Town News

Trash, recycling and curbside composting are now picked up weekly on your regularly scheduled day. If you have questions, call Calista (in the Town office) at 251-8103. 

– Town Manager’s Office 

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Monday, June 24, 2013 at 5:30pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is possible that the Selectboard will enter into executive session following the business meeting.

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

Donna Macomber was unanimously selected to fill the vacancy on the Brattleboro Selectboard at a special meeting Thursday evening.

She and Michael Bosworth were nominated after being interviewed; Ian Kiehle and Steve Cormier were not nominated. Kate O’Connor thanked all who applied. “We were really lucky to have four really good people interested.”

During her interview Macomber said she hoped to bring energy and excitement to the board, as well as humility, emotional intelligence, a “beginner’s mind,” and an ability to make decisions.

It is anticipated that the Brattleboro Selectboard will enter into executive session at one or both of the special meetings scheduled on Thursday, June 20, 2013, at 5:00pm and 6:30pm, to discuss contractual and personnel matters.

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

The Brattleboro Selectboard bid farewell to Ken Schneck, whose resignation is effective this week, but in a surprise announcement it was learned that Town Manager Barb Sondag will be resigning as well.  Sondag said that she’ll be taking a position in Missouri to be closer to family, and so the board must find a replacement. 

The Brooks House’s complex funding may be in place by next week, with construction beginning in late July. Skating rink repairs have been put on ice until the board’s next meeting. And the public is invited to comment on a proposal to put 8,000 solar panels near the Holiday Inn, viewable from I-91.

And much, much more. Read on for the details.

Selectboard Chair David Gartenstein just announced that Barb Sondag, Town Manager, will be resigning effective July 23rd. She’s taking a job in Missouri.

More in the full Selectboard report later on.

Overpriced ice rink compressors will be a topic of conversation at the next regular Tuesday meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. The single bid received for fixing the ice rink came in more than $100,000 over what was anticipated to be a $364,000 project, and the Town can’t afford a $471,000 price tag, says the Finance Director.

The Town also plans to purchase a new dump truck and brush chipper, BaBB will give the board a status update, Brooks House owners Mesabi, Inc. will return to ask for an additional $50,000 in loans from the Town of Brattleboro, and much more. Tune in to watch on BCTV, attend in person at the Municipal Center, and read full coverage here the day after.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold two special meetings on Thursday, June 20, 2013 in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.  The first meeting will commence at 5:00pm.  The second meeting will commence at 6:30pm.  Agendas for both meetings are attached.

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

The deadline for candidates to submit letters of interest for the vacancy on the Brattleboro Selectboard was Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 5:00pm. Applications were timely received from the following individuals (in the order received):

Donna Macomber
Ian Kiehle
Michael Bosworth
Steve Cormier

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facility Building Committee will meet on Thursday, June 13, 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 Tree Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 7:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 4:30pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro ADA Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, June 14, 2013 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

On Thursday, June 13, 6:00-7:30 pm, the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will hold its monthly meeting at The New England House, 254 Marlboro Road. The Association will review the treasury, traffic safety especially as it regards the stretch of Route 9 from Academy School to Greenleaf Street, the ‘Neighborhoods Project’, and any news regarding Glen Park and Mountain Home Park.

In addition, Association members will review the work plan for the remainder of the year starting with Village Day on Saturday, June 22, held on the West Brattleboro common in front of the firehouse. The group will discuss items to be displayed in the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce window promoting the event.

The Brattleboro Selectboard is seeking candidates to fill a Selectboard vacancy created by the resignation of member Ken Schneck.

Persons interested in serving the remainder of this term (ending March 24, 2014) should send letters of interest to the Town Manager’s Office (Attn: Selectboard Vacancy, 230 Main Street, Suite 208, Brattleboro VT 05301).

The Brattleboro Selectboard chose an architectural engineering firm for the Police Fire Facility project at their Tuesday meeting. The board also started a discussion about asking property owners with tax exemptions to pay something anyway for the services they receive.

Arkham fought for and received their outdoor consumption permit, the Town got a clean bill of health from auditors, the Grand List is up, and an upcoming Selectboard vacancy was officially announced. Read on for details.

An architect and engineer for the Police Fire Facility Project might be selected at the next regular Tuesday meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.

The board will return to the issue of serving drinks outdoors at Arkham, begin the process of filling an upcoming Selectboard vacancy, issue warrants for unlicensed dogs, and begin making Town Committee appointments. And you can bring up anything else not on the agenda during Public Participation.

Watch on BCTV or attend in person, and look here for full coverage on Wednesday.

The Strolling of the Heifers Slow Living Summit has announced that the plenary sessions featuring its most prominent speakers — including Diet for a Small Planet author Frances Moore Lappé — will be open to the public, with an optional donation of $10 requested at the door. All of the sessions are at the Latchis Theatre. The schedule is as follows:

Shortly after the Brattleboro Selectboard’s May 21, 2013 meeting, Ken Schneck formally notified the Town Clerk of his resignation from the Selectboard effective June 19, 2013.

The process for selecting a new Selectboard member is governed by Brattleboro’s Town Charter and the Selectboard’s Rules For Conduct Of Meetings And Hearings. Applicable language is quoted below.

Article IV, Section 4 of the Charter provides:
“When a member of the selectboard resigns . . . the office shall become vacant.”

The Charter continues that:
“When a vacancy occurs on the board, the remaining selectboard shall fill the vacancy by appointment until the next regularly scheduled election.”

The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, June 3, 2013 at 5:30pm in the Brooks Memorial Library community room.

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