For stories pertaining to the town of Brattleboro at large and its government.
Notice to Taxpayers
The taxpayers of the Town of Brattleboro are hereby notified and warned that Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes assessed upon the Grand List of 2022 are now due and payable to the Town Treasurer at the Treasurer’s Office in the Brattleboro Municipal Center, 230 Main Street, Suite 111, Brattleboro, Vermont, in four equal installments as follows:
Brattleboro has had two recent minute-related incidents that were slightly out of the ordinary. In one case, a school board member requested that something not discussed at a previous meeting be added to the official minutes to clarify something. In the other, a selectboard member held back approval of minutes until they could be edited for stylistic changes. The selectboard has also struggled to meet required deadlines for posting of minutes.
Let’s look at the school board. According to the minutes for the June 21 WSESD board:
Agenda items:
Approve Minutes
Meet with Bob Fisher about ROW
Compassionate Brattleboro Request
Planting Sites
It was a really long Brattleboro Selectboard meeting with not much getting done! They heard about downtown safety issues, but took no action. They approved a mural design they couldn’t see. There will be more places to buy liquor. The preferred bridge design was selected. And then it was 10:30 pm with discussions of a woman right to choose and EMT issues, among other things, still awaiting ample discussion. They ended up postponing much of the agenda to a future meeting.
A packed agenda of important items awaits the Brattleboro Selectboard for their first regular meeting of July. It’s going to be a long meeting.
There will be new liquor licenses, Commonwealtth Dairy wants to nearly double its water and sewer use, rental housing fines will be set, and the board will choose a bridge design for Melrose. There will be a discussion of downtown safety and a new mural for High Street. The board will discuss a woman’s right to choose. There are emergency repairs to authorize.
The firefighters get a “recently concluded additional collective bargaining agreement,” and the Fire Chief would like the board to approve additional funds to meet requirements of becoming a paramedic-level service.
But wait, there’s more! There will be a first reading of a new ordinance regarding wastewater allocation approvals, there will be a new contract for the Interim Town manager, a new street name will be approved, and the FY23 tax rate will be set.
In observance of the July 4th holiday, all Town offices will be closed on Monday, July 4, 2022, with the exception of emergency services.
Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Sunday and Monday, July 3 and July 4, 2022. All other violations will be enforced.
Brooks Memorial Library will be closed on Monday, July 4th, 2022.
Trash, recycling and composting materials are NOT affected by the holiday.
Chief Hazelton & Members of the Rescue Inc. Board,
On behalf of the Town of Brattleboro, I am writing to follow up from the meeting on June 6, 2022, regarding EMS Mutual Aid. The Town appreciates the many years of excellent service Rescue Inc. has provided to Brattleboro and wishes continued award-winning success for Rescue Inc.’s service to other communities in our region. We look forward to rebuilding a healthy working relationship between the two entities towards our shared goal of maintaining the health and safety of the people we serve.
Below our FY23 service plan is outlined, in hopes that this information will clarify the capacity at which we are asking Rescue Inc. to engage in Mutual Aid.
For Immediate Release:
The Town of Brattleboro urges everyone to drink plenty of water, wear light clothing and stay out of the heat as much as possible during the current heat wave.
People who need some cool air can visit the Brooks Memorial Library (224 Main Street) and the Central Fire Station (103 Elliot Street).
The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm in the Community Meeting Room of the Brooks Memorial Library.
Jessica Sticklor (she/her/hers)
Executive Assistant
Town of Brattleboro
For Immediate Release:
The lower half of Union Street, near Elliot Street Terrace will be closed to traffic with a detour provided on Monday, June 27th, 2022 from 8:00am to 8:00pm due to sewer pipe maintenance work.
The Brattleboro Selectboard agreed to the Golden Cross contract addendum of a free 90-day extra staff and ambulance offer, which the Fire Chief explained came at his suggestion.
They also held a first reading about fines and penalties for rental housing violations, heard public comments about cameras, announced a possibility of a downtown police substation, learned about Tri-Park’s current situation, and more.
Brooks Memorial Library will open at 2 PM on Thursday, to accommodate a work session with the Trustees and staff. Thank you for your support and patience as we plan for an even better Brooks.
What have you noticed around Brattleboro recently? The little things that aren’t worthy of a full story, but caught your eye?
NECCA circus tent is back up. It’s been up for a couple of weeks now, and again I say that this really marks the location well. Nothing like a circus tent to say “circus!”
Brooks Memorial Library has their new tool-sharing shed and sign up, located between the library and the municipal center.
Golden Cross is back on the agenda with a limited-time offer that will only cost $50,000 a year after the initial 90 day free trial. The Brattleboro Selectboard will, by approving this, “expand the second AEMT provider to 24 hours per day and situate a third ambulance (to be housed at Station 2.)”
They will also discuss liquor licenses, fines for rental housing inspection program violations, Waste Water Treatment Plant and water pump improvements, and more. You can bring up other issues not on the agenda during public participation.
For Immediate Release:
The Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office will be closed from 10:00am to 12:00pm on Friday, June 17, 2022, so that staff may attend an event.
On Tuesday, June 14, the Utilities Division will be installing a new hydrant in the area of 195 Elliot ST. Elliot ST will be closed in the area beginning at 7:30 am through approximately 4:00 pm. Stewart Place and Elliot ST addresses up to #186 can be accessed from the east end of Elliot ST and addresses #190 and higher can be accessed from the west end of Elliot ST.
The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee Meeting will meet on Thursday, June 16th, 2022 at 8:00am over Zoom. Information on how to access the meeting online, including the required “passcode” is available within the attached agenda.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street). The Board will convene at 6:15pm and is expected to immediately enter into executive session to discuss labor relations agreements with employees and contracts. The Board will reconvene after the executive session and immediately adjourn. No action will be taken.
The Town of Brattleboro is looking for citizens to serve on the following committees and boards:
Agricultural Advisory Board
Agricultural Advisory Board Ex-Officio Members
ADA Advisory Board
Arts Committee
Brattleboro Housing Partnerships Board of Commissioners
Cemetery Committee
Citizen Police Communications Committee
The Brattleboro Selectboard held one of their longer meetings in some time. The public was active! Complaints about downtown crime, lack of action on climate change, and open meetings kept the board busy until after 10:30pm.
Of note, the Town acknowledged their violation of open meeting protocols and adopted a new two-part process to make sure it won’t happen again. This wasn’t enough for most people, who wanted a more detailed accounting of the EMS decision making process.
The board changed RTM districts to conform with state updates, adopted Utility and Parking budgets, and poured luke-warm water on a suggestion to bring back the electric trolley.
