Two things that have been with me all of my life are going away as July starts, and I’m happy to bid them adieu.
The first is plastic shopping bags. Brattleboro is banning single-use plastic bags (under 2.25 mil) as of July 1. In a world full of plastic bags, our impact may be like a small drop in a big pond, but our drop can cause ripples.
The biggest news of the Tuesday meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard came not from the agenda but introductory remarks. The Town manager announced that Planning Services Director Rod Francis was leaving Brattleboro in the next couple of weeks.
This was followed by an unscheduled but surprisingly active discussion of aggressive panhandling in the downtown area.
Beyond those matters, the skatepark hired a design firm and got some extra cash, contracts and grants were approved, the utility budget passed, a long resolution was adopted, and more.
It’s happening. At their next regular meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard will hire a company to do the designs for the skatepark at Living Memorial Park.
The board will discuss repairs at the Waste Water Treatment Plant, discuss parking, talk about loans and grants, approve an annual contract with Rescue, Inc., and proceed with the loan for the new fire truck. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
VTrans is out today on Putney Road, in the stretch from the West River bridge to NECCA, working on improving the sides of the road for pedestrians and bike riders. They are clearing brush and adding fill dirt this morning.
Traffic delays in the area, so plan ahead.
Groundworks Collaborative gave the Brattleboro Selectboard a report on the seasonal overflow shelter. They admitted they don’t have the resources to develop a temporary work program, though a new effort by Youth Services might be able to pull it off, perhaps by fall. Youth Services might get a new name, too, but that’s for another time.
The board adopted the FY19 Solid Waste and Parking Budgets, but left some decisions about parking meters, apps, and credit cards for a later discussion. Progress on energy audit matters was detailed, citizens pressed for more to be done, the skatepark is close to the fundraising finish line, grants have been applied for, and citizens were appointed to various Brattleboro committees and boards.
Also, two mentions of John Allen.
The Brattleboro skatepark project will receive $15,000 from the Thomas Thompson Trust, and Brattleboro Goes Fourth will get a permit for a parade at the next regular meeting of the selectboard.
The board will continue with the FY19 parking budget, hear a report from Groundworks Collaborative, review energy efficiency projects and town investments in renewables, and hire a roofer and a tree remover. Grants for child protection services, Bradley House, and intralibrary loans will be discussed, and annual committee appointments and dog warrants will be announced. You can add to the fun by bringing up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation.
The lower end of Cedar Street in Brattleboro will be getting new line striping. The Department of Public Works isn’t just painting over the old lines, though. They’ve marked it out so the driving lanes will shift slightly to allow for wider edges.
The wider area is at the lower end of Cedar Street, and mostly creates a better walking and biking space on the ski jump side of the road.
Roseanne’s new iteration of her family sit-com was cancelled by ABC shortly after a series of tweets by the star of the show. She called a former Obama advisor the child of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes, then doubled down for a while when people called her racist. Then she apologized, but it was too late.
Anyone missing their dog? A fairly healthy looking dog came trotting down the street today. No collar, and I don’t recognize him from around these parts.
Distinguishing feature – one eye!
Bernie Sanders has announced his intention to run for Vermont Senator.
This young, new face may be unfamiliar to Vermonters, but readers may recall that he was one of the many candidates for President in 2016.
Brattleboro’s Town Plan revision was adopted by the Brattleboro Selectboard at Tuesday’s meeting. It was one of many items in a packed agenda that included financing of the new fire truck, preliminary design work on a possible police carport, and likely train station improvements.
The usually dull Parking Fund overview was spiced up by a request for a comprehensive look at the parking system, with public discussions, prior to approving any capital improvements. The FY19 Solid Waste Budget was introduced, finances were discussed, goals were adopted, and we learned that Brattleboro has a new Indian restaurant.
Finally, Brattleboro’s two confidential employees received a 2% raise, along with other non-union positions.
Selectboard Chair Kate O’Connor recently announced during a Selectboard meeting that she didn’t read emails sent to her official email account.
I decided to send a few questions to Town Manager Peter Elwell about this April 26. When did O’Connor stop reading her emails? How many emails piled up as unread? How many of them were from citizens and how many were spam? Which other Selectboard members don’t read their official email accounts? And how should citizens contact board members so that they know their comments will be read?
I had an exciting squirrel Friday. It turns out that “our” squirrel – the one that hops over to say hello to us – is a female. And she’s a new mom, too!
Friday afternoon, one of her youngsters made the daring decision to follow her out of the nest for the very first time. It watched her hop to a branch, and did the same.
For the next three or four hours, the little squirrel alternated between sitting very carefully on the branch, and trying out some squirrel skills. Mom squirrel helped a bit, but also was tough and made the little one try things on its own.
The Brattleboro Selectboard has a full agenda for their next meeting, having postponed a number of matters from their previous meeting. Financing of the fire truck purchase, improvements to the new police station and Union Station, and reviewing Solid Waste and Parking budgets are among the topics.
Brattleboro’s Town Plan gets a second public hearing and possible adoption if no one objects. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation.
Sara Coffey, founder and Director of Vermont Performance Lab, has indicated her desire to be the next representative from Vernon and Guilford.
” I believe that it’s through coming together and listening to each other that we can find creative solutions to help keep our small rural communities strong, healthy and vibrant.”
Arrrgh! I need to complain about the Senate Intelligence preliminary report on “Russian Targeting” and the inevitable media coverage to follow.
If you read the official narrative, it sounds ominous. Russians targeted U.S. election systems. Oooh, scary.
“Russian actors scanned databases for vulnerabilities, attempted intrusions, and in a small number of cases successfully penetrated a voter registration database.”
That sounds just horrible, doesn’t it? What does it mean?
The fourth installment of the 2017 Real Estate and Personal Property Taxeswill be due onMay 15, 2018 by 5:00 PM. Payments made after May 15, 2018 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.
The utility billing is also due on May 15, 2018 by 5:00 PM. Payments made after May 15, 2018 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.
According to VTDigger, Brenda Siegel is planning on running for Governor of Vermont. Among other things, she puts together the Southern Vermont Dance Festival in Brattleboro each year.
The Brattleboro Selectboard scheduled too many weighty issues for their Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center. As the meeting went on, agenda items were jettisoned in repeated attempts to keep the length of the meeting somewhat reasonable.
Those issues that were discussed were discussed in detail. The board learned about the Utilities Fund budget and possible rate changes in coming years, discussed goals for the coming year, received a presentation on the results of a Downtown Parking Survey, and held a public hearing on the Town Plan revision. They attended to Department of Transportation paperwork, settled a lawsuit, changed the name of a street, applied for grants, and more.
Also, a mouse.
Brattleboro’s Police Department might be getting a carport. It’s one of the final recommendations of the Police-Fire Facilities Committee and will be up for discussion at Tuesday’s meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.
The board will learn of improvements to the Union Station train station in the near future. They will discuss the FY19 Utilities Budget, initiate final designs for the waste process water line at Pleasant Valley, hold a public hearing on the revised Town Plan, learn about the downtown parking study, review the Solid Waste budget for FY19, and more. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation, too.
