Selectboard Meeting Notes – Put $7.8 Million On The Card, Please

At their regular meeting on Tuesday, the Brattleboro Selectboard approved of new plans for the West Brattleboro fire station as well as $7.8 million in financing from a bond bank for completing all three facility projects.

Enterprise budgets and selectboard goals were approved, the board held a discussion of public and private roads, the contract with Rescue Inc. has been renewed, new liquor fees were adopted, and Whetstone Brook is getting a close look to inspire discussions of redevelopment and flood protection.

Preliminaries

Chair David Gartenstein spoke of spring and line striping of roads, to be completed in the next few weeks. He also made note of the frequent executive sessions, saying that in part they related to contracts with the four unions over collective bargaining issues. They hope to have contracts ready by late June.

Town Manager Peter Elwell pointed out that it was National Public Works Week, this past Sunday was a memorial day for police that fell in the line of duty, and this week is Police Week.

Elwell also noted upcoming information sessions regarding composting and every other week trash collection, to be held at the skating rink May 21, 25, and 28.

For selectboard comments and committee reports, John Allen joked that next week was national thank your local contractor week. Dick DeGray thanked Dennis Hamilton and his students for help at the Creamery Bridge.

David Schoales had some news from the Windham Solid Waste Management District. Cost controls are being implemented, and a grant has been obtained to support food scrap generators and improved composting. The bigger news, though, is that a motion was introduced, seconded and eventually tabled that called for Brattleboro to be billed for recycling plastics 3-7.

Public participation there was a request to improve safety at the Main Street crossing near the Municipal Center. Gartenstein promised it would come up at the next Traffic Safety meeting.

Liquor Commissioners

Acting as Liquor Commissioners, the Brattleboro Selectboard approved special event permits for the Strolling of the Heifers. Seven establishments were granted permission to serve their spirits at the June 3 event.

New Liquor Permit fees were also approved. These will be additional Brattleboro administrative fees added to the existing state fees paid to the Department of Liquor Control. Request to cater, special events and art gallery permits will now be an extra $15. Festival and educational sampling permits will now be an extra $50.

A brewer and a distiller objected to the rates, pointing out that few towns add these charges, and they add a burden to those wanting to hold events in town.

Christian Stromberg of Saxtons River Distillery said those making liquor were being singled out, and vendors of dips didn’t have the same requirement. Avery Schwenk thought the fees would add confusion and a reduction in events.

David Schoales and Kate O’Connor opposed the new fees, stating that they’d prefer the events to the fees. “It’s the perception of a fee,” said O’Connor.

DeGray felt it was smart business and those requesting the license should reimburse the town for some of the time it takes to process their requests. John Allen agreed. ‘I have to pay a fee for my dog.”

Gartenstein thought the public safety aspect to these permits made them different from other businesses, and a token fee was appropriate.

Schwenk made a final attempt to convince the board to reconsider. The events contribute to the 1% liquor tax collected. With each event comes more money. “I already give you money.”

Schoales pointed out that the town gets 40% of 1% of those sales.

The new fees were approved.

Water & Sewer Commissioners

The FY17 Utility Fund Budget discussed in detail at last week’s special meeting of the board was adopted this week.

The board had asked for additional details on how transfers to the General Fund from the enterprise funds were calculated, and Finance Director John O’Connor provided them with the rationale. The administrative costs come from  a calculation that considers using services of the dispatcher, Town manager’s office, Finance office, Town Attorney, use of public space, and overhead costs. For Utilities, this totals just about $250,000 and for Parking it comes to just about $37,000.

Dick DeGray didn’t like the way things looked. “Some fees are exorbitant “ He felt the enerprise funds were being overcharged, which impacted the rates users pay for the services. “Taking that much out of the fund helps one set of taxpayers, but users of the enterprise funds potentially lose out.”

David Gartenstein disagreed, and said the calculations were better than the arbitrary system used in the past. “The Utility budget causes significant administrative burden,” he said. He thought it could be fine tuned, but the basic principle was sound.

Police-Fire Project Update

Town Manager Elwell gave his update on the overall project status, telling the board that the project committee had met to discuss the West Brattleboro fire station plans, and that energy efficiency was a top issue at the meeting. Efficiency Vermont, the Energy Committee, and Energy Coordinator all took part in the discussion. 

The Selectboard reviewed plans for the West Brattleboro station presented to them by Rod Francis. He showed architectural plans of a 3-bay, barn-like, bigger fire station angled in a new direction to allow trucks better access to Western Ave.

The board had some questions about landscaping and size of doors, then the site plan and construction documents were approved. Suggestions for energy efficiency have mostly been incorporated, and any new ideas will be presented as design alternatives when the time comes, to give the town a choice.

Bidding on the project and DRB approvals are next on the to-do list for the West Brattleboro project.

Financing for the multiple station projects using bonds was also approved by the board. 

Brattleboro will use the Vermont Bond Bank’s 2016 offering to obtain the additional $7.8 million required for the three facilities. Town manager Elwell and Finance Director John O’Connor both felt that the other option, bank financing, wasn’t in the interest of the town as it added higher costs to the beginning of the project.

(Historical tidbit, for comparison: In May of 1856, the committee to build a town hall requested $8,500 be raised.)

Selectboard Goals

The Brattleboro Selectboard approved goals for the coming year in a number of categories, including some proposals added at the last minute by board members.

For financial planning and decision making, goals include a comprehensive review of town operations, long term financial plan, review Utility Fund model and rates, and consideration of a move to program budget formats. Added to this category was a review of all fees charged by departments, a suggestion of Dick DeGray, and a review of services provided to big non-profits in town, a request of David Schoales.

For the Police and Fire projects, keep it on track and within budget. 

For Solid Waste, implement every other week trash pickup, decide about recycling, and stay on top of matters at the district level.

For Human Resources, the goal is to approve all labor contracts, review and update procurement policies and the employee handbook.

The board has also set a goal of continuing to work on Regional Economic Hub issues. Added to this was establishing a  timeline, goals, workplan, and objectives, reaching out to Montpelier and to the public, suggestions of Kate O’Connor and John Allen.

“My only reservation is that there is a lot already in the goals as drafted by the Town manager,” said Gartenstein. “It’s not clear that we can do the full scope realistically this year.”

They are goals, protested Allen and Schoales, not a workplan.

DeGray also suggested a goal of monthly meetings and interviews with the press to better explain what’s going on in the town. This did not become a specific goal for the year.

The “ambitious” goals were approved as amended.

FY17 Parking Fund Budget

The FY17 Parking budget, discussed in detail at the special meeting last week, was approved by the board. The operations budget was ready to go, but the capital plan budget approval was almost delayed by concerns over priorities.

More details about work at Harmony Lot were given this week. If the project is approved, it would give the lot a new shim and overlay, new stamped asphalt curbs, alley improvements, new sidewalks and curbs, electric work for future projects and tree replacement. Total cost is just under $200,000. The work could, and likely will, be done in phases.

Dick DeGray thought too much of the capital plan was devoted to energy improvements at the Transportation Center, whereas parking lots, especially Harmony Lot, could use more work. He felt the enterprise fund covered the costs of improvements, and Harmony Lot got the most traffic.

Patrick Moreland said the capital plan budget balanced a range of needs, but that he thought the suggestion of more for parking lots was a reasonable one to consider.

David Gartenstein wasn’t in favor of doing a full repaving of Harmony Lot quite yet, but did see value in some incremental work and energy improvements at the parking garage.

David Schoales noted the wood energy credits and grants had expiration dates.

The board considered delaying action on the capital plan, but John Allen and Dick DeGray pushed for a vote. They got the vote and the budget, both sides, was approved.

“See,” said Allen. “We got something done!”

FY17 Solid Waste Budget

The FY17 Solid Waste Budget, discussed in detail with the others last week, was approved by the selectboard.

Monthly Financial Report with John O’Connor

T’is April in the finance world, with 83.3% of the fiscal year complete.

General Fund expenditures are at 79.7% of the annual budget. The Utilities Fund is at 83.1% and the Parking Fund is at 74.4% of their budgets.

Solid Waste Fund revenues were at 84.9% and expenditures were at 82.9%.

Just over 4.1 million has been loaned out, and just over $310,000 remains for grants and loans.

Brattleboro has 48 active grants and 8 in the pipeline.

DeGray asked about overtime for police, and was told it was a result of being understaffed. The overtime pay was less than what would be paid for salaries, so some savings result, explained Elwell.

FY17 Heating Oil

Discount Oil of Keene, NH was given the contract for FY17 heating oil. 82,000 gallons of No. 2 heating oil will be purchased at $1.579 per gallon, one of the lowest prices seen in years. Barrows & Fisher Oil and Dead River Company had higher bids.

This will amount tso a savings of $75,000 in the budget for the coming year.

Public and Private Roads – Minshall Street, Gulf Road/Wickopee Hill, Bittersweet Lane

The Brattleboro Selectboard held a discussion of private and public roads Tuesday night. The seemingly simple actions regarding three Brattleboro roads, according to Town Attorney Bob Fisher, are steeped in considerations and context, which he explained.

First, there is a Vermont process to follow when laying out or reclassifying highways. The property is examined, hearings are posted and held, and the board makes a decision about the public good, need, and necessity.

Second, each of the three roads under consideration have different details to consider.

The first location, near Pleasant Valley reservoir, is a request by a property owner to reclassify roads and move gates.  Fisher said the road could be closed in parts, gates could be moved, and roads could get reclassified or discontinued. Or nothing could be done. Or other combinations.

A second request was by a property owner to discontinue Minshall Street from Canal to Organ streets. Fisher said this could result in property being given back to prior landowners, a reclassification, or turning it into a town trail. Or nothing could be done. Or other combinations.

The third request, Bittersweet Lane, is a private road that the developer of a subdivision would like to have the town take over, as was outlined in a prior agreement as a possibility if the road was built to standards and three homes were built. It was, they were, and the town has an option, not a requirement, to consider taking it over.

No decisions were expected on the projects yet, but Fisher wanted the board to warn public hearings and site visits, and the board complied after a bit of discussion.

Town Manager Elwell spoke to the public interest that should guide the board’s decisions. Are there benefits to the community to take on or abandon a road? He said they needed to consider whether their decisions set policy for future road requests.

John Allen felt it was obvious all three requests should be granted, and decisions left to the DPW. David Gartenstein said it was obvious none of the requests should be granted.

Almost all of the board expressed concern that the property owner at Wickopee Hill had posted a misleading “private driveway” sign  at the intersection of Gulf and Wickopee.

Site visits and hearings for all three proposals are scheduled for June 28.

Bonnyvale Road Retaining Wall Grant

The Brattleboro Selectboard approved of accepting a grant of $175,000 from the Vermont Agency of Transportation for repairs to the retaining wall on Bonnyvale Road. The funds will cover a portion of the work required. Total project cost is estimated at $261,950.

PACIF Equipment Grant

The Police and Library both benefit from a small grant of $730.68 accepted by the board. They can use the money, given by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, for safety equipment.

Safety equipment includes Varidesks, anti-fatigue mats, keyboard wrist rests and yoga blocks.

Whetstone Brook Area Design Study

Brattleboro’s Planning Department is working with the Environmental Protection Agency to improve resilience in the lower Whetstone Brook area. This involves looking at land use and development along the brook, according to Planning Services  Director Rod Francis.

US EPA Region 1 contacted Brattleboro with an offer to apply for a Smart Growth Implementation Assistance project. The EPA funds the project and supplies expertise, and helped create a presentation to inspire discussion about the area under consideration.

Specifically, the project is looking at the lower portion of the Whetstone Brook, east of West and Williams Streets to the Main Street bridge and adjacent lands from Canal Street to Flat and Frost streets.

Francis explained that numerous data sets were combined to create new maps and new sections of the lower brook area. The consultants provided suggestions, such as an amphitheater at the Preston Lot that could flood without being damaged, new townhouses along Frost and Flat street, bike and pedestrian paths and bridges, and a new nature area at the western end of the land under review.

Overall, the goal is more resilience to flooding, qualification for federal funding for projects, and more livable neighborhoods. The area would be more walkable, said Francis. “It  makes downtown more residential, which is a resilient strategy.”

Consultants will be in town from June 6-8 for a design charette and events for the public.

Rescue Inc Annual Contract

The annual contract with Rescue Inc for emergency support services was approved. A longstanding “Brattleboro discount” for hosting the operations is being phased out due to changes in operation over time. The services provided by the Town have been reduced over the years.

The discount will be phased out over time, to allow Town to better adapt to the changes in cash flow.

For the next year the expense will be $217,054.13, including the discount.

Town Committee and Board Vacancies

There are many ways for you to volunteer your time and expertise with the Town of Brattleboro. The Town Manager’s Office will be collecting letters of interest for boards and committee members. This is the annual call for volunteers, so just about every position is available to you.

Other

Buried in the Departmental reports, the Fire Department says it is meeting with developers regarding a proposal to transition the Retreat Farm to offices, a farm educational site, ice skating rink, motel, and cottages.