The Brattleboro Selectboard put off the formation of a new promotion committee. It was a suggestion of the Arts Committee and got mixed reactions from the board.
The Town Manager outlined a series of current and next steps for the police and fire facilities projects, currently moving full steam ahead. The board played a version of Match(ing Grant) Game with the Bradley House project, the end of weekly trash bag pickup was previewed, and more.
Preliminaries
Dick DeGray was sworn in by Town Clerk Annette Cappy for a one year seat prior to the meeting.
Chair David Gartenstein welcomed DeGray and said this was a big time for public works projects, citing the new retaining wall in Harmony Lot, spring works projects, and facilities projects getting underway.
Town Manager Peter Elwell concurred and mentioned additional projects slated to get underway such as Bonnyvale Road retaining wall work and upcoming paving projects.
For selectboard comments and committee reports, David Schoales said progress was being made at the Waste Management District looking at programs, fees for service and assessments. If successful, Brattleboro may see a reduction in the amount paid to the district.
Gartenstein reported on the first meeting of a Rt. 30 corridor study committee that will be looking at traffic calming and additional recreational opportunities and safety issues, such as the lack of parking near the new viewing platform at the new I-91 bridge. The town may consider taking over a short portion of RT 30 from the state. The committee is gather public input.
There was no public participation at this juncture.
Water & Sewer Commissioners
Acting as Water & Sewer Commissioners, the Brattleboro Selectboard approved a bid for the Frost Place Water Main Lining project. Heitkamp, Inc. of Watertown, CT, was the only bidder, but was under budget and is known to be reliable by the DPW, so they received the $99,300 to do the work.
SVE Associates is doing the design engineering. The new pipe coating will be an approved epoxy meeting all safety standards.
Police and Fire Facilities Projects
With Representative Town Meeting approval of the project and the budget behind them, the Brattleboro Selectboard took immediate steps to get the multiple building projects underway.
Town Manager Peter Elwell provided the board with an updated timeline of necessary actions in the coming months. He divided the discussion by topic.
1. The purchase of the Black Mountain Road property. The option agreement has been exercised and the purchase process begun. Inspections are getting underway. Closing is expected before August 10, and the Town can get out for any or no reason during the inspection period.
2. Financing. Elwell said the application has been submitted to the bond bank, and their decision comes in the summer. Borrowing from a bank is looking less likely, but if any good offers come along they will be shared. Bond interest rates are set when the bonds are issued, and and the rate is decided based on a range of rates, since the main bond consists of a series of smaller bonds with different interest rates.
3. Elwell recommended continuing with the former team, previously approved and responsible for work thus far. The board agreed. Schoales reminded the Town Manager that local hires should be encouraged where possible.
There was some discussion of who had ultimate say in how these projects would look, and who would approve of the plans. The Selectboard is ultimately responsible, it was determined, but they will get advice and input from town staff, building committee members, and the public. The board will have opportunities to review the plans in public before signing off on them.
4. Reconvening the Police Fire Facilities Project Building Committee. All but one of the former committee members agreed to serve again, and so the selectboard reconvened the committee of eight with one vacancy. If interested, you can apply to the Town by April 29.
5. Edit the charge of the committee. When we last met the PFFPBC, their charge had been changed by the selectboard to assist in finding alternative locations for the police station. With a location found and in the process of being purchased, the mission was changed back to advisory project oversight of the three facilities projects.
6. Timing. Elwell reported that the West Brattleboro Fire Station construction would be underway by this summer. Central Fire will begin in the fall, most likely, and the police station will begin shortly after that. A more definite schedule was promised for a future meeting.
7. Public education. David Gartenstein suggested articles and mailings to help keep the general public informed about the projects.
8. The fate of the Municipal Center. Elwell said that state officials would be touring the building and discussing what their interests in the space might be. Housing officials would also be looking at what might be available, he said.
Almost all the board members wanted to gather more information before making decisions, but for varying reasons. DeGray said they had to keep all fiduciary options open. He wanted to know the costs of maintaining the building, and thought other sites should be considered for town offices.
Gartenstein said it was a significant decision and required more information. O’Connor said there were lots of little issues that needed to be gathered. Allen and Schoales agreed they had time before the police were out and a decision was needed.
Regardless of the future decision, the ongoing safety violations will be addressed, said Elwell.
Bradley House Renovation and Expansion
At a previous meeting, the board was leaning toward offering a grant of about $50,000 towards the Bradley House Redevelopment project. The project will bring the building up to current code, modernize the facility, and add rooms.
Neighbors expressed concerns about communication from the Bradley House team, and the board delayed the grant to give time for issues to be resolved. Since then, letters have gone out and a neighborhood meeting has been held. Traffic calming studies have been requested for Harris Ave, and abutters will be notified about Development Review Board meetings.
David Gartenstein began by opening the floor for comments. There were none.
That should have been it, but the board descended into a math problem.
Brattleboro’s matching funds will be tied to the equivalent of 10% of funding from the Vermont Community Development Program, up to $50,000. If VCDP provides less than the $507,000 requested, Brattleboro’s share will go down accordingly.
Sounds easy, but a logical issue became apparent. If the state grant is for $500,000, the town match would be 10%, or $50,000. That would reduce the amount needed by the grant by $50,000 to just $450,000.
10% of $450,000, however, is not $50,000. The town would be paying a bit more than the 10% intended by the motion.
With some careful wording, a motion was created that kept Brattleboro’s match to about 10%, and not to exceed $50,000.
A formal policy for this sort of matching percentage will be taken up at later meetings.
The matching fund offer was approved.
VCDP Grant for Windham and Windsor Housing Trust
The Brattleboro Selectboard accepted a grant of $4250,000 for the Windham and Windsor Trust’s Portfolio Enhancement 3 project. The project will renovate and restructure debt for five Brattleboro properties: 11 Cross Street, 13 Canal Street, 90 Clark Street, and 99 and 109 Green Street.
The Town will administer the funds as a loan to WWHT. Payments on the loan are deferred 30 years. Brattleboro gets a portion paid to cover administrative costs.
In accepting the money, the board had to adopt a resolution provided by the State of Vermont indicating the details of the grant and who is taking responsibility for the implementation.
Arts Committee’s Town Promotion Committee Idea
Adam Salviani, the Chair of the Arts Committee, was on hand to discuss a new proposal from the Town Arts Committee. In it, they request a new town committee be created dedicated to the promotion of the arts, business, and culture of Brattleboro.
The new committee would feature representatives of the Chamber, Downtown Alliance, Arts Committee, and Arts Council as well as members of the public, and would be charged with coordinating promotional efforts and increasing economic growth.
The committee, Salviani explained, would be funded from the surplus generated in Rooms, Meals, and Alcohol tax. The proposal states that each year for the last few years, revenues have exceeded budget projections by $12-19,000. If there was no surplus, the committee would request $5,000 from the Town.
Almost all of the money would go toward advertising according to a sample budget provided.
Brattleboro Selectboard members had strong reactions to the proposal.
Kate O’Connor took offense at the proposal saying that other town organizations had failed, and that the town does nothing for small businesses, but said that she could put that aside, as she was in favor of promoting the town.
“Your intentions are good and anything to promote the town is something I support, but this does it the wrong way,” she said. She questioned whether there was any surplus to fund the committee. “Everything is allocated.”
O’Connor said that numerous promotions of town arts and events go on all the time. She felt the Town didn’t need to get involved, and a committee would be the wrong way to do it. “I don’t think a volunteer group has the capacity to look at the marketing needs of the town.” She questioned giving $20,000 to a volunteer group, and pointed to the recent NEA grant as an example of mixing money and committees.
David Schoales thought it would be beneficial to have coordination among all the arts organizations and supported the idea of the committee. “The reason we have a town is the arts community.”
Dick DeGray said that he helped push for the original 1% room and meals tax, and that some of it was originally envisioned to help promote the town. “The Town has benefitted from the 1%. Here’s an opportunity for the Town to be a participant,” he said. “The more we promote the town, the more we’d get in rooms and meals taxes. The premise is win-win.”
“Let’s commit for three years and try it,” he continued. “When we need more revenue, we need to invest some. How much have we given SeVEDS? I haven’t seen anything reaped from that. This promotes the town. It’s a small investment.”
David Gartenstein had significant concerns, ranging from there being no surplus to fund the committee, why the arts committee was proposing another committee, the vagueness of the proposal, that the town doesn’t fund committees, and the lack of any stated need for the committee.
“We could throw money at promotion, but not through this structure,” he said. “I don’t see the need.”
John Allen was on the fence. He wanted more information before making a decision.
O’Connor said that “Just because someone doesn’t know it is happening doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. We all live in our silos.”
DeGray was about to make a motion to form the committee and fund it, but after seeing that it would likely be defeated, he withdrew his motion, allowing for the proposal to be refined and possibly re-presented at a later date with concerns addressed.
Members of the Arts Committee wanted it known that the new committee members were hard at work, and shouldn’t be judged by past committee issues or actions.
The plan will be taken up again, quite possibly, in the future.
Update on Transition to Every Other Week Trash Collection
Patrick Moreland and Moss Kahler were on hand to discuss the transition to every other week trash pickup, beginning July 11, 2016. Recycling and compost will continue to be picked up every week, but trash bag pickup will happen every other week only.
No one will need to adjust to new days of the week, but residents will need to learn if their trash bags are picked up in an A-Week or B-Week. A calendar will be provided.
Moss Kahler will be in charge of public education, holding meetings and events. He’ll also be sending out information to residents.
About 50% of Brattleboro participates in curbside compost, he reported. Gartenstein asked what special outreach would be done to those who aren’t yet composting. Kahler said there would be discussions with landlords and human service agencies, and additional opportunities to get compost carts from the town.
O’Connor noted that the draft information sheet provided to the board seemed unnecessarily confusing and poorly-designed. “I can’t figure it out. It’s mind boggling,” she said.
Schoales suggested the correct spelling of “yucky” be used as well.
Cemetery Maintenance Bid
Turner & Renaud received the contract for summer 2016 cemetery maintenance. They’ll receive $17,750 to keep the town cemeteries in good shape for the year, which is slightly less than what was originally budgeted for the work.
Grants for Dog Park Fencing
Two grants from the Vermont Community Foundation will be submitted for use in funding fencing at the dog park to be located near the skatepark at Living Memorial Park. One is a $1,000 grant offered by the Crosby Gannett Fund, and the other is a $500 application to the Dunham-Mason Fund.
Drug Recognition Expert Grant Application
Brattleboro Police have received permission from the selectboard to apply for the Governor’s Highway Safety Program’s Drug Recognition Expert Grant. If granted, the $1,000 would pay for overtime expenses for certified DRE on staff, related to field sobriety evaluations of suspects arrested in and around Brattleboro.
Annual Selectboard Assignments
Members of the Brattleboro Selectboard, in addition to their work at selectboard meetings, serve on various committees and boards as representatives, and Tuesday night the assignments for the coming year were set:
Capital Grants Review Board – O’Connor, Gartenstein
Police-Fire Facility Building Committee – Allen
Small Business Assistance Program Loan Committee – Schoales
Town Arts – no one…
Traffic Safety and Control Committee – Gartenstein
Windham Solid waste – Schoales and Allen
Rental Housing Improvement Program Loan Committee – DeGray
Obviously the wisdom of the
Obviously the wisdom of the Selectboard and Mr. Kahler does not extend to the other 50% of town residents who are unable – for a variety of reasons- to compost. Have they considered the effect that trash bags sitting a barrel for 2 weeks in July and August will have? Noxious odors, maggots, more animals rummaging through the trash. I’m sure I’ll hear from the compost afficionados about how “easy” it is to compost; how “everyone” can do it, etc, etc, etc.
As I and others have stated in previous posts that is simply not the case.
And, once again, the SB refuses to acknowledge the elderly and disabled residents of the town they are supposed to be representing.
It’s going to be quite the smelly summer!
Just for you, a bit more of the story
Gartenstein asked what plans Kahler had for those, especially those living in small places, that have found it hard to compost.
Kahler told him the key was recycling and composting, and that in an informal survey 90% of people in town said they’d have no problem! He lamented that people were still not composting, that the “low hanging fruit” has already been proverbially picked, and now it is time to shake the tree,
Schoales said the way you deal with this is to get a ladder and go up and get the remaining fruit. ‘People might just need some help.”
Gartenstein: “Some people just refuse.”
Schoales : “They can have stinky garbage in their houses.”
…..
See, they are thinking of how to help you! : )
This pretty much sums up
This pretty much sums up everything that’s wrong with those who oversee this town. Maybe 90% did say they would have no problem (although I’ve been pretty vocal about the problems that exist and nobody asked me to take an “informal” survey). Regardless of how many people said “no problem” there quite obviously are problems – otherwise 90% of the town would be composting and not 50%.
I would love to be able to compost. My living space, physical disabilities and mobility issues don’t allow me to at this time. The refusal by the SB and the person who is supposed to be in charge of coordinating this endeavor to take an honest look at WHY people can’t compost rather than assuming we’re lazy or stubborn or any of the other stereotypical reasons they assume is insulting and does nothing to increase the number of people composting. Nobody in the building I live in composts- not because some of us don’t want to but because all of the kitchens are small and poorly designed. The property manager complains about our recycling bins being in the hall- how do you think he’d feel about a compost container? If Brattleboro hopes to get 100% participation ( or even 90%) they need to change the way they’re dealing (or not dealing) with the very real problems that people have composting. It would help if Mr. Kahler could make even a small effort to try to actually understand WHAT the problems are rather than just giving his usual lip service.
Informal Survey??
There is no way to validate an informal survey. It is not a clean collection of data and the results are unsound.
And, at no time should an “informal survey” be included as a talking point when discussing or making town policy.
A quote, just for John Allen
Here’s is a quote for John Allen to memorize, regarding his dislike of committees:
“Search your parks in all your cities, you’ll find no statues of committees.”