a number of ways.
Daniel – other energy committee members were supportive as well.
A vote…
$200k for library rooftop solar approved!
Homestead Property Tax Rebate Information Campaign
Seth Thomas – we have a pas about the homestead exemption and property tax credit. The assessor’;s office explained it and it was really complex. So we needed to zoom way out. Two facts – Vt requires the homestead declaration each year and that allows the property tax credit. The video can be show and embedded in lots of places.
Moreland – I don’t know if we’ll have sound…
Plays video without sound… then starts over. The video seems to have public domain clips of people from elsewhere using calculators, or something. And some screen shots. Lots of text to read. No sound for people on zoom. Shows phone numbers at the end you can call.
Jenifer – we din’t go deep with it. It is a state program and wanted to make sure people were aware of the website. I’ve heard the helpline is helpful. We were asked if there were other services to assist? A little research and…SEVCA does some assistance. You can come to our office and we can answer a lot of your questions but refer you to the state. AARP comes to the senior center.
Seth – it fills up quick. Probably not in time for this. The video is high level and can be evergreen so we can send people new blog information.
Jenifer – I’m pleased with it.
Daniel – yes, SEVCA has a program for tax assistance. I work at SEVCA. We do appointments all throughout the year. You may be eligible for a credit on your property tax bill. Your tax bill can have various credit. Many people are eligible who don’t claim the credit.
Jenifer – I had a person say they filed their own taxes. They did the homestead, but not the property tax credit. The state has them on the same PDF now to make it easier.
Liz – the selectboard identified this in our budget negotiations because our taxes are high. This is the one state program that the state recognizes income inequality and provides a mechanism to give people tax credits when needed. Important for us with our higher tax rate than smaller towns. When I do tax appeal process, there are always people who were unable to pay who were unaware of the credits. It is a real and substantial credit. I commend Seth and Jenifer. It needs to be widely disseminated throughout town.
Richard – great job – simple and right to the point.
Peter – the information is critical. people don’t know it exists and can help them.
Daniel – what about the renter’s rebate?
Jenifer – that’s a very good point.
Daniel – when I was renting I wasn’t eligible.
Historical Society Historic Signs on Town Properties
Daniel – BHS has a request…
Bill Holiday – the historical society is in the middle of a project to put historic markers on historic properties in town. With eh help of the Rotary Club, private businesses in different blocks… I was asked to send… a little blurb about the property and a QR code at the bottom. You can scan it and get an idea of how these signs will work. passers by will get a little info, and if they want more they will get more information.
(It opens to a video if you scan the code).
Bill – a former radio voice is doing the reading for us. If a property signs on, we’ll put it on or near the building and passerby’s can get info. Some are town properties so we’ like to put hem on this building, Well’s Fountain, Pliny Park…
(a motion to approve the request)
Bill – town owned sites are for you tonight. Businesses approve their signs.
Peter – it’s great, read it or watch it. It thickens the fabric a little bit.
Richard – it will distract them from the parking kiosks.
Liz – I want to thank Bill for the worthwhile enterprise.
Franz – great. I love the historical society, and the info they share in a newspaper.
approved!