Brattleboro’s municipal properties will be receiving energy audits now that an energy-auditing firm has been selected for the task. The Brattleboro Selectboard approved the work to look at 14 different structures, to see what additional work could be done to save money long-term.
The board heard an interesting pair of contrasting presentations regarding a proposed 140 foot cell tower for Putney Road. One presentation showed it to be essential to the life of our community; the other questioned its necessity as proposed.
A new playground structure has been approved for purchase for West River park, town finances are on schedule one month into the fiscal year, and a complaint about a closed pool leads to a discussion of who cut the hours in the first place.
Preliminaries
Kate O’Connor was absent without explanation.
Chair David Gartenstein shared good news via Brattleboro’s Planning Services Department. The work to renew the downtown designation for West Brattleboro paid off, and it has been re-designated for another five years. He was also able to present Rod Francis with an oversized check for $400,000 from the EPA, signifying a grant to do further brownfield work in in town. Town manager Peter Elwell said the EPA representative told him that Brattleboro’s prior work on brownfield assessment was a major reason they chose to re-invest in Brattleboro “so boldly.”
Gartenstein said that the board had been meeting in executive session recently regarding a possible Putney Road property for Police-Fire project consideration. He said that details have not been finalized, and he couldn’t comment directly on the property, but assured everyone that as soon as it was possible to do so, the Selectboard would be bringing the Police-Fire project back as an issue for full public discussion.
One of those discussions, he said, will be whether moving emergency services to Putney Road, away from downtown is possible or appropriate.
He said recent discussions about paths forward show proposals coming in under what was originally budgeted, but also that bringing facilities up to their current needs might be the best investment for the town.
For selectboard comments and committee reports, Donna Macomber said that the Arts Committee was in a “think tank phase,” from which she expected wonderful things to emerge. She thanked Dick Degray for his recent contributions at a recent meeting.
John Allen said he had an item put on the next Traffic Safety Committee Meeting agenda regarding Fairview and Maple streets, and encouraged everyone to come to the meeting, scheduled for Thursday at 8 a.m.
Public Participation
Dick Degray told the board he had two issues and a question. His first issue was “transient traffic” laying or sitting on downtown sidewalks. He said there wasn’t currently an ordinance against it, but there should be. He wanted to give a tool to the police, he said.
His second issue was the pool being closed. “It’s the hottest week of the year and the pool is closed. There’s no reason for it to be closed,” he said. “It should be open until Labor Day.”
“The board should address that,” he told them. [see below for more on this]
Degray’s question was whether there had been any updates on negotiations with GSP (G. S. Precision).
Gartenstein said he’d have town staff look into a potential ordinance, but that loitering can be difficult to enforce. He said there has been no updates about GSP.
John Allen asked Carol Lolatte, Director of Recreation & Parks, what the cost of keeping the pool open would be. She said it would be about $600 per day, plus water, electricity, chemicals, and the like. He suggested providing an estimate, come budget time, for keeping it open.
Liquor Commissioners – Soap Box Derby Catering Permit
Metropolis Wine requested a “request to cater” permit, hoping to serve beer in a tent at the 7th Annual Soapbox Derby on John Seitz Drive on August 30.
Daniel Kornguth said it was an annual event attracting up to 250 people. “It makes no money, but brings people alternative entertainment and activities.” Those activities include 20-30 gravity-powered cars driven down a hill. He assured the board that the spectators could enjoy a beer at the tent, but drivers would remain sober.
Alan Blackwell, representing Metropolis, said the beer would be served in a roped off area, with ID’s being checked. He said it would be a “nice addition to a summertime event.”
Town Manager Elwell said all issues were worked out with the Police and Fire departments, and all that remained was written permission from the property owner for the tent to be on his private property.
The permit was granted, contingent on written approval to use the property for the tent.
Monthly Finance Report with John O’Connor
In Fiscal Year Land, the first month is July. As such, only 8.3% of the year has been completed.
The General Fund expenditures are at 10.5% of the annual budget. It’s up a bit because it includes some big, non-monthly payments for insurance, human service payments, and lease payments.
The Utilities Fund expenditures are at 10.2%, up slightly due to a sludge removal encumbrance, and the Parking Fund is at 7.3%.
Just over $4 million has been loaned out, and just under $500,000 is available of additional grants and loans.
The Town has 28 active grants, with another seven in the pipeline.
“We’re very close to where we want to be, “ he told the board.
He said his next monthly report would show numbers for the new waste funds, with data being gathered about tipping fees, bag sales, and such. $69,000 worth of PAYT bags were sold in July, and trash declined by 50%, he said by way of preview.
Donna Macomber half-joked that the savings could pay to keep the pool open. This led to a question of when and why the pool hours were cut.
Carol Lolatte explained that it was five years ago that budget cuts by the Selectboard led to the reduction in hours.
This led to an observation of the irony, and some chuckles, that the Chair of the Selectboard at the time of the cuts was Dick Degray, and John Allen was on the board at the time as well.
Financial Management Questionnaire
Every year the state of Vermont requires the Town Treasurer to provide the Selectboard with a copy of a questionnaire. It’s the Financial Management Questionnaire, prepared by the Auditor of Accounts.
It’s supposed to be provided by the end of June, but overlooked until now.
It’s a simple form asking 26 questions, with check boxes for Yes, No, and Don’t Know answer, such as:
Have select board members attended financial trainings? (DK)
Are bank statements reconciled on a regular basis?(Y)
Are checks written by the same person who approves payments?(N)
…and so on.
The questionnaire has been provided to the board.
David Gartenstein noted the lack of an affirmative response for selectboard financial training. “We should be doing it.”
Playground Equipment for West River Park
New England Recreation Group of Westboro, MA, was given the contract for new playground equipment to be installed at the West River Park on Rt. 30. The Brattleboro Selectboard approved of the purchase.
Children can look forward to the new DX-200-F Dynamo Mid-Size Apollo, with floor. It has has a 10’ 10” diameter and 10’ 11” height. The capacity is approximately 25.
The purchase is being made using a Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium (MHEC) contract. Recreation & Parks Director Carol Lolatte said it was a process similar to a state-wide bid, but encompasses all of New England.
The $18,500 project is paid for with privately-raised funds of the West River Park Committee. Installation will be done in-house be a certified playground installer on staff.
It’s sort of a cone-shaped climbing apparatus. “It’s cool, not high tech, but cool,” explained Lolatte. “It will be unique in Brattleboro.”
Telecommunication Tower on Putney Road
The Brattleboro Selectboard was presented with a Letter of Comment to the state Public Service Board regarding a proposed 140 foot tall tower near the Agway on Putney Road. The tower is a project of Blue Sky Towers, for AT& T Mobility, and the letter is a project of town staff and committees.
Planning Services Director Rod Francis was joined by Will Dodge of Down Rachlin & Martin, on behalf of the tower proposal people.
Dodge gave the first presentation, showing that the tower would be near Agway, ideally 140 feet tall, and was meant to better serve the spotty service in the area. He showed a map and highlighted areas along I-91 as potential areas to be served by the new tower. The problems, he said, originated when Unicel was sold to AT&T in Vermont, but Verizon in NH.
Dodge said reducing the height to 100 feet, as he saw requested in the draft letter, wouldn’t be enough. He thought they might be able to compromise on 120 feet tall, with a way to further extend it in the future. He argued that the tower wouldn’t adversely impact the view.
Rod Francis said that the Conservation Commission, the Planning Commission, and the Project Review Committee of the Windham Regional Commission all had concerns about the aesthetic impact of the proposed structure, and the protection of natural assets and scenic view sheds, as outlined in Brattleboro’s Town Plan.
The height, in particular, at 140 feet was a problem. He hoped to see a plan that showed co-location on existing towers, even if owned by other companies, could be arranged, and if not, other locations considered or a tower limited to 100 feet tall.
Francis questioned the need to help AT&T backfill areas of coverage to help them compete with other companies. He said the tower was “for ATT only, not all users or all travelers . Why a subset of users? Why accomodate that interest without any compensation or benefit?”
Dodge countered that areas without cell phone coverage are areas people don’t stop to visit.
David Schoales didn’t feel a need to “worry about a little cell tower.” he said the hotel and C&S already dominate the “scenic” view, so adding a tower wouldn’t be a problem.
John Allen agreed. “We’re making a mountain out of a molehill.” He felt towers were just a temporary technology that would go away, and wondered if the town could put emergency repeaters on such a tower if built. He was told the town already has good repeater coverage, but they’d look into it. Dodge said his clients would agree to it, if needed.
Macomber and Gartenstein maintained skepticism of the project. “We should be using cell phones on the highway,” said Macomber. She said it would be a possibly-unnecessary eyesore.
The town has until September 4th to craft a letter, so they will take time to rewrite their concerns, and look at the possibilities of a 120 foot tower proposal as a compromise.
Francis reminded everyone that I-91 in this area has been designated a scenic byway, and this could threaten that distinction. Dodge countered that a byway isn’t only about scenery, but also economic development. “Not absolutely about being scenic,” he said.
This will come up again on September 1st.
Energy Audits for Municipal Buildings
Energy audits will be performed on 14 municipal structures as a result of the Brattleboro Selectboard’s approval of a contract with Sustainable Energy Education Demonstration Services (SEEDS).
Patrick Moreland was joined by Tad Montgomery, Bob Reuter, and Paul Cameron to explain the RFQ process and present the selection of an energy auditor for the board’s consideration.
15 proposals were received and evaluated through the RFQ process. After multiple rounds of evaluation, SEEDS was selected.
Margaret Dillon is the sole proprietor of SEEDS, and she will use the mechanical engineering services of Chris Webb.
Buildings to be evaluated will be the Municipal Center, Gibson-Aiken, Brooks Memorial Library, Transportation Center, Nelson Withington Skating Rink, Public Works Garage, Pleasant Valley Water Treatment Facility, and Retreat Wells. Six additional pump houses will also be included, which are felt to be ripe for easy, cost-saving improvements.s
The project will be done in coordination with Windham Wood Heat program, which aims to transition schools and municipal facilities to pellet or chip use for wood heat, and Efficiency Vermont. Both are potential funding partners for later stages of the work. WWH would fund 75% of some wood heat projects, for example.
Multiple possible “paths” were outlined in the proposal.
Assistant Town Manager Patrick Moreland explained that some of the work done in the early phases of the project would determine which way to proceed with later parts of the project. Accordingly, the board authorized Town Manager Elwell to make decisions about those secondary, related analyses.
There is a limit. The project may not exceed $36,220.
Funds will come from the Energy Efficiency Fund established in 2014.
Tad Montgomery said the hope was that they would be able to return with a full list of capital improvements in the near future, showing costs and anticipated savings in an itemized, organized fashion.
David Gartenstein noted that a request a while back for $3,000 to do energy audit had, at the time, seemed unrealistic. He was glad to see a proper series of energy audits being undertaken.
Paul Cameron promised their work would be prioritized, so that any energy efficiency work could be done incrementally, if necessary.
