It is time once again to list the little things that have caught your eye around town as you go about your day.
What have you noticed lately?
…
– NECCA’s circus school building on Putney Rd is looking good. The steel frame is up, and there’s a really nice sign out in front of it all.
Rumor has it a new president is being sworn in. I believe his name is Donald Trump.
Here’s some space for you to opine, praise, vent, or otherwise comment on this solemn tradition of our great nation.
Brattleboro’s FY18 budget was approved by the Brattleboro Selectboard for presentation to Representative Town Meeting in March, ending a nine week process of review and adjustment. Your municipal taxes will increase 3.5 cents if approved by representatives.
A new IT plan will streamline Town networks and allow staff to use 2017 technology. Commonwealth Dairy and Hermit Thrush Brewery were assisted with land and loans, a new Mexican restaurant will open soon, Town audits show a clean bill of financial health, and mobile homes will be protected from future flooding.
Brattleboro’s Stump Streets, formerly Forest Square, are succeeding in ridding the neighborhood of pesky trees. Our landlord has joined the in-crowd and has taken down a 150 year old maple tree with the encouragement of a tree cutting service.
They’ve nagged her for years and she finally gave in. The tree is in pretty good shape. They are out there right now being very careful to preserve all of the nice wood they are getting paid to harvest.
The tree was planted in the middle of the 1800’s by a group of Brattleboro residents that had formed a Shade Tree Association. They wanted to make sure future generation would have lovely shaded trees for cool, summer walking.
The Ringling Bros. circus is shutting down this May after 146 years. This circus would come to Brattleboro back in the day.
Owners says it is a combination of the times (we are easily distracted by other things), the cost of hauling an enormous show from town to town, and a lack of elephants. Elephants had been a part of the show until last year and there was a major drop-off in attendance after they left.
Final shows will be in Providence, RI, and Uniondale, NY later this spring. 500 employees will be looking for work.
(Note to former-circus folk, do consider coming up to Brattleboro. Our circus schoool is being built as I type and we could use more!)
After many a meeting to discuss the details, the FY18 Municipal Budget will likely be approved for presentation to Representative Town Meeting at Tuesday’s meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.
An $80,000 IT plan will be presented. The board also will hear about financial audits, work out an easement arrangement with Commonwealth Dairy, loan some money to Hermit Thrush Brewery, and more.
Everyone who moved to southern Vermont in the last few decades was treated to a free calendar. It was sent out each year by Vermont Yankee (and later Entergy) and featured old photos from historical societies in the area.
These calendars contained the required safety information for the nuclear plant about emergency notifications, iodine tablets, special alert radios, evacuating the area, shelters, what to do with pets, siren testing, and a message about how radiation is natural and accidents unlikely.
The final calendar (unless one shows up soon) was sent out in 2016. Sure, it contains mini-calendar in the back for 2017 and 2018, but it was the final full calendar sent.
Dick DeGray will be joining David Gartenstein at the proverbial Selectboard retirement center, announcing his intentions not to run at Tuesday’s special meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.
The meeting had two focal points and one interesting diversion. The FY18 budget and tax rate is very close to being finalized, a new era of solar net-meter credits has dawned, and a citizen wonders how to get attention for a dangerous stretch of road.
My years of cable TV are coming to an end. The combination of rising cable service prices and completely lackluster programming options led me to make the move.
It’s not that hard to do. I called up Comcast and asked to be disconnected. My rep said, sure, then went through the script to try to prevent me from leaving.
Why do you want to end the service? Um.. ever-increasing rates, too many PBS stations, way too many shopping and religious channels, Comcast is a cruddy company, and so on.
Maybe you need more channels, how about an upgrade to 40 channels? Uh, no thanks. It costs more and doesn’t solve the problem.
For many years I was a Fence Viewer, a town position that was fairly active, with a few calls and inquires per year. When I hit my term limit, I decided to continue to volunteer and looked at the two other “odd” jobs, Weigher of Coal and Inspector of Wood, Lumber and Shingles.
As a Fence Viewer I learned there were both state statutes and materials available from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns to help explain the job, so my first step with Coal and Lumber was to look up what the jobs required.
VLCT said the positions were considered obsolete and unnecessary. They date from an earlier time prior to consumer protection laws, and now everything these positions were responsible for are handled in other ways.
David Gartenstein will end six years of Selectboard service at the end of his current term. He announced his intentions not to seek re-election at the start of a long, first Selectboard meeting of 2017.
Most of the meeting was spent discussing budget loose ends and lingering questions regarding the FY18 budget. The board also heard about facilities project updates, had a late-evening welcome for our new Town Clerk and took up a few matters related to Representative Town Meeting.
I’ve been shoveling out driveways and sidewalks most of my life. With the exception of a few years in Florida and DC, grabbing a shovel and clearing snow has been a part of my winter routine.
Shoveling provides time to think about shoveling.
The type of snow matters. Light powder is easily removed but often blows around and stings the face. Heavy, wet snow is a chore to remove, but it usually stays in place while I move it. Following forecasts to know what sort of snow to expect is a starting point.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will convene for the first time in 2017 on Tuesday at the Municipal Center to take up a short but interesting agenda. The board will hear about the FY218 budget again, proposed solar panels at the landfill, and a grant for housing improvements. The new Town Clerk will be welcomed, articles for Representative Town Meeting will be considered, and a contract for Town Attorney will be approved.
You can bring up other new, exciting 2017 items not already on the agenda during Public Participation.
The Brattleboro Selectboard approved a guaranteed maximum price for the police station at their last regular meeting of 2016 Tuesday night. With all three facility project prices locked in, the total project remains very close to the estimated cost originally anticipated, even with some additions of new work.
Westgate received funding to move forward with restructuring, the board reviewed a number of FY18 budget loose ends, and parking, parking, parking!
At their next Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center, the Brattleboro Selectboard will likely approve of the $2,773,336 guaranteed maximum price for the work to be done for the new police station.
Ten more areas of the FY18 budget will be reviewed, a downtown parking study will get underway, parking lots will be discussed, and single stream transition issues will be reviewed.
All this and more, and you can attend and participate! Bring up anything else not already on the agenda during Public Participation.
I found an easy way for Brattleboro to rake in some extra cash.
Everyday, numerous trucks carrying homes come through town. If we charged them each, say $500, to come through, we could make quite a bit of cash.
Just the other day I passed four of these things. Each was wide enought to cause normal traffic to be altered, with people pulling off to the side, stopping in funny places, and even blocking intersections to let them through.
(You may now explain all the reasons why this is un-possible.)
In a quest for profit and automation, big tech companies are making mistakes that matter to people using their services. Some are small and annoying; others are more significant.
Some examples:
Turn on the Weather Channel in Brattleboro and you’ll be welcomed to Putney. Yes, Putney. The Weather Channel made a switch a year or so ago and decided that the big city in our region, right up there with Albany and Burlington, is Putney.
LinkedIn makes sure to tell everyone that employees in Brattleboro work in the Springfield area. Springfield, MA, that is. So helpful!
Brattleboro’s Finance Director, John O’Connor, announced that he might retire during FY18. Vacation buybacks were a frequent topic and planners are using fewer ballpoint pens.
All this and more, at a special meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard from a remote but familiar location across the street from their usual meeting room.
Fellow citizens,
I’d like to have a word with those feeling pessimistic. I have a two part system for you to use to find success in the coming years.
1. Pick an issue and stick with it.
Don’t get overwhelmed. If you are feeling pessimistic about the next 4-8 years, there are probably a combination of issues and factors making you feel that way.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, December 13, 2016, at 5:30pm at the Gibson Aiken Center in the Senior Center Room. NOTE THE CHANGE IN LOCATION AND TIME. ASL interpreters will be available for the deaf and hard-of-hearing members of the community. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into deliberative session at the end of the business meeting to discuss reclassification of Bittersweet Lane.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
