New fees for special event permits were almost adopted, but put off until the next meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard to allow for more public input.
The West Brattleboro Association won themselves a small amount of time to come up with brilliant plans for renovating and re-using the current fire station in West Brattleboro. The clock is ticking, as the Selectboard approved of continuing with plans for its demolition.
Energy audits for municipal buildings have been completed, a new traffic safety plan has been adopted, committees have received new appointments, and the Reformer will remain the newspaper of record for the next year.
Preliminaries
Chair David Gartenstein began the meeting with three items he considered very newsworthy. The first was that the Town was notified of a $175,000 grant that will be used to help with the Bonnyvale Road retaining wall project. “This goes a long way toward getting it done.”
His second piece of news was that the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that in the appealed case of Daims vs. the Town of Brattleboro, the court found that the Selectboard did nothing to interfere in charter change ballot items by sending out an informational sheet, and that the board has the authority to act in the interests of the Town. “A strong decision.”
His final bit of news was repeated news from their last meeting, that the Town’s recycling program has not changed as a result of decisions made at the Windham Solid Waste District. Triple T still allows for all plastics 1-7 in recycling, and our program continues as is.The change is at the solid waste district, he said, where they have decided to toss plastics 3-7 into landfills rather than recycle them any longer.
Town Manager Peter Elwell said that there would be a planning and preparation meeting next week regarding the Elliot Street bridge replacement project, which gets underway after school is out for the summer. He also noted substantial progress on the retaining wall downtown and hoped people would take a look the next time they were in Harmony Lot.
For selectboard comments and committee reports, John Allen reported that the Police and Fire Committee were “back at it.”
Public participation included a proclamation prepared by the Town Arts Committee, proclaiming May 6-8 as ARTstravaganza Brattleboro
Liquor Commissioners
Acting as Liquor Commissioners, the Brattleboro Selectboard approved a special event permit for Whetstone Cider Works. They will be able to serve drinks at the “Hometown” book launch at the Hooker-Dunham Building on May 7 from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
This may have been one of the last special event permits granted by the board for a single vendor, as they also heard from Town Clerk Annette Cappy, who recommended that certain types of liquor licenses be approved by her office.
The Town Clerk’s office already approves Requests to Cater permit, and the State Department of Liquor Control (DLC) does not require Liquor Commissioners to approve permits. Only the Town Clerk’s signature is required before the DLC receives the request for final approval.
Cappy said that our current system of requiring Selectboard approval is unnecessary, and the lengthy approval time frequently causes local establishments to forego events.
Under the new system, the Town Clerk’s office would approve any Request to Cater Permit, Special Events Permit, Festival Permit, Educational Sampling Event Permit, and Art Gallery, Bookstore, Library or Museum Permit.
These would all be subject to the same strict review by the Town, and if any applications raise concerns, they will be sent along to the Selectboard for consideration.
Cappy says special event permits are on the rise, as more breweries and distilleries in Vermont open for business. Streamlining the process will give the state more time to do investigations prior to events, as well.
David Gartenstein thought the new policy would be good for most events, but wondered if they should set a threshold of 5 or more vendors requiring a review at the Selectboard level.
DeGray didn’t see the need, noting that the bigger events are usually repeat events with known organizations. He felt it was an arbitrary number. “Maybe it should be higher.”
John Allen felt it could be left to Town staff’s discretion.
Christian Stromberg of Saxtons River Distillery said he endorsed the idea of streamling the process for small events as well as looking more carefully at larger events. He said that he has had to turn down events in the past because of the timeline requirements.
The selectboard approved of the change, and set a trigger of 5 or more vendors for a Selectboard review.
A second suggestion, to add a Brattleboro fee to the state fees for special event permits, had more resistance. The new proposal calls for the addition of $50 for Festival and Educational Sampling permits, and $15 for the others to be paid to Brattleboro. This would help defray some of the costs associated with town staff work related to approving the permits.
Kate O’Connor said she’d like to give the issue more time, to allow for more input from brewers, distillers, caterers and others.
Allen felt it was a minimal amount. “We aren’t really making money on it.”
DeGray agreed. “Unless people are doing events for free, they are making money with events,” he said. “We have to stop giving away services.”
Gartenstein said he was in favor of adopting it, but could wait. Schoales noted that the town gets administrative fees for some grants.
Stromberg said the fees would add up quickly, and adding $15 to the existing $35 means an event would pay $50. he noted that tastings and special events were one of the few ways distillers can promote themselves. “It’s going to get costly if every town does this.” he worried about the effect on those just starting out in the business.
DeGray said he appreciated Stromberg’s concerns, but nonetheless felt the town needed to be compensated.
The board tabled the discussion until the next meeting to give others time to weigh in.
Interestingly, the DLC allows for 36 special event permits a year. Brattleboro had 40 in 2015.
Police and Fire Facilities Updates
Town Manager Elwell gave the board the latest update on the police and fire station projects underway, telling them that the building committee has reconvened, professionals have been hired, and Town staff is busy assisting with project schedules, plans, and other design phase work.
A preliminary timeline for all three projects has been created. “It’s aggressive,” said Elwell, explaining that they felt it was wise to keep everything tight and leave little flexibility.
If it holds, the West Brattleboro fire station will be completed in late January 2017, the new police station ready by May 2017, and Central Fire would be complete by August of 2017.
Work is proceeding to secure financing for the projects. One bank said it would consider financing the project, but at a higher rate of interest than bond estimates. Investigations into the best financing package continue, and the board will get advice on how to proceed at their next meeting.
The sale of the Brattleboro Reformer (after Town Meeting Representatives voted to buy the building at 62 Black Mountain Road) presents new implications, according to Elwell. He reiterated that the purchase and sale agreement “clearly states the Town has the right to buy the building” and the sellers have an obligation to lease 2000 sq. feet of it for three years.
As it stands, the new owners of the Reformer plan to move the offices downtown. The Town is negotiating with former owners, and there may be a price reduction in the amount equal to the three years required lease. It could be that the sellers offer another tenant to meet the requirements of the agreement. Final details will be worked out soon.
Gartenstein asked if the money saved from $175,000 grant mentioned at the beginning of the meeting could be applied to the projects. Elwell cautioned that the savings might not be as much as they appear.
The West Brattleboro Association had several suggestions for the West Brattleboro fire station – to install exterior electrical outlets for community events, to extend power to the Village Green, to add a storage shed, add a bulletin board, discuss use of the grassy area behind the new station, discuss restroom access by the public, enhancement of the flag pole area, and to have time to assess the current station to see if it could be re-used..
Town Manager Elwell recommended that the board approve of the additional electrical outlets, but to reject the other suggestions, per committee recommendations. He noted that some of the issues were design issues, but others were decisions about how to use the property that could be decided later.
Michael Bosworth of the WBA said he could agree with the recommendations, except for the one to reject the idea of considering if the old station could be re-used. Bosworth said that they would like time to see if it could be kept in use. He suggested they go ahead with making plans to demolish it, but if the WBA could somehow come up with a good plan to save it, they would ask to amend any permits and pay for the necessary renovations.
DeGray wanted to stick with the committee’s recommendations, and that anything impeding the project should be set aside. “This is a 9th inning, 2 outs thing that comes up. The committee is in place to help us make decisions.”
Bosworth admitted it was a long shot, and didn’t have any plans per se, but didn’t want to see the door slammed shut if it could be kept open a bit for just a while longer.
Elwell agreed, but warned that things were moving fast and site plans would be up for discussion at their next meeting. “ I have concerns, but for tonight, allow the question to be out there.”
The board did just that. They approved outlets, rejected the shed and bulletin board, , and voted to go forward with making site plans that include the demolition of the building while not outright rejecting WBA’s request to have some additional time.
Rhonda Calhoun, James Banslaben, and Lee Leibowitz all applied for the single open seat on the Police-Fire Facilities committee. Rhonda Calhoun was appointed as a member. James Banslaben joked that he demanded a recount.
Brattleboro Municipal Energy Audits
Last summer, Margaret Dillon was hired to do energy audits of municipal properties and come up with recommendations for Brattleboro to consider. She completed her initial work and presented the selectboard with a summary of her findings at Tuesday’s meeting.
Assistant Town Manager Patrick Moreland introduced her, and reminded everyone that her full 200 page report is on the Town’s website. He also said that with help from Efficiency Vermont and the Windham Wood Heat Initiative, the project came in $7,000 below the approved budget of $36,220.
Dillon said she surveyed the Municipal Center, Gibson-Aiken, library, skating rink, DPW garage, parking garage, Pleasant Valley Water Treatment facility, Retreat wells, and 8 pump stations to see if there were cost-effective upgrades, and also to see if any of the buildings would benefit from a transition to biomass heating (wood pellets).
Suggestions in the report cover a variety of options, from upgrading building envelopes and mechanical equipment to conversion to wood heat.
Wood pellet conversions are recommended for the Municipal Center, library, Gibson-Aiken, parking garage, water treatment plant, and DPW garage.
Dillon summarized the full report in one sentence: investing $1.43 million in energy saving measures is predicted to save $113,427 per year, yielding a 7.9% return on that investment, with a net present value payback of 11.9 years.
For the report, four-year averages were used for estimates of fuel costs. Heating oil was pegged at $2.83 a gallon, propane at $1.97 per gallon, and wood pellets at $235 per ton. The report also assumes that a carbon tax will be instituted within the next 20 years.
David Gartenstein said he noticed that the return on investment for some items in the report was greater than others. “some pay off very quickly with big cost savings,” he noted, and “others would take longer to pay off. “ he asked if this was a correct way to view things.
Dillon said yes and no. She described buildings as systems, and said “the compound impact of doing it all is more than doing it in parts.”
Bob Reuter of the Energy Committee said the ROI isn’t the right way to think about it, because the savings continue after it is paid off, and ROI dosen’t capture the life of the measure taken.
Gartenstein said his question stemmed from the lack of available cash on hand for projects like this.
David Schoales said that this was perhaps the only way to save significant amounts of money in the future, as it more than pays for itself over time (unlike, say, paving or sidewalks). He suggested that the annual savings could cover much of what would be needed to borrow to do the improvements. “It’s an incredible opportunity to provide cost savings to taxpayers. We get a return on investment!”
Dick DeGray agreed, but noted that those “savings” would never get passed on to taxpayers as savings. Any “savings will be used for other projects. Taxpayers never get a true benefit from this. it’s a shell game. If it was that easy, everyone would upgrade every facility.
John Allen and Kate O’Connor agreed. O’Connor pointed out that we are still paying for the Honeywell project. “The savings don’t go into a bank account” she said.
“And we’re still freezing in this room,” offered Allen.
Dillon closed by saying the report could be used as a tool, and that it could be especially useful when thinking about upcoming planned capital projects. “New facility construction impacts energy costs.”
The Selectboard voted to have staff work on an implementation plan and return at a later date.
Traffic Calming Plan and Safety Policy Changes
The selectboard approved a new Street and Sidewalk Safety Policy, a new document that is the result of years of work between the Traffic Safety Committee and Local Motion, a Burlington non-profit.
The policy formerly known as the Traffic Calming Plan was given a fresh look, according to Town Manager Elwell.
Goals for the project included providing clear and concise criteria for evaluating street and sidewalk safety improvements, identify a clear process by which projects are approved, develop a flowchart illustrating the process, and renaming of the document to better reflect its purpose.
If you have a street or sidewalk safety issue, the first step is to submit an Action Request Form. This gets taken up by Town staff and the Traffic Safety Committee, and a “needs assessment” is carried out. If the committee approves, the project goes on the Priority List of Traffic Calming Projects.
Brattleboro Local Emergency Operations Plan
Fire Chief Mike Bucossi provided the board with an updated 2016 Brattleboro Emergency Operations Plan.
Town Manager Elwell reminded them that this is an annual approval, and the only major change was that a separate radiological emergency plan has been condensed and added.
The board adopted the plan and authorized the Town Manager to sign it.
ADA Committee Appointments
Andrea Evey and Grace Beninson are the two newest appointees to the ADA Committee. These are short-term appointments to end June 30, 2016, at the end of the fiscal year.
Rules of Conduct
Slightly modified Rules of Conduct for meetings and hearings were adopted by the Brattleboro Selectboard Tuesday night, along with an endorsement of the Reformer as paper of record for the coming year.
The biggest change will be that committee vacancies will now be announced quarterly.
The paper of record issue was challenged by The Commons. Barry Aleshnick spoke for the weekly paper, saying they offered better rates and a circulation of 10,000, along with what he promised to be better customer service.
Jan Anderson said that the town has taken job placement ads in the Commons, but the feedback in the Reformer ads had been better. Plus, she said, “It’s digital and virtual now. Not just newspapers.”
“I’d stick with Reformer for legal notices. The public is trained to go there.” She said this could change in the future.
Selectboard members all said they appreciated the weekly, and their vote to stay with the Reformer wasn’t a reflection on their work.
Selectboard Goals
Board goals were tabled until their next meeting, and they adjourned into an executive session.
Just joking, but...
… as long as everyone is angling to be the media outlet of record, I nominate iBrattleboro.
As Jan pointed out, things are digital now. iBrattleboro is long-known for town meeting notices and agendas. Our “circulation” is ample. We’re the only local media outlet to focus on Brattleboro rather than the entire region. We don’t take weekends off. We’ll beat any other ad offer, too. Name your price. : )
…
Really, though, I think it was a good idea for the Reformer to remain the newspaper of record. There is a long history there, as Jan also said, and people have been trained to look there for notice for, oh, a hundred years or more. Plus, new ownership and a new commitment to local news is a positive step. And they plan to move downtown.
Recycling
So we can still recycle #1-#7 but the Solid Waste District tosses $3-#7 into the landfill? I don’t understand how we are recycling #3-#7 if it ends up in the landfill. Also are we now paying (through taxes) for the increased tipping fees for the plastics that now go into the landfill? Can someone please clarify this.
I'll try
Brattleboro’s recycling pickup hasn’t changed. Put things in your bin as always.
At the other end, at the district, they are tossing some into the landfill as outlined.
In simple terms, you continue to “recycle” and the folks picking it up don’t recycle as much as before. Technically you are just using the recycle bin as an extra trash container, at least for now, for the 3-7 plastics. But the system is in flux.
The WSWD has been going through changes recently – looking for ways to save money, streamline, and they have also been pressured by Brattleboro to adjust their fees to better reflect what goes on. Brattleboro pushed hard last year for action, and got some results as well as 2 members on the committee to look at changes. The district began looking into a range of issues, and Brattleboro gave them some time to work things out and come back with better options.
Schoales and Allen are usually at the WSWMD meetings. Allen has questioned the need for the district. Gartenstein has questioned why we pay $50k in recycling collection fees when we already pay Triple T for that service.
So, the tax issue was an issue before any of the recycling changes came along. The new changes will certainly be a part of ongoing discussions. We’re coasting for a year to give the district time to restructure and are participating in that process.
It might be confusing because it is confusing. : )