News and information sections, from near to far
Neighborhood Potluck – Free
What does this neighborhood mean to you?
Sunday, March 10, 5:00-7:00 pm at Elliot St Café, corner Elm and Elliot, 134 Elliot St.
Join your neighbors for a potluck and discussion to create a vision for this neighborhood.
On March 7, 2013 at 6:00pm at the Brattleboro Municipal Center in the Selectboard Meeting Room Vermont Agency of Transportation will hold a Section 502 Public Hearing to review plans for improvements to Route 5 (Putney Road) from the Veterans Bridget to the Exit 3 Round-about.
This project calls for a reconstruction of the roadway with construction of four roundabouts, retainage walls, landscaping, and sidewalks. This is a major infrastructure project. The Section 502 Hearing is the public’s opportunity to review, ask questions, and provide feedback on this project. While construction is still several years off, this is the time for citizens to provide input into final design.
The Brattleboro Agriculture Advisory Committee will meet on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 7:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.
The Brattleboro ADA Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, March 8, 2013 at 10:00am at the Marlboro College Graduate Center in the VCIL conference room.
Additional Public Meetings and Hearings:
The Brattleboro Energy Committee will meet on Monday, March 4, 2013 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 Selectboard will be given a recommendation for hiring a Police-Fire Project Manager at their next regular Tuesday evening meeting. They will also select a project manager for the downtown sidewalk repair project.
There will be discussion of the FY14 Parking Budget, consideration of a videoconferencing system for the library, the purchase compost carts for the new composting pickup program, Honeywell lease financing and more.
Catch it all on TV or in person at the Municipal Center on Main Street. You can bring up other issues not on the agenda during Public Participation, too.
Here’s a handy guide to expected changes and cuts in Vermont due to sequestration going into effect today, courtesy of the White House.
“If sequestration were to take effect, some examples of the impacts on Vermont this year alone are:
Teachers and Schools: Vermont will lose approximately $1,128,000 in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 20 teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 2,000 fewer students would be served and approximately 10 fewer schools would receive funding.
March 1, 2013 – Building a Better Brattleboro (BABB), owner and operator of the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, announces the process for taking the next steps towards the organization’s divestiture of management and/or ownership of the Robert H. Gibson River Garden. As such, it invites the community and those parties interested in presenting proposals to do so, based on the following schedule and guidelines.
“BABB appreciates and values the community’s interest in the future of the River Garden. We believe the most effective way to accurately and fairly respond to all of the suggestions and opinions we’ve received regarding the River Garden is to provide an informational package on our web site and give everyone an opportunity to submit proposals regarding the building’s future.” notes Donna Simons, BABB Board President.
Need a job? Can you “review and assess impingement mortality plans and entrainment mortality studies?” Do you have expertise on “CWIS technology and engineering, nuclear engineering and CWIS technical feasibility?” If so, you should consider the following bid opportunity from the State of Vermont:
MEETING RESCHEDULED – Due to the weather, the meeting regarding the Downtown Sidewalk Project previously scheduled for today, February 27, has been RESCHEDULED to Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center.
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Residents and Business Owners:
3 Vermont State Senators – Senators Hartwell, Benning and Galbraith – Will Participate
GRAFTON, VT—With growing concern about the negative and destructive environmental impacts of a possible large-scale industrial wind development, Friends of Grafton’s Heritage has invited legislators and residents of towns with wind turbines to discuss the issues and personal after effects.
The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, February 25, 2013 at 5:30pm in the Brooks Memorial Library community room.
Citizen Police Communications Committee
Monday, February 25, 2013, 5:30pm
Brooks Memorial Library Meeting Room
The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at 8:30am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.
TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013 – 8:30am
SELECTBOARD MEETING ROOM
The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at 4:30pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.
The Brattleboro Energy Committee will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at 7:00pm at Marlboro College Graduate Center in Room 2NE. The Town Meeting Members and public are invited to attend and discuss PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy).
Informational Meeting:
The Town invites downtown business/property owners, residents and the public to attend a public discussion on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center to discuss the upgrade of sidewalks on the east side of Main Street.
The West Brattleboro Association (WBA) is a group of business owners and residents interested in promoting commerce in the village and assuring that it is a safe, healthy, attractive and prosperous place – both for the community and visitors. And they have decided one way to get traffic to take a look at West Brattleboro is to place attractive signage welcoming people to it.
With the help of Keene Signworx the WBA has developed a design for the new, free-standing signs.
Just heard this story on the radio. Many Hospitals are “running in the red” due to Medicare reimbursements. I’m concerned about the future of healthcare once Obamacare really kicks in. Could this be another example of unintended consequences?
The Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market is now accepting applications for new members to vend their products at the Saturday and/or Wednesday Markets. The Farmers’ Market is the region’s largest and oldest open-air Market and supports local agriculture, prepared foods and crafts. The Market features over 50 diverse vendors from the local area and attracts thousands of visitors annually.
The Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market is a not-for-profit, membership organization and welcomes applications from those who grow and/or create their own high-quality products, especially those working with local ingredients/materials to bring variety to the Market’s offerings.
Citizens were in attendance at this week’s Selectboard meeting to request once again that the town consider the concerns of the neighbors and do a proper site selection process for the new park. Dick DeGray said that the skatepark selection process consisted of himself and Jesse Corum proposing Crowell Lot as a good location, and that he was proud of their decison.
The Selectboard also approved Brattleboro’s Town Plan, continued thinking about expanding the Downtown Improvement District, began a discussion on implementing a local gasoline tax, and was accused of collecting parking income on national holidays.
All this and more, below…
Preliminaries
In case you were wondering, the economy really did slow down again last summer. A spike of business failures in July led to a cooling trend in August, and by September there was a discernible chill in the air. Nowhere was this so keenly felt as in small business.
Dun & Bradstreet’s Small Business Health Index Report documents this new wave of recession in typically bland terms, but the numbers say what thousands of small business owners cannot — the second half of 2012 (and continuing into the current quarter of 2013) stunk for small business.
To the Brattleboro Community:
The PACE (Property-Assessed Clean Energy) subcommittee of the Brattleboro Energy Committee invites all Brattleboro citizens – especially Town Meeting Reps – to an evening workshop on Wednesday, February 27 to learn about the PACE decision on the agenda of our upcoming town meeting on 3/23, and get answers to any questions you may have about this very exciting and significant new avenue to energy efficiency and renewable energy in our town.
Efficiency Vermont consultant and PACE expert Carol Weston will join us either in person or via Skype to answer your questions and describe how communities all over Vermont are in the process of implementing PACE.
Does anyone have a comprehensive file on how much public monies were invested in the Robert Gibson River Garden? At a recent Selectboard meeting, a member of the Town Finance Committee asked the question. After some thought, the Town Manager said the Town probably could not answer that specific question. It could only account for Town funds that went into the property, not all public funds.
