Town News

Lacking two members, the Brattleboro Selectboard took up a relatively light agenda in their absence. A liquor license was approved for The Tavern, Selectboard goals were approved, and new members were appointed to town committees.

Town Manager Barb Sondag took advantage of the reduced work load for the meeting and took time to educate new board members, and the public, about budgets, committees, and other various reports that Selectboard members receive.

The class was short but informative, and the meeting’s business was done within an hour.

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facility Building Committee will meet on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

The Brattleboro Selectboard will adopt their annual goals at the next regular Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center on Main Street. They’ll also take up committee appointments and vacancies, hear about new ownership of the Colonial Motel, get the latest on the Waste Water Treatment Plant Project, and revisit the decision to allow a Selectboard member voting rights on a committee.

You can bring up other issues that aren’t on the agenda during public participation if you attend. If not, watch the full proceedings on BCTV and read about it hear the next day. 

Brattleboro’s 2013 Water Quality Report is now available. We are once again proud to report no violations and few contaminants detected in the water we supply. This Federally mandated report contains information and test results on the water supplied to Brattleboro residents during the past year. It also includes general information about your water supply and its sources and a little water department news.

The ADA Advisory Committee previously scheduled on April 12 has been cancelled due to the inclement weather forecast. The next meeting will be May 10.

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

Due to installation of new doors at the Brooks Memorial Library, the back door next to the Municipal Center parking lot will be closed for the week of April 15th. The Library’s front door on Main Street will be open throughout the week. Those requiring wheelchair access to the building may call the Library at (802) 254-5290 x109 (days) or x0 (evenings) to arrange for access during the construction. 

The next “Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast” will take place on Friday,  April 19, 2013 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals. Doors open at 7:30am.

Moss Kahler promises to speak to everything you want to know about Brattleboro’s upcoming Curbside Compost program — about containers/cart; what’s OK and what is not OK to put in the curbside compost; how to sign up; where and when to pick up curbside carts and kitchen containers; what it costs to participate; when it will start . . . (etc.) 

Please do not hesitate to pass along this invitation to others who might be interested, but:

Tonight at our regular meeting, the Town Finance Committee voted unanimously to request that the municipality (Brattleboro Town Government) discover and sum up the total amount of public (tax) monies spent to originally create, and to continue since then to maintain, the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, from the time of its inception until the current time.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 5:30pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 4:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 4:30pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Wine and beer at galleries and bookstore events will have to wait until Vermont offers up definitions of galleries and bookstores. So sayeth the Selectboard.

Brattleboro’s Police-Fire Facility Project oversight committee has been formed, a new skating rink compressor will be purchased, and Brattleboro has begun the first of what may be many solar energy projects.

The new Selectboard got off to a good start, with a new commitment from the Chair to hear all viewpoints. The new seating arrangement is, from left to right, Schneck, Schoales, Gartenstein, Sondag, O’Connor, and Allen. Longtime Selectboard watchers can make of it what they may.

The following dates have been scheduled for Brattleboro’s curbside Spring Leaf Collection. Whereas in the past leaf pickup was determined by scheduled day of rubbish pickup, all locations will be picked up each Friday:

Leaf Pick Up Date

ALL RESIDENTS Friday, April 12, 2013

ALL RESIDENTS Friday, April 26, 2013

At the first meeting of the new Brattleboro Selectboard, the board will again take up the issue of a new state law allowing beer and wine at gallery events. They’ll also discuss a proposal to purchase solar energy from ISA Solar and Green Lantern Capital from a site to be determined.

They will also hear from new owners of Elliot Street Fish, Chips and More, appoint members to the Police Fire Facility Project oversight committee, consider skating rink repairs, set board goals, and review their rules of conduct. All this and more, and you can watch on TV or attend in person. 

The Brattleboro Energy Committee will meet on Monday, April 1, 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

A day of changes in Brattleboro.

Andrea Livermore has just announced that she will be resigning from Building a Better Brattleboro effective April 12, 2013. She says she may serve in a part time capacity through the fiscal year to provide for a smooth transition.

She says:

Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast, March 15, 2013, Gibson-Aiken Center – Brattleboro VT

Presenter: Tad Montgomery  –  ecological engineer, principal of  and member of the Home Energy Challenge and PACE sub-committees of the Brattleboro Town Energy Committee.

Tad began by asking the audience of about 25 people whether they had done energy efficiency retrofits on their houses since 2007.  About ? had. He noted that statewide it is 5.6%, or about 1% per year.  At that rate it will take 100 years to get to the 20%-30% goal the state has set for itself by 2020.  

Tis over.

The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, March 25, 2013 at 5:30pm at the Brooks Memorial Library in the community room.

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

Below you’ll find a handy guide to the Town’s half of the Town Meeting Articles (the Schools half I couldn’t find; if you have it add it in the comments).

Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting is Saturday at the high school on Fairground Road. BCTV will be there covering the events of the day, and we’ll be streaming their signal here so you can observe and make comments from the proverbial peanut gallery.