The Brattleboro Selectboard held their first meeting of June, spending most of the time discussing goals, but also approving Utility and Parking budgets for FY20.
Firefighters, administrators and office staff of Local 98 all got raises, and a new downtown design process will be getting underway.
Vice Chair Tim Wessel led the board through the second regular meeting in May. It was a night of numbers, with Water & Sewer, Parking, and Solid Waste FY20 budgets being discussed in detail. One member compared the evening to math class, but budgets can be revealing, and many new town projects and plans were listed. The projects have timelines and costs, hence their inclusion in budget talks.
The Brattleboro Selectboard was reduced to four members for their meeting Tuesday, and Tim Wessel sat in as Chair for the evening. They managed to get through a long agenda with relative efficiency.
A new goal to examine the impact of the opioid epidemic in Brattleboro is being considered, as is a new handicap parking space on the east side of Main Street. The state may have programs that might eventually help Brattleboro with broadband issues, Brattleboro is paving streets in Esteyville and buying a new dump truck, and much more.
A packed agenda awaits the Brattleboro Selectboard for their first regular meeting of May. Brattleboro broadband possibilities and a handicapped parking space on Main Street are just two items of note.
They’ll also talk about liquor licenses for new and old establishments. They will buy a dump truck, authorize improvements to the parking garage, plan summer paving, and discuss goals and town operations. There are grants to apply for, farm taxes to be stabilized, meetings to cancel, and more. And you can bring up other items during public participation.
The Brattleboro Selectboard handed out annual liquor licenses then held an extended discussion about COSU, a collaborative community project to tear down silos and create connections between addiction and recovery programs in the community.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hear their first request for an exemption from the relatively new Plastic Bag Ordinance. Zephyr Designs is making the request.
Culture Made Vermont will get lots of goodies, mileage will be certified, an EPA grant applied for, liquor permits approved, and nearly final FY20 budget thoughts presented. You can weigh in on spending Rooms & Meals taxes on promotions and the precedent it sets, or bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
Parking rates are set to go up after the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. They’ll also be repealing the begging ordinance that caught the recent attention of the ACLU.
Brattleboro will buy sand and salt, get some bulletproof vest upgrades, and the board will review their goals as well as bulky item trash pickup. You can bring up other matters during public participation.
Brattleboro’s Town Plan revision was adopted by the Brattleboro Selectboard at Tuesday’s meeting. It was one of many items in a packed agenda that included financing of the new fire truck, preliminary design work on a possible police carport, and likely train station improvements.
The usually dull Parking Fund overview was spiced up by a request for a comprehensive look at the parking system, with public discussions, prior to approving any capital improvements. The FY19 Solid Waste Budget was introduced, finances were discussed, goals were adopted, and we learned that Brattleboro has a new Indian restaurant.
Finally, Brattleboro’s two confidential employees received a 2% raise, along with other non-union positions.
The Brattleboro Selectboard scheduled too many weighty issues for their Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center. As the meeting went on, agenda items were jettisoned in repeated attempts to keep the length of the meeting somewhat reasonable.
Those issues that were discussed were discussed in detail. The board learned about the Utilities Fund budget and possible rate changes in coming years, discussed goals for the coming year, received a presentation on the results of a Downtown Parking Survey, and held a public hearing on the Town Plan revision. They attended to Department of Transportation paperwork, settled a lawsuit, changed the name of a street, applied for grants, and more.
Also, a mouse.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at 5:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
