The committee rating process has concluded after many meetings and site visits, and the Elm Street location was top-rated for a location of the new Brattleboro Skatepark, according to the draft minutes of the Skatepark Selection Committee.
Here are their draft results:
In May of 1885, Brattleboro formed a village improvement society. They called it the Rural Improvement Association, and many of the big names in town joined the executive committee. Dr Draper of the Retreat was chosen as president, and vice presidents included Gov. Holbrook, Jacob Estey, George Brooks, Edward Crosby and others.
Two sets of budget numbers were prepared at the request of the Brattleboro Selectboard since their last FY15 budget meeting. One involves specific cuts the Selectboard was considering; the other takes a look at a 1% across-the-board cut for all departments.
At Tuesday’s somewhat heated meeting, the board considered and voted on which cuts to include in their revised budget for presentation to town meeting representatives on June 2, ending up with a combination of the two approaches. Members of the public also weighed in, sometimes with great passion. Accusations were thrown, apologies offered, and and ideas were suggested.
By the end, the board had a list of requests for the Interim Town Manager to include in a revised budget that they hope to adopt and have ready for representatives in June.
Every once in a while we ask fans of the site to help cover the costs of keeping it going.
If you are in a position to do so and would like to help out, consider a gift to help offset some of the expenses of keeping this ship sailing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (for over a decade).
Scottish band Mogwai got their start in 1995. They are not like many other bands, but were in a group of musicians from Glasgow during that period that were dominating the indie music scene for a while.
Most songs are long guitar-based, droning instrumentals. Mogwai loves to rock, both quietly and noisily. They often start out on one energy level, then the band all jump on their pedals and it becomes big musical noise.
To add to our continuing look at town government and annual town meetings, let’s head back to see the news of May 8, 1903. From the Phoenix:
Village Meeting as Exciting as a Quaker Meeting – Tax of 40 Cents Voted With About 30 Present
Thirty men transacted the business of the annual village meeting Tuesday, with the exception of the election of the officers, making provision in three minutes for the expenditure of about $20,000, which is at the rate of over $6,500 a minute. Stated another way, each man voted away over $650, provided all voted.
Former New England Center for Circus Arts student Samantha Pitard was one of the eight circus acrobats that fell at a Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey circus show in Providence.
She’s the only performer released from the hospital so far.
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Elsie Smith, NECCA co-founder and Artistic Director, said doing aerial arts is like driving a car. ”You learn slowly, and know that there is danger in what you are doing. There are bumps and bruises and fender benders along the way, and every once in a while there is an accident like a pile up on the interstate that gets a lot of attention.”
The FY15 budget was again the focus of discussion for the Brattleboro Selectboard. At their regular Tuesday meeting they refined their positions on what cuts to aim for, and instructed the Interim Town Manager to prepare and bring options to their next special meeting to discuss and decide on the budget. This, despite significant disagreement amongst board members over which way to proceed.
In other news, work will begin on a plan to implement some sort of Pay As You Throw system to comply with state law. The board decided to hire a consultant, quite likely Moss Kahler, to assist.
There was also ample discussion of heifers, bridges, the parking budget and more.
There is a simple way to solve all of Brattleboro’s current financial problems.
We can solve our budget problem. We can solve our problems of being a hub town providing services to surrounding towns,. We can raise our Grand List and add new jobs and businesses. We can support local farmers. We can pay for the Police and Fire facilities.
It’s not even that difficult.
Kirsten A. Johnson, Ph.D., an Associate Professor at the Department of Communications at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa, has a request. She’s doing research about citizen journalism efforts around the country and would like your views as users and contributors to this site. The more responses she gets, the more accurate the results can be. We filled out our survey, and she followed up and asked us to invite you and share the link.
We often curse low turnout at the polls. “How could it be that only 1,200 people came out to vote?” we ask, usually when the vote goes against us. Why can’t it be like the olden days, where everyone turned out to participate in civic affairs?
Here’s a story from May 5, 1893 Phoenix about the incredibly low turnout for the first town meeting to be held in the daytime. – there were more election officers in the room than citizens. Maybe our numbers aren’t so bad?
The Brattleboro Selectboard will return to the discussion of what to do about the FY15 budget at their next regular Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center. You can attend in person or watch on BCTV.
The board will also take first steps toward a state-mandated Pay As You Throw system, the Planning Department will receive grant money for a rewrite of the zoning regulations, there will be discussion and approval of a Parking budget, the Heifers will get a parade permit, and more. You can also bring up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation.
Okay. Here’s an obscure one. Ever hear of the Upper Crust? I didn’t think so.
The Upper Crust was sort of a joke band. They dressed as 18th century nobleman, complete with powdered wigs, and played heavy metal songs about being the upper crust of society.
They had songs such as ‘We’re Finished with Finishing School,’ ‘Little Lord Fauntleroy,’ and ‘Let Them Eat Rock.’
The Brattleboro Selectboard held their special meeting to continue discussion of the FY15 budget on Thursday with a large crowd in attendance that included many town meeting representatives and town staff, along with others including some that rarely attend public meetings of any sort.
No decisions were made, but the Selectboard seemed to be sticking to their previously announced views, a 3-2 majority favoring significant cuts beyond the elimination of the second bond.
The public seemed divided as well, with some insisting they could afford increases and would like the same budget as before, while others expressed real issues with tax increases and asked for relief.
From the Vermont Phoenix, May 1, 1885, an article discussing matters that should be discussed at the upcoming annual village meeting.
Things For The Village Meeting To Take In Hand, 1885
A matter of the first importance, which should receive attention at the annual village meeting next Tuesday evening, is the sanitary condition of the village. With a cholera invasion threatened, and all the great cities of the country fearing an attack of the scourge, more importance will attach to sanitary matters in every community the coming season than ever before.
While Brattleboro as a rule is in clean, wholesome condition, and enjoys a remarkable degree of freedom from epidemic disease, there are plague spots in the village which are too obvious to need pointing out.
Something unusual seems to be happening. Through an odd combination of circumstances, what amounts to an open town meeting on the FY15 budget is breaking out.
How? A necessary number of Town Meeting representatives petitioned to have a town-wide referendum on the budget. Informational meetings prior to the vote had low turnout. The budget was voted down.
The Selectboard then held a special meeting and proposed cuts that provoked the citizenry into turning out in great number at a second special meeting, causing one of the best attended Selectboard meetings in years.
In a wonderfully weird and short special meeting on the FY15 town budget, the number of attendees exceeded expectations causing the meeting to be delayed until a later date and bigger location. Possibly Thursday, and possibly at a school.
The large turnout for a budget discussion seemed to take the board by pleasant surprise, though there was minor disagreement over what to do about it.
Here’s something people interested in GMOs and Vermont farming might want to take note of – an open source seed intiative.
You might be familiar with free and open source software. Coders give away the program and underlying source code with the stipulation that others using it do the same. The open source seed initiative is similar. They are releasing seeds in such a way to “make sure that the genes in at least some seed can never be locked away from use by intellectual property rights.”
The Skatepark Site Selection Committee has the last on site visits TODAY Tuesday April 29 (rain or shine). Here’s the agenda; come to part or all.
1. 5:15 P.M. Site Visit – Living Memorial Park (61 Guilford St)
2. Recess
3. 6:10 P.M. Site Visit – Crowell Lot (Intersection of Western Ave & Union St/Cedar St)
4. Recess
This week we set the time machine to Christmas 1980 at the Dominion Theatre to catch a show by Ian Dury and the Blockheads. As is often the case with the Weekend Concert Series, this is not for everyone, but for those who like Mr. Dury it is sure to be a treat.
Ian Dury was king of naughty new wave. His songs praised sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and frequently took a form similar to dirty limericks you might hear at the pub. The music is often very danceable and had a funky, soulful element. (He worked with Chas Jankel, a british keyboard player who had nightclub hits of his own.)
