The Brattleboro Selectboard were, until Tuesday night, the last keepers in the United States of something called an Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) Program grant. Before them was $2.3 million that has matured, and the board voted to transfer all of it away from UDAG into the Town’s Revolving Loan Fund.
The board was also pleased with their progress on a number of issues, and happy to hear the monthly fire department report.
The Brattleboro Selectboard kicks off the new year with another error. The paving project was under-estimated by 3211 tons of asphalt. Oops, and $32,000.
The Fire Department will read their monthly report – for November of last year, the board will revisit their retreat and goal-setting, and the Town Manager will request a transfer of over $2 million to the Revolving Loan Fund. You can attempt to bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation if the Chair deems you worthy.
Time again for Noticed, where you add little things you notice. Did you see a bird? How’s the rose bush? What’s that new thing over there? That sort of stuff.
For me, I’ve noticed that it doesn’t really seem like winter very much. It’s warm, foggy, rainy and we haven’t seen snow in quite a while. Also:
No ice on Retreat Meadows.
No ice huts on the ice at Retreat Meadows.
Need some local holiday entertainment? Here’s a collection of classics we’ve created over the years.
From a few years back, A COVID Christmas Anti-Viral Holiday Special:
The Brattleboro Selectboard will take up reviewing the revised FY25 budgets at the final regular meeting of the year. They will be examining the general fund, the capital fund, and the ARPA budgets – the only agenda item they plan to discuss in detail.
The consent agenda, however, has some interesting items. Notice the small grant to add EV charging stations to town properties, the grand list errors, and 47 lost land record binders, among other things.
You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
When Brattleboro’s ski jump was first built, there were no stairs! Ski jumpers and anyone else hoping to reach the top had to climb the hill.
This Vermont Phoenix article from Dec 15, 1922 explains the many improvements being made at the hill shortly after it was built. In addition to the stairs, the committee was planning to build a small building at the top of the hill for ski jumpers to sit and await their turn, plus add a really neat mechanical innovation to allow and encourage others to start their ski jumping careers with ease. The take-off of the jump was to be made adjustable, so beginners could simply slide down the hill before raising it a bit and trying to jump.
Interesting, too, to note that they had scheduled two events (January and February) for jumping, and that they were considering building a skating rink in town.
Here’s the December 2023 dashboard summary. We continue semi-regular COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro, as long as they continue providing them. Scroll down the new comments for the latest.
VT, NH and MA seem to be doing weekly updates, near the end of the week. All three have changed their dashboards since the start, so it is now tough to easily compare how things have changed. Variant updates are every two weeks.
The Brattleboro Selectboard bravely took no action against a non-existent problem at their most recent meeting. Panhandling isn’t a problem to be solved, and existing laws cover any other potential issues. Perhaps we will make… a sign!
The Library has a strategic plan, housing development is lackluster, the town might get McNeill’s property to pay off demolition of his building, the public wondered about unusually large raises for department heads given an expected increase in property taxes, and an exhaustive search led the Town to hire Golden Cross’s billing service for EMS billing.
Ooops. A “previously overlooked item” will require an estimated base increase in Brattleboro property taxes for FY25 of 3.6%. It’s on the agenda for the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.
The Brattleboro Fire Department would like $3000 a month to pay an outside company for EMS billing services. Doing everything in-house is no longer an option.
The board will also hear about a strategic plan for Brooks Memorial Library, and update on how their housing plan has been going, talk of acquiring the McNeill’s property in exchange for the demolition costs, and another discussion of things that can be done about panhandling.
You can bring up almost anything else during public participation unless it is some issue the Chair doesn’t want discussed in public.
Here’s a fun one.
Geoffrey Holt, a rather unassuming fellow from Hinsdale, died and left $3.8 million to the town. He said it can be spent on education, health, recreation and culture.
According to the Guardian “He did odd jobs for others, but rarely left town. Despite having taught high schoolers to drive, Holt had given up driving a car. He opted for a bicycle instead, and finally the mower. His mobile home was mostly empty of furniture. No TV or computer either. The legs of the bed went through the floor.”
Budget season is underway at the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. Reports and budget requests from BDCC, SeVEDS, and the DBA are scheduled, as is the draft FY25 budget. There will also be ordinance changes, software explanations, and an update from the fire department.
You can bring up other issues not on the agenda during public participation. (Except that one issue, whatever it is, that the Chair will not allow discussion of at the meeting.)
The Brattleboro Selectboard held an extended conversation with members of the state legislative delegation, handing them a long list of things that Brattleboro would like help with – money, staff, changes to laws, and so on.
Reps said they were working on many items already, but were eager to stay involved and work together to find solutions to housing, justice, addiction, mental health, crime, and other issues plaguing the ‘boro.
Downtown Brattleboro surveillance is on the agenda for the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. New $45,000 police cameras will be purchased for the intersection of High and Main so that the Town can watch everything you do there, in addition to watching everything you do at the Transportation Center. Some local stores will join in and add their cameras to the surveillance system, too.
Brattleboro’s sludge removal has become more expensive and the board will approve nearly $45,000 contract increase for just six months of disposal costs. The board will also discuss their new Legislative Agenda (things they want the State to help fix), a bike path proposal for Rt. 5, discontinuing part of Melrose Street, ordinance changes, and more.
You can request other items not on the agenda during public participation, as long as you don’t bring up something that annoys the Chair.
Here’s the November 2023 dashboard summary. We continue semi-regular COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro, as long as they continue providing them. Scroll down the new comments for the latest.
VT, NH and MA seem to be doing weekly updates, near the end of the week. All three have changed their dashboards since the start, so it is now tough to easily compare where we stand. Variant updates are every two weeks.
Brattleboro is undergoing a major shift, with many long-running and well-known entities exiting stage left, and some new projects are bubbling up. Here are just a few examples:
– Sam’s closing.
– MT Bank closing.
– Josh Davis leaving Groundworks.
– Cor Trowbridge leaving BCTV.
– Lee Bradford leaving Co-op.
The board discussed many things Tuesday but their extended ARPA discussion seemed more like an extended discussion about problems they had with public input on ARPA possibilities.
“I don’t care what the public thinks or the town staff think,” declared Franz Reichsman. “I have a problem having this list from the public be our starting point,” said Liz McLoughlin repeatedly. Chair Ian Goodnow tried in vain to remind them that they had promised an open public process.
Possible ARPA projects, budget planning, charter changes and state priorities will fill the air of the next Brattleboro Selectboard meeting.
You are invited to bring up other items not on the agenda as long as you aren’t Dale Joy talking about the police department.
Here’s the October 2023 dashboard summary. We continue semi-regular COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro, as long as they continue providing them. Scroll down the new comments for the latest.
VT, NH and MA seem to be doing weekly updates, near the end of the week. All three have changed their dashboards since the start, so it is now tough to easily compare where we stand. Variant updates are every two weeks.
I decided to start a list of things the Brattleboro Selectboard chose to overlook in making their EMS decision:
1. A petition of over 400 resident signatures
2. 70+ written pro-Rescue comments on the project web site
3. Public comments against municipal EMS at EMS meetings
The Brattleboro Selectboard will delay Town work on Community Safety Review items until the state completes work on Phil Scott’s public safety initiative during their next regular meeting.
They’ll hear about their new website, buy winter sand, plan to realign Melrose Street, consult with the school board, announce committee vacancies, and more. You can bring up other items not on the agenda as long as the Chair doesn’t decide to cut you off as you begin talking.
