Selectboard

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Something Borrowed

by cgrotke | Town News

It took the Brattleboro Selectboard less time to approve of a $7.8 million bond application than it did to learn about the Southern Vermont Dance Festival. Both were equally approved and proclaimed at Tuesday’s meeting.

Gibson Aiken gym windows will be replaced, paving projects have been funded, Brattleboro aims to buy property along the Whetstone to help with flood prevention and water quality, the cemetery committee and ordinance are evolving, and the annual dog warrant has been issued.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Brattleboro Skatepark Grant and VY Decommissioning Schedule

by cgrotke | Town News

Our local skatepark project got a boost with approval of a $230,000 grant application by the Brattleboro Selectboard at Tuesday’s meeting. If granted, the money will be used for design and construction of the skatepark at Living Memorial Park.

Emergency plans for Vermont Yankee are set to change as the storage situation in Vernon evolves. Maybe. The board also delat with annual approvals of liquor licenses, a Grand List certification, parade permits, and the adoption of a new ordinance for pets.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: PAYT, Union Hill, Low Bids, And The End Of An Era

by cgrotke | Town News

There will be no mailing of Selectboard concerns regarding the Charter change proposals. The media, it was deemed, will be enough of a loudspeaker for the board’s concerns.

Much of the upcoming Pay As You Throw system was voted into being, though the issue of who will be educating the public remains to be decided, while Moss Kahler and Waste Zero discuss the possibility working together.  

The Department of Public Works has a plan to save significant funds by doing the Union Hill intersection improvements in-house, a question of local-but-not-lowest bids delayed the awarding of a bid for a snack bar, and the calendar of events will no longer be read by the board.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Skatepark at LMP, MLK Day Adopted, New Police Chief Named

by cgrotke | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard had several important decisions and announcements at their regular Tuesday meeting. A new Town Manager will soon be hired, a new Police Chief has been sworn in, a skatepark site has been selected,  and Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be henceforth recognized in Brattleboro.

The police will also get new equipment, and Brattleboro is being recognized for energy efficiency achievements. Read on for all the important details, and then some.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: MLK in Limbo, Skatepark Acrimony, and Melrose Not A Burden

by cgrotke | Town News

Brattleboro’s recognition of MLK, Jr. Day remains unresolved, with the Selectboard asking for more information to compare the options of adding and swapping holidays for employees. 

The board had a long conversation about the future of the Melrose property, and specifically whether it would or could become a burden on the town. The Brattleboro Housing Authority said they didn’t want it to be a burden, but the board wanted further clarification before approving the PUD for Red Clover Commons.

The Entergy Funds committee is looking at their options, the skatepark visits nearly led to fisticuffs, town finances are preliminarily good, and the Selectboard approved goals. All this and more below.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Skatepark Location Remains TBD

by cgrotke | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard officially heard the official recommendations of the official Skatepark Site Selection Committee at their Tuesday meeting, but questions from the board and the public remain, and second-guessing of the results began almost immediately. An official Selectboard decision should come by the end of August.

The Selectboard also set the FY15 tax rate, agreed to go forward with improvements at Union Hill and Western Ave, discussed upcoming funding options using money form VY, learned about the potential threat to our ash trees, bought fuel, and more in a long meeting for returning board member David Gartenstein.

Representative Town Meeting in Brattleboro – Part 2: The Reaction and Repeal

by cgrotke | History

This is Part II of the story of Representative Town Meeting in Brattleboro. You can read Part I: Origins and Adoption here. Representative Town Meeting passed, but not everyone approved of the outcome. One of its critics was Edgar Lawton. Although we don’t hear much about Edgar Lawton today, his name is ever-present in the minutes and agendas of Selectboard and Town Meeting reports throughout the 1950s and 1960s.