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 Nudity Ordinance Defeated
Support Withdrawn Over Amendment
At an emotionally-charge meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard failed to enact a permanent ban on public nudity. When the 30 day extension of the emergency ordinance, which was passed on August 7th, runs out, nudity -- so long as it is not lewd and lascivious -- will no longer be illegal.
There were strong opinions expressed from the audience, some of whom overflowed into the Hannah Cosman Room adjacent to the Selectboard room, and strong opinions by board members. Ronald Doyle, of Moretown, showed a Bible and citing Second Timothy, Chapter 3, said that the Bible reads like a news account of our present time. Second Timothy is a Pauline Epistle about the last days. It says (in part) "3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,...." Several audience members and Selectboard Members (Dora Bouboulis and Rich Garant) objected to the idea that public policy should be modeled on a religious text. At one point a number of audience members vocally disapproved of banning religion as the basis of government.
Citing a European headline, ""Tolerant Town Becomes Intolerant," after the emergency ordinance was passed, Bouboulis said, "this is not the kind of publicity we need."
Brattleboro resident Michael Gauthier presented the Board with a petition which he said had a total of 927 names, 551 of which were of Brattleboro residents. In a quick post-meeting interview, Dora Boubolis told iBrattleboro that there were actually two petitions worded in a confusing way so that some people may have signed without fully understanding what they were agreeing to, and that there were a large number of duplicate signatures.
The Ordinance was doomed when an amendment, proposed by Rich Garant, was passed making it apply only to the exposure of genitals, but exempting buttocks and women's breasts. Steve Steidle, saying, "The amendment is ridiculous" challenged Garant to explain exactly what it would look like for someone to be engaging in the exempt behavior. Garant declined the challenge. In the end, Audrey Garfield and Rich Garant voted for the watered-down ordinance, with Dick DeGray, Steve Steidle, and Dora Boubolis voting against (obviously not all for the same reason).
After the vote Michael Gauthier said that the outcome does not represent the majority of town residents, and asked the town attorney how to get the issue onto a referendum so that the entire town can decide. DeGray got up, and walked out of the meeting, and did not return.
Other issues discussed: The 50 year plan for development on Putney Road.
A proposal to permit a sculpture to carve the granite sidewalk on Elliot Street, starting on the night of the next Gallery Walk.
Recommendation by the Town Attorney that the Town position itself in preparation for what may be an inevitable lawsuit resulting from contradictory state legislation which mandates indirect disclosure of personal finances of property tax payers. Apparently the town risks being sued for violation of privacy if it follows the law, or being sued for not following the law.
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Apologies for errors, omission, and particular for getting anyone's name wrong. The following is as verbatim as I was able to do. In the inevitable haste, I am sure I made mistakes, so if you need a reliable record, get a copy of the video of the meeting from BCTV. In a highly-charged, sometimes bitter, controversy, my goal is to avoid my own personal biases, and to report as faithfully as possible the best arguments of both sides. If I fell short in either direction, it is not intentional.
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Minutes accepted with a minor correction.
Audrey invites feedback for waterfront design by Michael Cannon and Michael Singer.
msinger@sover.net
Barbara expresses condolence for death of father in law of Dick DeGray.
Barbara - Talked about trash and noise in the Harmony Lot causing complaints, particularly this past
weekend, and asks for people to be conscious that need to deal with it detracts resources from other
needs of the town.
Barbara discusses upcoming audits.
Attorney General will be investigating tazer incident of July 24, as well as use of force policies
statewide. Barbara and the town attorney have been trying to determine what the scope of the AG
investigation will be. She wants people to know that the town is not dropping the ball on this, and
will be giving updates. Police review committee has been discussing use of force policy, and will be
considering how they can best give input to AG's investigation.
Rich - committee report, Friends of Fulflex.
Group is developing criteria for field, and then will be trying to get hard numbers and comparing
various options.
Rich - Fair Trade Group has been meeting and working on coordinating things with other groups around
the state and around the country. There will be a number of upcoming events, including a film
tomorrow night at Hooker Dunham theater.
Dora - Formula stores and W Brattleboro Master Plan.
Citizen's Participation
Gerry Benjamin - Asked what is happening with the place where the retaining wall fell. It is now
being used as a dumping ground.
Steve Barrett, public works responds - We've just completed the survey, and will be looking for stonemasons to give us creative ideas for how to repair the wall, not necessarily restacking it, but possibly making it not as high.
Barbara - Part of the delay was we have been trying to find out who owns the wall. Still ambiguous,
but town will be fixing it, and looking for economic ways to fix it.
Mike Gauthier (I think) - Asks Barbara if complaints at Harmony lot has been during the day or at
night. He adds that his wife is afraid to go through the Harmony Lot.
Barb - night.
Mike - Asks about loitering and curfew.
Barb - At this point we will be working on issue of noise. My understanding is that, while there is
a curfew on the books, it has not been enforced. A few months ago some of the merchants worked with
the teenagers, and it was very successful. People often forget that people live there, and don't
realize how much noise they are making.
Dora - Historically noise and yelling have always been a problem in that area. There is a noise
ordinance, but it is hard to enforce with people who are just walking by and being loud. Merchants
have complained to her that there is a lot of trash.
Mike - Are there trash cans there?
Dora - Yes, but they are overflowing.
Dick - I've been in that area in the past few days and it looks like a dump. People are using the
cans to dump trash bags, rather than for their purpose, which is wrappers, cans, litter. It is not
just teenagers, there are people of all ages contributing to the problem.
Scott Borofsky - Has lived downtown for 15 years and walks around all the time. He found a used
syringe in the Harmony Lot. Asks why the police don't get out of their cars more.
Barbara - Has had a talk with the police chief, and they will be increasing foot and bicycle patrols.
Jerry B. - Not a fan of spying on people, but suggests cameras in Harmony Lot, just like in the
Transportation Center.
Barbara - Hesitant to blame it all on the teenagers. Gives an example of a tire which was dumped,
which she said was probably done by an adult. We all need to police ourselves and each other. If
you see someone throw trash on the ground, you should ask them to pick it up. Police patrols will be
increased, and that is a stop-gap, but we all need to participate.
George Reed Savory - Does not want to wait months for the Attorney General's report before we investigate use of tazers. Appreciates the posting of the use of force policy, but wants to see posted the current use of tazer policies. She said that there was something about using tazers to protect property. He is concerned with what that could mean, and wants clarification.
Barbara -- There is no new policy, there is a police chief's directive.
George - could you post that directive.
Barb - agrees to.
Use of Force Committee
Police Officers:
John Martin
Mark Carignan
Gene Wren
Mike Fitzgerald - (a master tazer instructor at the academy.
P.B. Marino
Terry Martin -
Dora (ex officio)
Kate Warner - Trained and experienced in non-violent protests
Gail Cooper
So far this committee has met only once. Additional members may still be appointed.
Spoon Agave - On Sept 26 there are proposed to be 2 significant projects
The Coolidge Collector
The Southern Power Loop.
Intended to double the electrical capacity of line which are considered insufficient, and to
increase reliability. "This is like taking a 2 lane road which is jammed with cars and replacing it with a 4 lane road, which is soon filled with cars."
Warns that we are building to a point of unsustainability, and there is strong evidence that we may
already be past the tipping point. Our country is the only country which has not signed the Kyoto
Agreement, and here we are creating the infrastructure for further development. Reliability can be achieved by conservation.
Steve Steidle: Is this a Brattleboro Issue?
Audrey and Dora say it is.
Audrey asks Spoon if there is a meeting he would like to invite people to.
Monday, 6 pm -There will be Planning Commission meeting. It will be the first item on the agenda.
Velco and CVPS will be first up, making a presentation.
7 pm BS&L Thurs sept 27 Windham Environmental Coalition having a meeting for anyone interested in
discussing how we can conserve in Brattleboro. Representatives from the state will be there.
Bob Sisler - Brings up noise and kids all over the sidewalk. Bar patrons making noise 1 or 2 in the morning, disturbing people in the high rise. Kids not getting out of the way for him travelling on the sidewalk.
Audrey - We know it is a problem. We are stepping up police presence at that time.
Audrey - (to the board) Any ideas?
Barbara - Hit 'em! (laugher)
Bob F. - You're on television, do you want to be in jail? (laughing)
Barb - You can't legislate behavior. We have to let people know how we feel.
Dora - This is a community issue. All over the country the sense of community is disappearing, we still have a bit of it left in Brattleboro. Talk to people who are different than you. Create relationships so that people start to feel some connections and obligations to one another.
Barb - Do we really want the type of community where the police get called every time someone gets in your way when you are walking down the street? She says that we need to build community.
Scott B. - Gives a number of examples of obnoxious behavior which he has observed, and says he doesn't understand why the police can't get out of their cars and walk around a bit. Otherwise, if people call the police and they arrive after the incident has occurred, it is too late.
Barbara - Reminds us that at times there are only 3 police on duty, but we have asked them to step up foot and bicycle patrols.
Scott - What do you mean "stepping up?" I haven't seen any foot patrols.
Mike Gauthier - Growing up in this town, it seemed that there was a lot more security in this town. When we had Guthrie and other police walking around town. He noticed that when the police started sitting in cars, the atmosphere changed.
Audrey thanks everybody for their comments. It is an issue the Board needs to look at, in the meantime police patrols will increase.
....
Water and Sewer Commissioners:
Public Hearing - Water and Sewer rates, second reading.
New rates and when they become effective was read by Audrey.
comments:
Dick DeGray - Thanks John Leisenring for getting our rates into a more rational basis. Increases
are painful, but necessary to sustain the costs.
Audrey - When will people see the changes on their bills?
John - It will be for the first quarter of this fiscal year, which runs from July 1 through end of
Sept. It will be on the bill received in December.
Audience member (Gary ____ ) asks about connection fee.
Steve Barrett, Public Works - When new house is connected, there is a fee based on the number of bedrooms. Homeowner then pays plumber to install a meter.
Gary asks how it is fair that in the past the costs were subsidized, but anyone newly on the system will be paying to make up for past subsidy.
(I don't think they understood his question. John said that it is all being taken into account with
the new rates.)
New rates voted on and passed 5-0.
Public Hearing closed.
Water and Sewer Commissioners adjourned.
....
Financial Report, John Leisenring -
Parking Fund is given separately from General Fund.
(A bunch of numbers rattled off. If interested in the details, check with the Town).
Audrey - Asked if the annual audit will be done by the same firm as has been doing it before.
John - Yes.
Audrey - I thought we were going to put it out to bid.
John - Right now, when we are making changes, I think it is best to use the firm which is familiar with our system.
Audrey - You feel confident in them?
John - Yes. I do feel it is a good idea to go out for bid on a periodic basis, but later, not right
now when we are in the midst of changes.
......
Public Hearing
Kevin Maloney, Chair of Planning Commission
Gary BGodemote, Vice-Chair.
Presentation of new Putney Road Zoning.
Gary - We took a look at several comments and questions. One was the possible addition of Auction House as a conditional use under commercial heading. Previously it was not included, now we have decided to include it.
Building Standards- DRB may grant variance to 60 height limit for particular, uninhabited
architectural elements, such as roofs, chimneys, vents, air conditioning units, telecommunications
facilities, elevator shafts, solar collectors, and aesthetic elements so long as they do not have an undue adverse effect on the scenic or natural beauty of the area, aesthetics, historic sites or rare and irreplaceable natural areas.
An auto Service Station and Repair Garage may not provide parking for tractor trailers. Parking spaces used by tractor trailers that are refueling shall not be considered "parked."
Plus a couple of other apparently minor changes.
Audrey - Repair Garage mentioned in regulations, but no definition is given. We either need to take it out, or else add a definition.
Jim Mullen - Not every use has a definition, when there is no definition we use the definition under
the Random House Dictionary.
Audrey - Excuse me Jim, there is a definition (she points out where it is, and suggests moving it up so that it appears in a better location.)
Some more discussion about fine tuning of language.
Audrey - Conditional uses - Auction Houses and storage facilities -- are not the highest and best use of land. They do not provide many jobs, and no housing. She suggests that we limit these conditional uses to existing buildings, rather than allow new buildings to build for these purposes.
Kevin agrees that auction houses are used once a week or once every two weeks, and seems to be agreeing to remove for new buildings.
Gary - I don't know the economics of it, and it is probably not cost effective to build a new
auction house, but perhaps we should leave it in because auction houses promote re use of goods.
Audrey - Storage facilities particularly bother me.
Gary - Sometimes a storage facility is built, but as the economics make it cost prohibitive, they are converted to other uses. It could be something which happens in the short run, but phased out
over time as the land got to be too expensive for that use. In the planning process, we are trying to create bridges to the next stage. He sees storage facilities and auction houses as interim uses.
Audrey - I would hate to see a big, corrugated metal building 20 feet from Putney Road.
Dick - I would side with Gary because the economics will govern what is done.
Audrey - If no one would build one for those reasons, then if we don't allow it we are not taking
anything away from anyone. How about if we make auction houses and storage facilities conditional
uses, with a bigger setback.
There does not seem to be any argument with her proposal.
Audrey - Any comments?
Dora - I have real concerns about the set backs for the entry to that mixed use area. She suggests
that the parkings be behind buildings instead of in front of buildings.
Audrey - Minimum setback is 20 feet, is there a maximum setback?
Kevin - No.
Audrey - So there is nothing stopping parking lots from being in front of buildings?
Dora - You could leave the setback the way it is, but make it so that there is still parking in
front of the buildings, but most of it is behind the buildings. We want to encourage buildings close
to the road to create a village atmosphere.
Dick - A lot of comments I have heard about Cumberland Farms is that it is too close to the road. It
is almost like we are fighting ourselves with contradictory zoning ordinances... one in West
Brattleboro, something different on Putney Road.
Audrey - The first few buildings which go up fitting a new criteria will look out of place, like
Cumberland Farms.
Audrey proposes a number of changes in the proposed zoning ordinance. Including design standards,
use of native plant species for landscaping.
Audrey - Has there been any thought to reducing the one acre trigger for state stormwater
regulations kicking in?
Jim M. - That is a state regulation.
Audrey - But you can make it more restrictive.
Jim M. - It is best to deal with that for all commercial property, rather than piecemeal for
particular zones.
Bio swales mentioned (without an explanation) and briefly discussed.
Audrey - concerned about having "shopping centers" as allowed use because that could include large malls in the permitted usages. Suggests subjecting the commercial zone to the large retail ordinance
to restrict size to 65,000 square feet.
Dora - I am not finding language in commercial zone restricting parking to behind structures or vegetation.
Kevin suggests that we find better language in order to achieve the desired effect. In response to a question by Audrey, he does not have specific language to propose, but said, "we've got the message," and will discuss it and deal with it.
They then discuss the process, and ask Bob Fisher to comment.
Bob Fisher - It seems that now there are more suggestions than when it was returned to the Planning
Commission before. You could vote for changes, but there are so many changes that the best course is probably to send it back to the Commission to work on it some more and return with changes.
Audrey - I thing the difference is that before we had open ended concerns, but now we have very specific concerns which can be addressed.
Bob Sisler - Suggests a sidewalk up Putney Road.
Audrey - They are going to do that.
Bob S. - That was promised ten years ago.
Audrey - It will be another ten years.
Bob S. - Great!
Stephan Bannsteader - Expresses concern about effect of Putney Road development on downtown, particularly on sense of community. He gives example of Claremont NH, where outlying development had a negative impact on downtown.
Gary - We've been in the process of planning and converting the plans into zoning proposals for 4 years now. Part of the motivation in the redevelopment of Putney Rd. If you look at current development on Putney Rd. a lot of it is low density and a lot of it is uninteresting places where you wouldn't want to spend time. I look at it as creating growth which will make people want to stay in the state rather than to go somewhere else. It is a 50 year plan which envisions slow, thought-out growth.
Kevin - When you look at growth for the County, in the past 40 years the county has grown about 40%
and population of Brattleboro has remained steady at about 12,000. For Putney Road to become a mixed
use area and take on its own vibrancy won't take away from downtown. The Goal is to avoid sprawl,
and create a pleasant area.
Scott Borofsky - Asks how you can plan for changes which will inevitably take place when we don't know
exactly what they will be. Scott mentions less reliance on gas and oil and private cars.
Gary - We are trying to do something completely different, we couldn't find any other place which is doing what we are trying to do. If I were to bet on a proposal in the light of less reliance on oil, it would be development on Putney Rd, which is already close to a developed area rather than in an outlying district.
Vote taken on motion to adopt ordinance as written, defeated 5 - 0 (in order to allow it to be reworked).
....
Scott Borofsky - Presentation on proposal for carving by sculptor Ken Hiratsuka. Scott shows photos of Ken's work, rock carvings, sculpted sidewalks. Scott is working with Ken on a museum show exhibiting street art in NYC East Village in the 1980s. He said that a group of artists moved into a dangerous neighborhood and began to change the ambiance through art. He says that street art and graffiti
are often confused. Grafitti is "tags" meaning names of kids who spray paint just to show their identity. Some kids doing graffiti went on to become street artists. Street art takes into account location, where you take the locality into consideration to do art which harmonizes with the spot.
Ken would chisel slate sections in Manhattan, did a number of pieces at night, on the sidewalk. You can still see them there.
Scott talked about a local meeting where it was discussed that if Brattleboro is presenting itself as an art town, there should be public art permanently displayed. He wanted to bring in a big rock for Ken to carve. But when Ken saw there are granite sidewalks on Elliot Street, he wanted to sculpt on the granite sidewalk. Scott went to Boomerang. They said it is fine with them so long as it doesn't disrupt their business. He said the manager of the Hooker-Dunham Building, Bob Lyons, is enthusiastic. Steve Barrett agreed that there wouldn't be any safety issues. Scott and artists want to clear it with all authorities, and is here to ask for approval.
At Audrey's suggestion, Dora makes a motion to approve (for the purpose of having a discussion).
Dora asks Scott if he has talked with the Historical Society.
Scott - no.
Dora - Historical Society says that the piece of granite may have historical significance, and they need time to study it.
There is a suggestion that they make the approval contingent on the approval of the Historical
Society.
Scott - would like it to begin at next Gallery Walk.
Bob Fisher - Given the time constraint, rather than table it, it would be better to pass it contingent on Historical Society's blessings.
Amended for that contingency, and passed.
......
Public Hearing - Permanent Nudity Ordinance, second reading.
Comments:
Michael Gauthier - Reads a statement accompanied by a petition not only by registered Brattleboro voters but by other people who want to enjoy our town.
Other than shock and awe, what is the point the nudists are trying to make?
551 Brattleboro residents
256 Windham county, non Brattleboro
7 Other Vermont residents
88 NH residents
49 Western Mass
16 Outside of tri-state area
927 signatures total
Several people speak in favor of the ordinance, emphasizing morality.
A minister (I missed his name) said that young men are visually stimulated, so why put something in front of them which will tempt them to sin. He said that these days the concept of sin may seem old fashioned, but nonetheless there is already so much sexually-explicit stimulation in the culture, why increase it with public nudity?
Ricky Davis- Talked about a mother who spoke with him and was really upset because a merchant was changing clothes on a mannequin and she was upset that her children were seeing it. Next thing will
be that we will be legislating that Windham Gallery can't display nudes and mannequins cannot be without clothes. He said that he agrees about sin because he is a good Christian, but we cannot prevent people from sinning.
An audience member, Jaron Bartshe, who identified himself as a gay man said that if we allow a certain group to dictate morality, he is afraid that they will start to demand that gay people be stopped from
walking down the street holding hands.
George Reed Savory - We are not legislating a lot of behavior which is common courtesy, like not blocking sidewalks, so why are we legislating this? He asks about existing statewide laws.
Bob Fisher - There are laws against lewd & Lacivious behavior, but it includes intent, not simple nudity.
Gerry Benjamin - I am opposed to nudity in public, but I am more opposed to legislating away our freedom to choose. We have to be very careful, we cannot be reactionary. This country is very
reactionary: We react very quickly.
Bob Woodward -- I think you got it right last time, this is a case where the rights of the few are subordinates to the rights of the many. I think you got it right the first time, and I hope you stay with it.
Audience member (Gary _____ ) - Do the people who engaged in this conduct ever ask anyone their consent? We are governed by consent, and you are ruling over us by the consent of the people. And it is not just an arbitrary thing giving a permit to perform a conduct which is illicit and has been illicit for hundred of years. Not every legislation is governed by the wording, but by the interpretation of the judiciary. No body just gives consent to do anything you want. You are prohibited from doing certain things. Might as well just disregard all the zoning issues and the permits you're going to issue. Permission is not automatically just given, consent is necessary.
Stephen Bannsteader -- I have lived in this area since 1988. I have not seen rampant nudity during that whole time. I am not in favor of nudity on the street. What you are doing is reacting to a
small number of people testing the boundaries. Is anyone here now nude, testing the law? Has anyone seen anyone out on the street nude? It's not a problem, just a few people trying to test us.
Dick, as clarification, the temporary ordinance is in effect, so if anyone was nude at this meeting, they would be in violation.
Terry Martin - Wasn't going to speak tonight. Mentions town's slogan "Where it can all happen," and said it is all happening. At the last meeting a Selectboard Member said there are no sexual predators in town. In fact there are 22 registered sex offenders in Windham County, 12 in Brattleboro.
He gave a number of examples, including the nudist skateboarder, the fellow from Arizona, and a man who got out of a car on Sunset Road and stripped in front of a woman who was having a picnic. He said that Brattleboro has gotten a reputation for being the place where you can do anything.
Dora (apparently feeling that she was the Selectboard member Terry was referring to) that she did not say there are no sexual predators: She said that a sexual preditor is more likely a person in a house with clothes on, not someone naked on Main Street.
A woman audience member said that she is a nurse, sees naked bodies all the time, but would be very upset be being confronted on the street by someone without clothes. She appealed to the Selectboard for protection.
Ronald Doyle, of Moretown, Vt. saying that the Bible reads almost like a newspaper which describes our society today, quotes Second Timothy Three. Audrey interrupts and reminds him that the subject is the nudity ordinance. He says that he is speaking about the nudity ordinance, and finishes the
quotation. Nudity is not only a moral issue, it is harassment. You can say something the wrong way and sexual harassment charges will be brought against you, so why is it OK to take off your clothes on the street?
Rich - Saying that there is almost hysteria, and saying that it is fine to go by religious texts in your own faith community, but it should not be imposed on the rest of us, proposes striking buttocks and breasts from the ordinance. His argument seems to be that we should start slow, and then see what else is necessary.
Dora - Speaks against religion being the basis of government. Gasps of disapproval from the audience.
Audrey reminds her to speak only to the amendment.
Steve Steidle - Amendment is ridiculous.
Rich - This issue was sparked by male, frontal nudity.
Amendment voted on and passed 3 - 2.
Further discussion on the ordinance.
Dora - This ordinance is not going to prevent nudity, it is not going to stop nudity, it is just going to criminalize it. In history we can see that criminalization has encouraged prostitution and drug abuse rather than prevented them. I think this ordinance is going to increase the media circus, and will just provoke people into violating it. In this country we are on a slippery slope of legislating more and more denials of freedom. She said she is bothered by a lot of hypocrisy by a shop which sells Penthouse and Playboy but is in favor of a nudity ordinance. She mentions an organization which used a nude calendar to raise funds, and then supports a nudity ordinance.
Dick says he will not vote for the ordinance because of the amendment, and scolds Dora as not supporting the community. He accuses her of duplicity for voting for an amendment to a motion which she is not going to vote for. He concludes, "I'm glad that you are up for election in March and not me." Loud cheering and applause.
Audrey warns against further outbursts.
Bob Fisher - To clarify, the ordinance does not criminalize nudity, it is a civil violation. He says to the board, you are going to vote whichever way you vote, but as a clarification, court after court has ruled that nudity is not constitutionally protected.
Dora responding to Dick says that she expects the ordinance to pass, so she voted for the ordinance amendment because in politics you try to get what you can, but she opposes the ordinance.
Dora: Brattleboro has become known as a great place to visit, but when the emergency ordinance was passed, the headline is Europe was: "Tolerant Town Becomes Intolerant." She said that this is not the kind of publicity we need to attract tourists who would spend money here.
Vote is taken:
Fails 3 - 2 Audrey and Rich voted in favor of it. Dick, Steve, and Dora against.
Mike Gauthier (from the Audience) said that the Selectboard vote does not represent the majority in Brattleboro, and asks the town attorney how to go about getting the entire town to vote in a referendum, and warns that this is not the end of the issue. Dick DeGray gets up and walks out of the meeting.
....
Next item - Prebate, rebate law.
Bob Fisher - New law allows public information to be used to extrapolate personal income information about homeowners. Bob says that we have to put ourself in the strongest position in anticipation of being sued, and suggests that we err on the side of not giving out personal information, even if this means not complying with the law that the legislature has given us.
Emily (Treasurer) We are no longer telling people how much the tax is, only whether they are delinquent or up to date for each quarter.
Emily explains that the new law also causes confusion for tax prorations at closings.
Charter Commission Discussion was tabled, and Robert's Rules for Small Assemblies to be put on the next agenda.
Next: Housing Commission Appointments - Jennette White, which is working as staff support for the Commission. First meeting is scheduled for Sept 18 at 6:30. Selectboard puts off appointing ex
officio member.
Meeting adjourned.
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