The Brattleboro Selectboard will meet on Tuesday, July 3, 2018 in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 5:30pm to discuss pending or probable civil litigation and negotiation of a real estate lease, and reconvene for the regular business meeting at 6:15pm An ASL interpreter will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.
The biggest news of the Tuesday meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard came not from the agenda but introductory remarks. The Town manager announced that Planning Services Director Rod Francis was leaving Brattleboro in the next couple of weeks.
This was followed by an unscheduled but surprisingly active discussion of aggressive panhandling in the downtown area.
Beyond those matters, the skatepark hired a design firm and got some extra cash, contracts and grants were approved, the utility budget passed, a long resolution was adopted, and more.
It’s happening. At their next regular meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard will hire a company to do the designs for the skatepark at Living Memorial Park.
The board will discuss repairs at the Waste Water Treatment Plant, discuss parking, talk about loans and grants, approve an annual contract with Rescue, Inc., and proceed with the loan for the new fire truck. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
Groundworks Collaborative gave the Brattleboro Selectboard a report on the seasonal overflow shelter. They admitted they don’t have the resources to develop a temporary work program, though a new effort by Youth Services might be able to pull it off, perhaps by fall. Youth Services might get a new name, too, but that’s for another time.
The board adopted the FY19 Solid Waste and Parking Budgets, but left some decisions about parking meters, apps, and credit cards for a later discussion. Progress on energy audit matters was detailed, citizens pressed for more to be done, the skatepark is close to the fundraising finish line, grants have been applied for, and citizens were appointed to various Brattleboro committees and boards.
Also, two mentions of John Allen.
After their state-wide resolution was widely approved on March 6 the 350VT central committee endorsed an advisory resolution in Brattleboro. Brattleboro residents should be aware and encourage the selectboard to put implement the popular environmental measure. That is, to make the 350 resolution real by enacting the local follow-up:
Whereas we have a moral duty to reduce the various pollutants that cause untold harm to people all over the world,
The Brattleboro skatepark project will receive $15,000 from the Thomas Thompson Trust, and Brattleboro Goes Fourth will get a permit for a parade at the next regular meeting of the selectboard.
The board will continue with the FY19 parking budget, hear a report from Groundworks Collaborative, review energy efficiency projects and town investments in renewables, and hire a roofer and a tree remover. Grants for child protection services, Bradley House, and intralibrary loans will be discussed, and annual committee appointments and dog warrants will be announced. You can add to the fun by bringing up other items not on the agenda 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.
Selectboard Chair Kate O’Connor recently announced during a Selectboard meeting that she didn’t read emails sent to her official email account.
I decided to send a few questions to Town Manager Peter Elwell about this April 26. When did O’Connor stop reading her emails? How many emails piled up as unread? How many of them were from citizens and how many were spam? Which other Selectboard members don’t read their official email accounts? And how should citizens contact board members so that they know their comments will be read?
The Brattleboro Selectboard has a full agenda for their next meeting, having postponed a number of matters from their previous meeting. Financing of the fire truck purchase, improvements to the new police station and Union Station, and reviewing Solid Waste and Parking budgets are among the topics.
Brattleboro’s Town Plan gets a second public hearing and possible adoption if no one objects. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation.
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.
Brattleboro’s Police Department might be getting a carport. It’s one of the final recommendations of the Police-Fire Facilities Committee and will be up for discussion at Tuesday’s meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.
The board will learn of improvements to the Union Station train station in the near future. They will discuss the FY19 Utilities Budget, initiate final designs for the waste process water line at Pleasant Valley, hold a public hearing on the revised Town Plan, learn about the downtown parking study, review the Solid Waste budget for FY19, and more. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation, too.
It was a night of big things for the Brattleboro Selectboard – a big, new fire truck was ordered, and plans for a possible big $32.5m dairy processing facility were presented.
The board got an update on skatepark finances and schedule, tires in the wetlands will be cleaned up next fall, a letter about Act 46 stalled, the leaf pickup schedule is being re-examined, and goals and plans for the coming year were discussed. The board discussed energy matters, compassion, and diversity.
Oh, and for anyone seeking to get a message to Board Chair, don’t send email…
The Brattleboro Selectboard will receive an update on the skatepark financing and schedule from members of BASIC at their next regular meeting. They’ll also accept a $15,000 challenge grant for the project.
The board will order a new fire truck, discuss dumped tires and clean rivers, consider a letter regarding tax implications of an Act 46 merger, set goals, review rules of conduct, adopt an emergency operations plan, and more. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation.
Permits, plans, and policies dominated the first regular meeting of the newly-formed Brattleboro Selectboard.
Flood plain models and measurements were at issue for a significant portion of the meeting, with little that could be done except make a federal case of the matter. In the end, an agreement to reach an agreement with a property owner was agreeable enough to allow the board to acknowledge the project they have no say in. It was that sort of an evening.
The skatepark approaches, but has not crossed, the fundraising finish line. A revised Town Plan is nearing completion, a re-application for the Downtown Improvement District relies on the Town Plan being approved, and the Heifers have permits to go strolling again this year.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will get an overview of the revised Town Plan at their first regular meeting with newly-elected members. Public hearings to discuss the plan will be scheduled, too.
Permits for Strolling of the Heifers will be considered, the renewal of the designated downtown district, floodplains, cemeteries, and grants related to housing and the skatepark will be discussed as well. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Monday, March 26, 2018, at 5:30pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center. The new Selectboard members will be sworn in and the Board will elect officers. An ASL interpreter will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.
The Brattleboro Selectboard approved a new contract with Brattleboro firefighters Tuesday evening. Negotiations began in 2016, stalled, resumed, and just recently wrapped up. Firefighters will be getting a retroactive raise going back to when the process began.
Liquor licenses, a finance report, a grant for bulletproof vests, and an update on Windham Regional Commission were all punctuated by news that this meeting was John Allen’s final regular selectboard meeting.
At the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard, five local establishments will discuss recent liquor violations and corrective actions taken since. If the board is satisfied with their responses, they’ll be granted their annual liquor license renewals.
The board had a discussion of winter road conditions, causes of potholes, methods of repairing potholes, and specific reasons why Western Avenue has so many of them.
The board considered a letter to state education officials asking to support the results of the vote against a school district merger, as it would negatively impact Brattleboro taxes. The Brewer’s Fest permit was approved, Brattleboro Words are being explored and celebrated, and a pile of tires near the Marina is a problem for plants and animals in the vicinity.
We now present the fourth in our series of four interviews with people running for the Brattleboro Selectboard. Brandie Starr is the sole candidate for the three year seat.
