Given a chance to make a statement in favor of Native People’s Day, the Brattleboro Selectboard decided 3-2 that there may be some reasonable opposition to the idea in the community and felt it would be better to have signatures be collected to put the matter before voters or Representative Town Meeting members at a later date. Next Monday officially remains Columbus Day in Brattleboro.
The selectboard also heard much about long term plans for the town, from the review of town operations to financial plans, plans for downtown studies, police and fire facility plans, and more.
Preliminaries
Chair David Gartenstein began by praising the recent long term planning done by the Town Manager and staff, calling their work on the Long Term Financial Plan and Comprehensive Review of Town Operations a notable and substantial benefit to the Town.
Gartenstein said the sidewalk from the Municipal Center to the library would be repaired, either later this year or first thing next sidewalk season.
He also sent out to condolences to the friends, colleagues and family of a worker who died from injuries sustained by a fall while taking apart the old water tank at Black Mountain Road.
Town Manager Peter Elwell said Brattleboro had received a grant for two pedestrian-triggered flashing lights, for Union Hill and Holton Home crossings on Western Avenue. These are in addition to any that have been recently discussed at meetings.
He said there was a tentative grant approval to do drainage improvements and bike and pedestrian improvements from Greenleaf to the Melrose bridge. The funds are from the state, which will know for certain if the project can be funded by January.
Elwell also said that while not much was currently expected, Hurricane Matthew was being monitored and the Town would be prepared if it turns inward later in the week.
For selectboard comments and committee reports, Dick DeGray inquired into any agreements the Town had with the Brattleboro Food Co-op regarding streetlights on Canal Street being replaced. He said two lights had been out for months, and he thought the Co-op should be told to replace them.
No one had anything for the Public Participation portion.
Water & Sewer – Utility Abatements
Most of the time, property tax and utility bills are due at the same time. This August, utility bills were due, but the property tax due date was delayed until September.
As you might expect, a handful of property owners paid utilities with their property taxes as they have always done, which caused them to be late, adding interest and penalties.
Six property owners filed appeals with the Town. The total amount of the abatements totals $74.14.
The board was inclined to grant the abatements, but Peter Elwell warned them of possible consequences. In short, up to 400 others could make a similar claim once word gets out about the refund.
No precise number was known for what that would amount to, but Finance Director John O’Connor guesstimated it less than $10,000.
The board felt the Town had been a bit confusing in the manner the taxes were staggered, and wanted to provide a credit to everyone who paid both sets of taxes by September 15th. They asked that they be provided with an accurate number for the amount of the credit in time for their next meeting.
Police & Fire Facilities Projects – Updates
Town Manager Elwell gave the board his now-regular update on the status of the three facilities projects underway.
At the West Brattleboro Fire Station, there is an apparatus area and a non-apparatus area. The non-apparatus area walls are being framed, and windows, exterior door frames, trusses and roofing will be done. The apparatus area will have its bay slab poured.
Small changes at West Brattleboro included laminated translucent windows and LED lighting for the cupola and additional windows above the apparatus bay. These bay windows were the result of a review by the new Design Review Committee process of the new Land Use Regulations
Central Fire Station is in the process of receiving subcontractor bids. Firms will be hired by October 18.
Black Mountain Road’s police station plans are being submitted to the Development Review Board for consideration, and plans will come before the selectboard later in the month. At that time, the lease with the Reformer will also be presented.
Revised Comprehensive Review of Town Operations (CRTO)
Town Manager Elwell reported that after the draft copy of the Comprehensive Review of Town Operations was presented to the board in July, the public was given a chance to provide comments and suggestions.
He said nine people responded (disclosure, I was one of them) and those comments and suggestions have been gathered, reviewed, and if applicable, included in the revised version of the CRTO for the board to formally adopt.
New topics in the document include energy efficiency, flood resiliency, updating the Town’s website, increasing funding for pedestrian and bike safety, and inventory of accessibility at municipal facilities, establishing and revising financial policies, consider alternative delivery models for some Town services, consider local regulation of drone usage.
Turf at the off-season skating rink was removed from the list.
Elwell said he considers this a living document, one that will change as items get completed, new issues arise, or situations change. It will be used together with the Long Term Financial Plan to guide decisions during budget and goal setting processes.
“It is intended to serve the purpose of being a specific to do list, with ways to address noted deficiencies and noting opportunities to improve the community, in an agressive timeframe.”
He expects the CRTO to be updated each spring, the LTFP to be updated each summer, and budgets will be done as they are now each autumn.
Board members were generally impressed, though Dick DeGray said he would abstain due to some of the items on the list. He felt the issue of “providing sand” in the winter wasn’t much of an issue at all, but also spoke for a while about getting rid of human services funding.
David Schoales pointed out that these were guidelines, and it wasn’t a policy document. They could approve of it without approving of every item in it.
“You’re not being asked to approve the details,” agreed Elwell.
It passed, four in favor and DeGray abstaining.
Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP) – First Presentation
Along with the CRTO, Town Manager Peter Elwell worked with staff to create a Long Term Financial Plan. The two documents, taken as a pair, provide a fairly detailed road map for the Town of Brattleboro, showing what we’ve done for the last five years and looking five years into the future.
On Tuesday, the selectboard got their first look at the LTFP.
Elwell wanted to make it clear that the LTFP was not a budget. “It’s a five year forecast,” he said, adding that while this first version is accurate, future versions will include more explanation and more graphic elements to make points more clearly.
He wanted them to know that financial decisions made now will change the document in the future, and told them how to read the document. “It’s important when looking at the outer years,” he said “don’t look so much at line items” where there will inevitably be errors, but to look at the overall picture.
Elwell then described the report, which consisted of five documents. One was a summary of the budget by cost center, where we are spending money listed by activity. Another was a summary of revenues and expenses, or where we collect money through taxes or spend it on benefits.
The third document provided a summary of the property tax impact at a glance. The fourth was a detailed list of all the budget numbers covering 5 years and 18 pages.
The final document was his instructions to staff as to how to make their calculations. In it, the ABCD system was explained, where each estimated is rated by confidence level, A for a known quantity down to D for best guess based on trends.
Elwell said the LTFP was conservative in its estimates, assuming no rental income and a flat grand list. The potential tax rates shown were therefore estimated higher than what is probable.
He explained that the plan calls for using a substantial fund balance to jump start town infrastructure improvements over the next five years, and to keep a healthy fund balance on hand. One million will be devoted to capital expense needs each year, plus the fund balance will supplement that million for the first three years of the LTFP.
The plan conservatively anticipates little growth in non-tax revenue, good savings from retirement and health plan adjustments, and a 2% raise each year for employees.
Debt service payments will peak in FY18, then decline. Elwell said that reducing dependence on debt will keep this line item in check going forward, saving the town substantial amounts.
Improvements in workplace safety and workmans’ compensation issues will hopefully reduce workman’s compensation payments.
Finally of note, the board previously approved of eliminating an old discount from Rescue, Inc for services no longer provided. The fee will be reduced each year until the $60,000 discount is gone in six years, and this is noted in the plan.
…
David Schoales wanted more information about the cost of services provided to non-profits.
Dick DeGray felt the Rooms & Meals tax numbers should be estimated higher. He said Brattleboro was doing little to promote the town. “We need to find out how to promote Brattleboro to a wider region. We’re not doing anything to advertise to people to say ‘come and discover Brattleboro.’”
….
Town Meeting Representatives and others interested should definitely grab a full copy and read it through. It is dense and packed with important town information.
Municipal Planning Grant Application
Did you know that Brattleboro is working on a Downtown Master Plan project? Neither did I. (It’s a short-term action item in the 2013 Town Plan.)
As part of this project, the Planning Department would like to apply for a grant to do a study of Brattleboro’s downtown parking. If awarded, the funds would come from the 2017 Municipal Planning Grant Program.
The study would look at parking supply and demand, both public and private, as well as trends and pricing strategies.
Rod Francis said that they would be looking at the possibility of rationing spaces “to facilitate commerce and activity” and whether some current lots might be underperforming properties that could be better used by the town.
There was some debate about whether there had been previous parking studies, but most agreed nothing before was comprehensive. Franz Reichsman said he might have a copy of a 1989 count of vacant spaces in town that led to a proposal for a parking garage at the current High-Grove lot location.
It is a $20,000 request requiring $6,000 in matching funds.
Scheduling Bittersweet Lane, 2.0
Don’t call it a comeback. And, according to Town Attorney Bob Fisher, it isn’t a “reconsideration” or “appeal.” The Selectboard’s recent decision to repeat the site visit and public hearing process for Bittersweet Lane’s reclassification is just that – a fresh start.
Due to legal timelines for meeting warnings, the new meeting, site visit and hearing will begin November 9 at 4:30 p.m. Following the site visit, a public hearing on the matter will be held, as it was before, and the public will again be invited to offer their opinions before the board renders a final decision (for the second time). David Gartenstein estimated being done by 5:15 p.m.
Fisher, by the way, advised against Town plowing of the road until a decision is made to take over the road. He said that the Town plowed this road by mistake in the past and “need not continue to plow.”
Cultural Intrigue SBAP Loan
Cultural Intrigue, at 35 Frost Street, applied to the Brattleboro’s Small Business Assistance program for a loan of $70,000. The loan would be for 7 years at 3% interest and will help pay for technology upgrades, staff, and inventory.
Adam Gebb, owner, said that internet retail was expensive and dizzying and he was spending a total of $3-500,000 to better market to California and New York. He said he was glad to bring money to here from elsewhere.
Dick DeGray questioned whether a company making $4 million a year was a “small business” as defined by the loan requirements. Kim Ellison said almost all of Brattleboro’s businesses are small businesses by definition.
Recreational Facilities Grant for Dog Park
The Vermont Department of Buildings & General Services has given $7,200 Recreational Facilities grant. These funds get added to the funds slated to be used to develop a dog park across from the proposed skatepark at Living Memorial Park.
“I hope the skatepark is doing equally well,” said John Allen (he was told is was not.) “The dog park wouldn’t be there without the skatepark.”
Windham Solid Waste Management District Assessment
The Brattleboro Selectboard had been annoyed with the Windham Solid Waste Management District in recent years. At issue was the way Brattleboro had been assessed and the amounts paid to support the program. This came to a head last year, and the selectboard asked WSWMD to do a review of their operations and budgets, and come back with a better option for the Town’s consideration.
Brattleboro asked for a Fee-For-Service model, but the committee working on the matter (which included Brattleboro representatives) found that it would add costs to do it that way, as additional staff would need to be hired.
Instead, WSWMD returned with a different assessment model suggestion. Called the 50/50 Population/Grand List model, it changes how assessments are calculated from a per capita basis to something they consider more fair, a model that includes consideration of the Grand List.
Peter Elwell explained that this helps balance out towns with low populations and high grand lists with towns of higher populations but lower grand lists.
Doing things this way would reduce Brattleboro’s assessment from $147,218 by almost $40,000 ( to $107,718.)
“It may drive some towns to leave the district,” noted David Schoales.
The board approved it.
Indigenous People’s Day
Rich Holschuh submitted a request to the selectboard to formally act on a non-binding resolution passed at Representative Town Meeting in March of 2016. The action would proclaim the second Monday of each October as “Indigenous People’s Day,” rather than Columbus Day.
Board members were given the first opportunity to speak on the issue, and the majority were against approving it.
David Gartenstein questioned whether the original decision at Representative Town Meeting even had a quorum in the first place. (Note: They did have a quorum.) He felt signatures should be gathered to petition to put the issue before the voting public, and that the entire population should decide rather than the Selectboard.
Dick DeGray said the issue of not having a quorum raised questions. “I don’t feel we can vote on this,” he said.
Kate O’Connor agreed that it should be a town wide decision. “It’s a big thing to change a day, and making a decision on behalf of the entire town.”
“I concur with Kate,“ said John Allen.
David Schoales was the only member to disagree. “I’d like to see us do this. We can go around, but it is simple and straightforward to make a statement on this.” He suggested approving it now, and putting it up for a general vote later.
DeGray cautioned that if it were a town-wide ballot vote, it would be non-binding. He suggested it be sent to Representative Town Meeting instead.
At that point, someone named William in the audience asked a simple question. “Why do they want to change the day?” Since it hadn’t been discussed, David Gartenstein read the text provided.
The resolution read:
“Whereas, Indigenous People’s Day was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native Nations to the International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas; and
Whereas, a growing number of cities and towns in the United States have recognized the second Monday of October as “Indigenous People’s Day,” reimagining Columbus Day as an opportunity to celebrate indigenous heritage and resiliency; and
Whereas, the Town of Brattleboro recognizes the historic, cultural, and contemporary significance of the Indigenous People’s of the lands that later became known as the Americas, including Vermont and Brattleboro, and values the many contributions of these peoples; and
Whereas, the Town of Brattleboro recognizes that it was chartered and is built upon lands first inhabited by the Indigenous Peoples of this region, the Sokwakiak Abenaki and their ancestors, and wishes to acknowledge and honor these members of the community, past and present.
Now, therefore, the Selectboard of the Town of Brattleboro does hereby proclaim the second Monday of October to be “Indigenous People’s Day and strongly encourages public institutions, businesses, organizations, and citizens to recognize and support this designation, affirming the Town’s commitment to demonstrate appreciation for this land’s First Peoples.”
Rich Holschuh, the requester, introduced himself by saying he lived in the south part of town and served on the Vermont Commission for Native American Affairs, “We still have native people here.”
He said he likes to be both positive and progressive, and that “charity begins at home, with small steps.” He felt the board could approve the motion. “We’re not sticking our neck out, and are not alone.” He said it was part of a movement growing across the nation. And while neighbors Amherst and Northampton have passed similar resolutions, no Vermont town has done this yet “not even the people’s republic of Burlington,” he joked. “We could do it tonight.”
Ralph Meima agreed and felt taking tis action would allow word to get out “rather than lose another year.” He felt it urgent that Brattleboro act now to put ourselves first.
Other agreed. Sherry Stewart said it was “long overdue” and would put us on the right side of history. “It’s a matter of respect and honor.”
William said he felt it should go to a town-wide vote.
Joe Rivers said it was “time for our elected representatives to stand,” and that “this should be an easy vote.” He encouraged the board to make the statement of truth that Europeans took land and resources from the Abenaki.
Sensing little shift in the view of the board, Meima offered a compromise. “Would it be possible to proclaim just this Columbus Day as Indigenous People’s Day,” he asked, then later have it voted as a proclamation to be perpetuated?
Holschuh like that idea, and the idea of putting it up for a vote. “It will pass.”
None of these arguments swayed the board. Gartenstein talked of core town operations and staying out of issues like this, O’Connor wanted everyone to be able to to weigh in, and Allen felt it was a personal issue for people. “There are lots of different ways to look at this,” he said.
Schoales pressed for a motion to, at least, skip the petition process and put the issue before Representative Town Meeting. “We make value judgements. All issues aren’t equal. I can’t see any reason to wait. We’re here because things like this come up.”
DeGray reiterated his concern about the lack of a quorum, and wanted the town to vote on it. He also said the media never covered it and no one knew about the last minute decision made by Town Meeting representatives. He supported Schoales in trying to get it on the Representative Town meeting agenda, but in the end the motion failed 3-2.
…
Postscript:
Here’s our coverage of RTM 2016, noting the quorum for the non-binding decision on Indigenous Peoples Day at the end of the meeting.
Here’s another story done after announcing it specifically and more widely to the public. Over 820 reads, too, as I write this.
Where is the vision?
Thank you Chris for your coverage – accurately and succinctly reported. There will be immediate followup to this graphic example of abrogation of leadership responsibility. This type of action is exactly appropriate for an elected official: to demonstrate an awareness and sensitivity to the progress of society, and lead by example. This is demonstrated at all levels of community – well, it can and should be.
As Dick DeGray alluded toward the end of the discussion, every item under consideration stands on its own merits and must pass muster; although initially opposed, he swung his vote to affirmative (too little, too late) despite Chair David Gartenstein’s wariness of precedent and taking a position on an “issue.” It was pointed out that the Board votes on “issues” constantly, and that this was a paper argument. As a matter of fact, although it became apparent that there was a consensus toward appreciating the sentiment of the resolution for change – in other words, tacit approval, other than Gartenstein who remained equivocal and aloof. But no one, other than David Schoales, would back that up with action. It was quite amazing to witness the wiggling and excuses.
Two board members stated that this was a matter of personal conviction and should be decided by the voters. This is completely valid. However, it is also a matter of public policy, governance, and social responsibility. The topic of discussion is a civic holiday, on the public payroll, and codified into our cultural mores. This is exactly what elected leaders deal with, on a regular basis. It’s their job. When Ralph Meima offered a balanced solution, to make the proclamation by the Board, and then place it on the Warning for ratification or comment at RTM next spring, it seemed to offer a safe compromise. But, no, they couldn’t even do that.
The final form of the motion, made by Schoales, was to ask the Board to simply place it on the Warning for consideration by the Town Meeting Reps. This would allow for a small gesture of leadership by recognizing the validity of the request, and at the same time, enabling the full will of the people (already amply demonstrated by last year’s non-binding approval) to make the change in a clear and democratic fashion. This too failed, by a 2-3 vote. It was a pathetic and shameful moment. I am so sorry.
Fixed!
Looks like Shumlin took care of it. We just changed all of our lobby signs. They had already been changed to just say “Federal Holiday” but they have now been further updated.
Story posted
FYI, on the Sokoki Sojourn blog:
https://sokokisojourn.wordpress.com/2016/10/05/indigenous-peoples-day-evaded-by-brattleboro-selectboard/
For context
Here are some recent proclamations approved by the board without the need for a town-wide petition:
– proclamation to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the conclusion of the Civil War, and Brattleboro’s participation therein.
– proclamation for July 14-17 as “Southern Vermont Dance Festival Weekend”
– proclamation prepared by the Town Arts Committee, proclaiming May 6-8 as ARTstravaganza Brattleboro
– proclamation honoring 30 year police officer and long-time, active American Legion participant Sherwood Lake, Sr.
– proclamation from the Town of Brattleboro naming December as Project Feed the Thousands Month.
As hip as we are
We’re just just not ready to build a skatepark or not honor genocidal conqusistadors. Apparently.
We should all be embarrassed
We should all be embarrassed at the pathetic lack of leadership this Selectboard wallows in. This was a simple decision to make. Many other towns and cities across the nation have done this with little fanfare. With Indigenous People in the news so much lately because of the pipeline situation it’s the perfect time to take this small step to show awareness and respect to all indigenous people. It sounds like the Town Reps already agreed on putting this issue forward – why are they insisting it go back to them? And, why does something so small -in the grand scheme of town decisions- being turned into something that needs a town wide vote? Obviously there are going to be people who disagree with the name change- they’ll disagree with it whether the SB makes the decision or it’s put to a vote. This is an action that the town should be proud to support and make happen. It’s a matter of respect and a small way to address the historical bigotry that exists around indigenous people. Apparently that concept is too confusing to our town government to consider.
Crazy, man
I listened to this as it happened, and as soon as debate began I knew it would fail. It was all over but the…wiggling. And it would have been so easy to do the better thing, approve the proclamation, show that the town (as represented by its representatives) is on the right side of history, etc etc. But it was not to be. Not sure what was up with the dissenters but I’m sure they all have water tight explanations. All the same, I wish they’d voted differently…
Plus everything said above….
Just to be clear...
Was it Shoales and DeGray who voted to but it on the Representative Town Meeting Agenda, with the other three against?
Also I want to be sure that we fully understand the details of the parliamentary maneuvering. Here is how I understand it.
1. A legal quorum of the Town Meeting already taken non-binding vote to approve the proclamation.
2. Because the Town Meeting had approved it, the proclamation was brought before the board for what might ordinarily have been a pro-forma ratification of the Town Meeting’s decision.
3. Certain board members considered the proposed proclamation controversial (too to to handle 🙂 so in order to avoid a complete rejection, the proponents asked that the board put it before the voters for a non-binding referendum with the prospect that if it would receive a majority of votes, then the Selectboard might reconsider passage.
4. The board has the power to order a non-binding referendum, but even this neutral action was too much of a compromise for the majority, and they would not even agree to put the matter before the voter.
5. The citizens can still get the proclamation before the voters for a non-binding referendum, by collecting enough signatures.
Did I get it right?
Opinion: A neutral position by the board would have been to support a referendum, allowing the voters to decide. Under the guise of staying clear of controversy, what they actually did was to take a position in favor of the status quo – to continue to honor a genocidal murderer.
Goor summary
That sounds about right.
Schoales was most in favor of approving it and offered the motion to put it on the agenda for RTM; DeGray voted with him. Others against.
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Gallery Walk and Indigenous People’s Day on Monday would be good signature-gather days if someone has a petition ready.
You nailed it
Spot on. In the meantime, Gov. Shumlin has issued the Proclamation statewide. It will need to pass the legislature to make it permanent, but we have leapfrogged the Selectboard. In the meantime, the signature drive is beginning. I would like to think the Selectboard might be feeling somewhat regretful of their recalcitrance, but probably not. And the drive to get it through the legislature will take some serious work, simply because of governmental inertia.
Title Misleading
Chris – a minor but important correction. Brattleboro didn’t shoot down Native People’s Day, the Selectboard did. Representative Town Meeting overwhelmingly endorsed the proposal. Brattleboro seems to be ambivalent on the issue. Perhaps what is needed is a deeper level of education. For example, what are the implications of Brattleboro calling it Native People’s Day while the rest of the state and most of the country call it Columbus Day? I’ve heard little discussion of this. Aside from the obvious result of raising awareness of Native Peoples and European immigrants’ unsavory history here.
Ouch
The implications are not going to be knowable until after the fact. This is obviously a complex issue, but in this case the local resolution comes down to a matter of leadership, and cojones.
Part of the problem is the complicity that we all share in Columbus/Spain’s exploits. We would not be here having this discussion if not for the Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria …yet…there is no denying something horrible is at the root of that domineering expedition.
I’ve been searching for analogies, there is one that comes to mind, on a far different scale and dimension. (I can’t stress this enough. Just consider this a springboard for discussion, not an axiom)
Let us take the case of Bill Cosby. Heroically celebrated. Breaking barriers, redefining comedy, culture, opportunity, etc. Yet within this legacy is something so dark and twisted, which comes to light long after the fact of the crimes. I don’t think we can undo anything, unravel anything, or not have the damages he wrought on those women, and their families, hurt any less.
But by not honoring him as a hero any longer, the simplest and most gut level redress has begun. Again, the scale is incomparable- genocide vs. personal assault. Both are case of privilege, overpowering leverage, nefarious methods. Yet my point is that when such atrocity is brought to light, not moving forward with even symbolic measures of new understanding is cowardly, however it’s couched.
Point well-made
Could not have said it any better. In mulling this over afterward, another symbolic aspect came to me, with respect to “why should Brattleboro do this?” Chris Mays quoted me in the Reformer article yesterday: http://www.reformer.com/latestnews/ci_30442868/brattleboro-does-not-rename-columbus-day-just-yet
Brattleboro is where it all began, in Vermont (from the prevailing Anglo-centric New England mythos, ignoring the French on Isle LaMotte). The first permanent European settlement was at Fort Dummer, 1724, within Brattleboro’s borders. This is where the wave of settler colonialism literally crashed into a culture that had been growing here for over 12,000 years. It was a smashing success. The Native people were killed, cheated,marginalized, then the remnant written out of history. But they are still here. This is why Brattleboro, of all places, should be the place where the change begins.
Now if only they'd have the
Now if only they’d have the decency to put the budget before the voters… oh right, but then they’d actually have to control spending or face rejection… much easier to just get RTM’s rubber stamp.
So RTM’s resolution is apparently not representative of the will of the residents when it comes to stuff like this, but *is* representative of the will of the residents when they pass a budget.
Good to know.