Town News

BRATTLEBORO, VT—With the countdown on for opening in early August, the Brooks House Development Team will host an Open House on Strolling of the Heifers weekend to allow folks a peek at progress.

A Brooks House representative will be available in the space that will be occupied by Duo Restaurant (at the corner of Main and High Streets) to provide updates on the construction, answer questions and provide information on spaces still to be leased. The Open House will be free and open to the public during Gallery Walk on Friday night and during the Strolling of the Heifers parade on Saturday.

There was almost no mention of the FY15 budget during Tuesday’s meeting, giving the board a slight break from their spreadsheet to tackle other important issues, such as what on earth will the town do about the need for Police and Fire facility improvements. There wasn’t agreement, but some small steps forward were proposed.

The board also handled some feisty event prevention, made sure that the annual Independence Day parade would occur annually, discussed bridge work, and bought some equipment and software for the Police to crack open your cell phone’s lock codes and passwords, if necessary.

We’ll be doing a live blog here of the special Representative Town Meeting, in which the revised FY15 budget is presented for reconsideration. With the fiscal year looming, it is likely to pass, but how it passes may be another matter. Occasional updates coming throughout the meeting…

The Brattleboro Selectboard plans a regular Tuesday meeting free of FY15 budget discussions for the first time in quite a while, filled instead with the more ordinary business of parade and liquor permits, new bridges, grants, and dog warrants. The outcome of Monday’s special Representative Town Meeting could come up for discussion, and a conversation of what to do with the Police and Fire Facilities project might veer in the direction of the budget, but otherwise the agenda is refreshingly nonbudgemental at first glance.

You can bring up items not otherwise on the agenda during Public Participation if you attend in person. You can also watch on BCTV, and read the full report here the day after.

The Brattleboro Town Manager Search Citizen Committee will meet on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at 6:00pm at the Academy School.  It is anticipated that the Committee will enter into executive session at 6:00pm to discuss a personnel matter.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at 8:30am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Art Committee will meet on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at 4:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting and Informational Town Meeting on Tuesday, May 27, 2014. The Board will convene the special meeting at 5:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 5:00pm to discuss a personnel matter, and reconvene at the Informational Town Meeting at 6:30pm at the Academy School gymnasium.

 Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast                                                                          

May 16, 2014

Gibson-Aiken Center

The Strolling of the Heifers … and more

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Thursday, May 22, 2014 at 12:00 noon in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 12:00 noon to discuss a personnel matter.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Town Manager Search Citizen Committee will meet on Thursday, May 22, 2014 at 11:00am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Committee will enter into executive session at 11:00am to discuss a personnel matter.

The revised FY15 budget was adopted by the Selectboard, clearing the way for Representative Town Meeting members to weigh in next on June 2. Whether to take funds out of the reserve to further reduce municipal taxes was the only issue the board discussed in any great additional detail, and the decision was a happy surprise for John Allen.

Brattleboro is nearing the selection of a new Town Manager, with a candidate to be selected within the next two or three weeks if all goes as planned, new electric vehicle charging stations will be installed, a PAYT committee was initiated, liquor licenses were approved, and more.

In observance of Memorial Day, all Brattleboro town offices will be closed on Monday, May 26, 2014, with the exception of emergency services.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Sunday, May 25 and Monday, May 26, 2014. All other violations, including extended parking, will be enforced.

The Brattleboro Town Manager Search Citizen Committee will meet on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 at 4:45pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Committee will enter into executive session at 5:00pm to discuss a personnel matter.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 at 6:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 6:00pm to discuss a personnel matter.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Selectboard hopes to vote on a final and revised $15,881,866 FY15 budget Tuesday night in preparation for the special June 2 Representative Town Meeting.

They will also take up the issue of a Pay As You Throw committee, liquor permits, grants, and a monthly financial report. If there’s something you’d like to bring up that isn’t on the agenda, you can do so doing Public participation.

The meeting is at the Municipal Center on Main Street, and you can watch it on BCTV and read about it here the next day.

The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 at 5:30pm in the community room at the Brooks Memorial Library. Note the date change for this meeting.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

LIONS CHARTER NEW CLUB IN BRATTLEBORO

A new Lions club has been established in Brattleboro! The Brattleboro Area Lions Club will meet on the first and third Mondays of every month at 6:30 P.M. at the Austine School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. For more information or to get involved, please contact Jim Zoller at 802-579-6899

Lions club members work together to identify needs in their community and address those needs. The new Lions Club will conduct fundraising events to support programs for deaf, hearing-impaired, blind, and sight-impaired individuals. There are plans to get involved with other charitable organizations and fundraising projects.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold special meetings on May 15, 2014 at 12:00 noon and May 16, 2014 at 8:00am am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at both meetings to discuss personnel matters. The Town regrets that this warning is not made with the full time required under the statute.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

Two sets of budget numbers were prepared at the request of the Brattleboro Selectboard since their last FY15 budget meeting. One involves specific cuts the Selectboard was considering; the other takes a look at a 1% across-the-board cut for all departments.

At Tuesday’s somewhat heated meeting, the board considered and voted on which cuts to include in their revised budget for presentation to town meeting representatives on June 2, ending up with a combination of the two approaches. Members of the public also weighed in, sometimes with great passion. Accusations were thrown, apologies offered, and and ideas were suggested.

By the end, the board had a list of requests for the Interim Town Manager to include in a revised budget that they hope to adopt and have ready for representatives in June.