The Brattleboro Selectboard’s Organizational Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at 6:15pm, in the Selectboard Meeting Room (230 Main Street, RM 212) and over Zoom. The attached agenda contains information on how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.” Closed captioning will be available for the deaf and hard of hearing.
AGENDA
I. Convene, quorum check
II. Approve Minutes of February, 2023 Meeting
III. Welcome & Introductions/Check-in [10 mins]
IV. Purpose and Priorities [40 mins]
Work has continued on the cap for Pier 1 with the rebar being flown into place and tied atop the stem. Form work for the cap will be completed, bearing seats fully constructed, detail work finished, and everything fully adjusted to match plan location and elevation prior to the scheduled concrete placement next Tuesday.
Additional crews may begin work on the drainage installation required in the Barrows and Fisher yard late next week.
I. Approval of Minutes from 2/28/24 (5 minutes)
Update: 3/12/24 SD Meeting
Re-Adoption (Action Required):
G8 Continuous Improvement Plan
Am feeling some slight pangs of hunger as I sit down to my dinner, and the thought automatically arises, ‘how could a starving person take the immeasurably more severe hunger pain caused by the strong contractions of the stomach when it’s empty,’and that makes me think of the poor desperately hungry children being starved in Gaza. Am still aware of the good taste of the food in my mouth but suddenly am not enjoying eating.
A place to make note of little things you see in and around Brattleboro, such as:
New bigger stronger electric poles going in along Rt 30 between the Retreat farm area and the bakery.
Work taking apart the motel in West B continues.
Potholes! Some are so big the Rec & Parks Department will begin maintaining them as swimming pools.
CALL TO ORDER—6:03 p.m. – Anne Beekman – Chair
The chair thanked Mo Hart for her work at the previous night’s meeting with zoom links and technology.
On a motion by Deborah Stanford the board moved to approve the minutes of February 14, 2024.
Agenda
1. What the end of the year looks like:
a. Numbers of students (first year/second year)
b. Senior goals
c. Completion of Pre-Apprenticeship
Now that Spring is here, we can talk freely. We didn’t seem to get very much snow this winter. Felt pretty warm, too. Is the end of snow near?
This is very much like the weather used to be in the mid-Atlantic. When I was in DC in the late 80’s and early 90’s, it would get cold, but there was barely any snow. A half an inch would surprise people and shut things down. We got much more slush, and that would freeze into ruts because there wasn’t a good plow system in place.
I just went through the process of buying a used car from a local dealership – twice! I thought I’d share what happened in case you are considering getting yourself something new or used to drive.
The Realization
Last summer I came to a point in the proverbial road where a choice had to be made – spend some money fixing up my older car, or look for something newer. Both options had pros and cons.
Join Next Stage for an evening of discussion and music inspired by the climate crisis and environmental activism. New York Times bestselling author and historian Douglas Brinkley and environmentalist and author Bill McKibben will talk about their writings on climate action and environmental history, in a discussion moderated by Vanessa Vadim.
The evening will open with music from traveling composer-performer Ben Cosgrove, whose music explores themes of landscape, place, and environment. The event will take place at Next Stage on Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 pm at 15 Kimball Hill in downtown Putney, VT. Tickets are $15.
A first person account of running for your freedom and safety as a non-binary person from Russia. After much red tape, detainment and hardship, Ember Rebrina is now in Brattleboro, receiving help and support through CASP, and volunteers in the community.
Summary
● The board conducted a public information session about the proposed FY25 budget that will be presented for a vote at the Annual Meeting on 3/19/24.
● The Board voted to hire Patrice Michelle Herman, Science teacher at BUHS
● Three Executive Sessions were added to the end of the meeting.
● Voted to readopt policy G8- Continuous Improvement Plan
I was recently reminded of how much most Americans are missing from their lives because of the loss of connection to our cultural roots. My wife and I attended a presentation of the history of Mocko Jumbies on St Croix in the Virgin Islands and we realized some of the cultural richness that we are missing.
Many of the Caribbean islands are steeped in cultural traditions that was brought from Africa and continue to be a part of their lives. Mocko Jumbies are stilt walkers who dress up in colorful traditional African costumes and dance and sway to the infectious beat of African and Caribbean rhythms.
1. Minutes – February 15, 2024
2. Public Participation
3. Monthly Report on Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Traffic Incidents– For February
4. Safety Action Requests
Crews have stripped all forms for the Pier 1 footing and stem. The footing has now been backfilled with clean stone and the cofferdam sheets have been pulled. Work has begun on the cap for Pier 1 and forms are being placed. Next Tuesday, the cap rebar will be placed on top of the stem and the remainder of the week will be spent tying the cap to the stem, installing formwork, and making final adjustments to be ready for concrete. Another crew may begin work on drainage installation required in the Barrows and Fisher yard next week as well.
On Tuesday March 19th the Brattleboro Highway Division will replace a failed culvert on Upper Dummerston road, near House #1111. Crews will start at 7:30 am with alternating one lane traffic while they prep the area. At 10:00am this section of road will be closed to traffic, as they install the new culvert pipe. A full closure is expected from 10:00am to 1:00pm. After the full closure, residents should expect alternating traffic for the remainder of the day. Residents should plan accordingly and seek alternate routes. Emergency services are aware of this closure and will implement a plan to continue to provide any services needed beyond this closure.
Matt Betz and Peggy shared about the advisory system. They use Developmental Designs. A majority of the staff are formally trained in this framework. Every day starts with advisory – a small group of 10-12 students. It’s like a family during their two years at BAMS. There is a lot of social bonding that takes place among the team. They have daily connection building activities like sharing circles and games. There are team meetings once a week and regular assemblies to celebrate successes and address concerns.
Official recounts are in, for the two three-year terms for Brattleboro representatives on the WSESD Board of Directors. Town Clerks of Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford and Putney, submitted their recount results to the WSESD Clerk at the Superintendent of Schools Office, and the end result didn’t change the outcome of the vote.
The numbers have increased by a few votes for each of the three candidates, but the two winners of this election remain Timothy “Tim” Maciel and Colleen Savage.
The Windham Southeast School District (“WSESD”) will hold its Annual District Meeting on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 7:00 p.m., in the gymnasium at Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS). BUHS is located at 131 Fairground Road, Brattleboro, Vermont. Residents of the WSESD member towns of Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford and Putney are encouraged to attend in person.
Childcare will be provided for the Annual Meeting, as one way to support the highest number of residents/voters to attend the meeting. To secure childcare with WSESD staff members, call 802-254-3730 by noon on March 19th, so we’ll know to have sufficient childcare staff available.
Warned items for the meeting include 5 Articles, such as the election of District Officers, what to pay members of the School Board, and a vote on the FY 2025 WSESD budget. See attached Warning. Your opinion matters, but you can only vote if you are present on the floor of the Annual District Meeting.
