News and information sections, from near to far
I-91
Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge in the Fall of 2015.
There will be no night work the week of May 11.
Route 30
The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Spring of 2016.
Former New England Center for Circus Arts student Samantha Pitard was one of the eight circus acrobats that fell at a Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey circus show in Providence.
She’s the only performer released from the hospital so far.
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Elsie Smith, NECCA co-founder and Artistic Director, said doing aerial arts is like driving a car. ”You learn slowly, and know that there is danger in what you are doing. There are bumps and bruises and fender benders along the way, and every once in a while there is an accident like a pile up on the interstate that gets a lot of attention.”
UPPER DUMMERSTON CLOSURE UPDATE: Demolition work on the I-91 Bridge over Upper Dummerston Road will be halted later today, May 7. Upper Dummerston will remain open from later today through to the morning of Monday, May 12.
Our work and the Upper Dummerston Road closure will resume at 7:00 AM Monday, May 12th and will be completed Wednesday, May 14th. Upper Dummerston road will only be closed during the day from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM and will be reopened at night. We do not anticipate any night work for the closure.
The FY15 budget was again the focus of discussion for the Brattleboro Selectboard. At their regular Tuesday meeting they refined their positions on what cuts to aim for, and instructed the Interim Town Manager to prepare and bring options to their next special meeting to discuss and decide on the budget. This, despite significant disagreement amongst board members over which way to proceed.
In other news, work will begin on a plan to implement some sort of Pay As You Throw system to comply with state law. The board decided to hire a consultant, quite likely Moss Kahler, to assist.
There was also ample discussion of heifers, bridges, the parking budget and more.
Strolling of the Heifers … Slow Living Summit . . . . and the River Garden!
The “Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast” will take place on Friday, May 16, 2014 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals. Doors open at 7:30am.
We plan to hear from Orly Munzing , Strolling of the Heifers Founder and Executive Director who will talk about the Strolling, the Slow Living Summit and the River Garden and invite questions and suggestions.
Governor Peter Shumlin has issued a proclamation declaring May 10, 2014 as “Winston Prouty Center for Child Development Day in Vermont.”
The proclamation coincides with the The Prouty Center’s 25th Taste of the Town fundraiser, which will take place May 10th, from 6:30-10:30pm at the International Center on the campus of SIT Graduate Institute.
The proclamation reads:
An alternate route for the West River Trail that provides recreational use of the trail near the construction access road has been opened at the Marina Trailhead. Signage has been installed providing clear direction to recreational users of the trail. There are intersections between construction access and the trail; users are strongly encouraged to exercise extreme caution at these intersections. As an additional safety precaution, users of the West River Trail are reminded to keep pets on a leash when using the trail in this area.
The next monthly meeting of the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will be held at the New England House
on Thursday, May 8th at 6:00 PM. The guests are Pat Moulton Powden and Laura Sibilia of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation/BDCC and the Southeast Vermont Economic Development Strategies/SeVEDS. Their discussion will likely focus on the recently published regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy/CEDS plan.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will return to the discussion of what to do about the FY15 budget at their next regular Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center. You can attend in person or watch on BCTV.
The board will also take first steps toward a state-mandated Pay As You Throw system, the Planning Department will receive grant money for a rewrite of the zoning regulations, there will be discussion and approval of a Parking budget, the Heifers will get a parade permit, and more. You can also bring up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation.
I am hoping that people bring their cameras to Brattleboro tonight.
We are mere hours away from the arrival of the UFO, and ir would be a shame to not have it be well documented.
Green Mountain Crossroads Announces New Executive Director
Brattleboro, VT (05/01/14) – The Green Mountain Crossroads (GMC) Board of Directors has appointed HB Lozito as its new Executive Director. Green Mountain Crossroads works to strengthen the community, conversation, and identity of rural LGBTQ folks in Southern Vermont and throughout the region. Lozito joins GMC with varied experience as a grassroots organizer, advocate, designer, educator, and leader in the LGBTQ community. The Board is thrilled to have Lozito join GMC and eager to see them succeed in this new position.
The Brattleboro Energy Committee will meet on Monday, May 5, 2014 at 5:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
The Brattleboro ADA Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, May 9, 2014 at 10:00am at the Marlboro College Graduate Center in the VCIL conference room.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
The Brattleboro Selectboard held their special meeting to continue discussion of the FY15 budget on Thursday with a large crowd in attendance that included many town meeting representatives and town staff, along with others including some that rarely attend public meetings of any sort.
No decisions were made, but the Selectboard seemed to be sticking to their previously announced views, a 3-2 majority favoring significant cuts beyond the elimination of the second bond.
The public seemed divided as well, with some insisting they could afford increases and would like the same budget as before, while others expressed real issues with tax increases and asked for relief.
Yet another conflict on Elliot. The second in recent days. This evening a woman at 175 Elliot St. was transported with a head & neck injury. When the head injury occured this afternoon she refused transport. But tonight she was in severe pain. Brutal assault. Are the people on Elliot getting more violent? I wonder. How do we have a dialogue about this?
The traffic light at Main and High Streets has been temporarily repaired with spare parts and is back in service after one of the components was damaged on Tuesday. The strobe light which indicates when the train is crossing Bridge Street is still out of service at this intersection and will NOT activate until the repair is complete.
Department of Public Works
211 Fairground Road, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301
Tel: 802-254-4255 • Fax: 802-257-2316 • E-mail: brattdpw@sover.net
For clarification on the location of the Selectboard meeting tonight:
The Special Selectboard meeting tonight (May 1) is scheduled in the BAMS (Brattleboro Area Middle School) multi-purpose room at 6:30pm. The “BAMS Front Entrance” door on the south side of the building will be unlocked. Parking is available by the BAMS front entrance, in the “parking lot bus loop” lot on the southwest side of BAMS building, and at the Community Bible Chapel on Atwood Street. For additional information, please contact the Town Manager’s office (251-8151).
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
There have been a few locations mentioned for the Special Budget Meeting scheduled for tonight at 6:30 PM. I called the Town Manager’s Office this morning, and Executive Secretary Jan Anderson tells me that the meeting will take place in the BAMS (Middle School) Multi Purpose Room.
People who go to the BAMS Gymnasium (as listed in the official meeting warning) or the BUHS Multi Purpose Room (as listed in the Brooks Library notice yesterday) will be directed to the proper location at BAMS Multi Purpose Room.
Just wanted to clear that up as I was feeling confused myself. And as Jan says, there will be signs so it should be easy to find once you get to there.
Brattleboro is continuing its study of making it easier to walk and bicycle in West Brattleboro along Western Avenue. A grant award from the Vermont Agency of Transportation is funding the study. The Town will hold the second of three public work sessions associated with this project on May 13, 2014 at 6:00 PM, in the Selectboard Meeting Room in the Municipal Center at 230 Main Street.
RSG and Broadreach Planning & Design, hired by the Town to assist with the study, will present a variety of alternatives for creating better bicycling and walking conditions on Western Avenue. The consultants hope to reach consensus among the meeting attendees on which alternative or alternatives are most appropriate.
This pie chart shows all the town’s major budget areas so people can see graphically how they compare. The budget is largely driven by personnel costs – salaries, insurance, retirement, etc. – for the people providing us with services.
A lot of people seem to be writing and talking about the police-fire project as if the $9 million bond would be a major factor in the town budget. While it is certainly nothing to sneeze at and it may have been the straw the broke the camel’s back with respect to passing the budget, in the scope of all the town’s expenses the project is just that – a straw. Reducing the town’s budget (and property taxes) is by no means as simple as just skipping the $9M bond.
(Edit: slide tweaked Thursday afternoon to show $9M first bond payment more exactly as $261,473, add FY13 and FY14 budgets, and show scale of impact of $9M bond on future budgets.)
