A few items have come our way that indicate some pushback on the recent Town decisions regarding Rescue, Inc.
Anne Latchis has sent this out:
I’m writing to ask you to please write or call our town select-board members to ask them bring the ‘Town Manager’s decision to no longer contract with Rescue, Inc.’ to a TOWN VOTE . Contact info is listed below.
When you think of the River Garden, you probably think “there’s not enough liquor there.” Well, the Brattleboro Selectboard will take care of that at their next regular meeting.
A new ambulance contract will be signed to officially end the Rescue, Inc. era. The board will also reconsider their decision from their last meeting about whether the downtown metal ski jump sculpture should stay or go in off seasons. And they’ll handle a few financial and administrative matters.
You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
FYI, we never send out emails telling you that your password is about to expire. Passwords don’t expire on iBrattleboro.com. You can change them, or we can change them for you, but nothing is automated.
If you ever get an email asking you to reset your password, it is spam.
The Brattleboro Selectboard, under new management of Chair Ian Goodnow, had their first regular meeting of April and their first long discussion. It was about goals and what they want to do in the coming year. They also had their first meeting in the Municipal Center in quite a long time, sitting closely without masks and wondering where members of the public might be.
The board approved of a catering license, loaned some more money for new housing, allowed short term rental in the parking garage, and more.
Welcome to the April 2022 dashboard summary. We continue daily and limited-weekend 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.
A rather routine agenda awaits the “new” Brattleboro Selectboard at their first regular meeting of April 2022. A liquor license, lease agreements, board goals and assignments, and loans. The board will also discuss raising the fee for recycling.
You can bring up other items not on this agenda during public participation.
In a close vote Tuesday, Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting representatives have decided to add a new layer to town government in what will surely represent a new era in governing the municipality.
“We felt that Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting is the best form of town meeting in the state of Vermont,” said one member. “If representatives are good for the general public, we thought we should use the system ourselves within Representative Town Meeting.”
Here’s an interesting idea to curb speculative investing: Create a rule that any new homebuyer must wait a year or two before renting out a property.
The Washington Post has a story about it being tried in a few places. Not a perfect solution, but slows that out-of-state speculation and the big investment companies are squealing so it must be working to some degree.
Time once again for an open thread for you to post anything that you’ve noticed around town.
Potholes are eating cars.
Amy’s had been remodeled and reopened.
What have you noticed?
A little Brattleboro Selectboard update for you… the new Chair is Ian Goodnow, the new Vice-Chair is Daniel Quipp, and the Clerk is Jessica Gelter.
That’s all.
Want a little help with writing and reporting? There is a free class just for you! This announcement was sent out by Richard Watts, Director, Center for Research on Vermont and Co-Director, Reporting & Documentary Storytelling:
I’ve started a thread here for Representatives and others to share what went down at RTM this year.
What was the tone? How long did it last? What were the big discussions? Anything we need to know?
The Brattleboro Selectboard heard details of the Windham Regional Commission’s past year work as well as an overview of Brattleboro’s new Housing Action Plan, which tells us that Brattleboro is in a housing crisis. 500 units or more are needed immediately just to catch up with current needs. More if Brattleboro want to grow.
Peter Elwell and Steve Barrett were both commended for their years of municipal public service, the Brewer’s Fest got their annual permit, and liquor on town property rules are being tweaked.
Travelers in the West River Valley might be both pleased and dismayed to know that there will be Route 30 paving and other road projects going on soon. Expect some delays and alternative routes in the near future.
The big plan is to re-surface VT Rt. 30 in Brattleboro, Dummerston and Newfane. You may have seen people out taking measurements last year.:
“Project Location: Beginning on VT Route 30 in the Town of Brattleboro, at mile marker 0.326 (just north of the intersection of VT-30 and Cedar St.) and extending north for 9.948 miles and ending at mile marker 1.597 in Newfane (just past the intersection of VT-30 and Hemlock Hill Rd).
The long-anticipated housing plan will be presented to the Brattleboro Selectboard at their next regular meeting. This comes after Steve Barrett and Peter Elwell receive special ceremonial recognition from the board and the State of Vermont.
They’ll also hear a discuss work at the Windham Regional Commission, appoint some committee members, approve the brewer’s festival permits for an alcoholic beverage celebration, and start the process of prohibiting alcoholic beverages on Town property. You can discuss how we aren’t conflicted, or bring up other items not on the agenda, during public participation.
For many years it was assumed that the pool of selectboard candidates could be increased by increasing the compensation for the position. The idea was that maybe people who are single parents or working multiple jobs would run if only there was enough compensation to make it worthwhile. A corollary was that perhaps the board has been dominated by only people well-off enough to have the free time to serve.
Representatives at Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting would have this discussion at each RTM when the compensation article would come up. Eventually the arguments prevailed and the stipends went up. A board member now gets $8000 plus money to pay for child or other care during meetings. The chair gets more.
The Brattleboro Selectboard lifted town rules requiring masks. People and businesses are free to once again do as they please with caution. The mask rules can come back if things get bad again.
The board also passed a new rule requiring downtown property owners to clear their sidewalks of snow within 24 hours of a snowstorm or face fines and costs. It may be a while before this is tested, though, as winter is wrapping up for the season.
Welcome to the March mud season 2022 dashboard summary. We continue daily and limited-weekend 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.
Jessica Gelter is an incumbent running for a one year seat.
….
Tell us a bit about yourself and why you are running for a one year seat…
I’m a nonprofit business leader, a townie, an artist, and a mom. I’m running again because the work that fired me up and inspired me to run last year is still underway, and I would like to be accountable and follow through on some of the decisions I helped make last year, like hiring new town manager Yoshi Manale.
What did you think of your first budget season? Enjoy the overview of Town Operations?
I keep saying, it felt like a love fest! It was really surprising. Peter and the staff handed us a budget that was really easy to understand and say yes to, with some minor tweaks and alterations to make sure the tax rate didn’t jump up significantly again. I certainly learned a lot about the various functions of the Town departments, and all the equipment we own!
Tim Wessel is an incumbent running for a one year seat.
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Is there anything special you are still trying to accomplish? Why keep doing this?
As you know I’ve been on the board for five years, and I do feel I’ve been on the board long enough and have accomplished much in that time. I’ve decided to continue for another year for two reasons: 1. I saw no one who I thought was capable stepping up as a candidate, and 2. I think it will be good for Brattleboro to have some consistency as our new Town Manager Yoshi Manale gets settled into his role with consistent board leadership. I’m also interested in continuing efforts around housing in Brattleboro and have an influence in the ARPA funds conversation going forward.
RTM increased compensation to make it easier for more people to serve, yet you are running unopposed. Did RTM make a mistake? Increasing compensation did not increase candidates…
I think RTM did make a mistake, and I said so at the time. More money does not equal a better Selectboard. Of course, one year does not close the debate on this, but one does have to wonder what impact effectively doubling the compensation has had. It is appreciated by the sitting board of course, and did influence my decision to continue this year.
