News and information sections, from near to far
Tomorrow, 2/12/15, I-91 Southbound between Exits 3 and 2 will be closed to all traffic from 10 AM to 2 PM. The Exit 3 on ramp will be closed to both NB and SB traffic. The interstate will be closed so crews may complete necessary repairs to developing pot holes. Traffic will use Route 5 as a detour.
This evening (February 10, 2015) starting at 10:30 pm, the town will begin snow removal operations in the downtown area to improve pedestrian access, sight visibility, and open up parking spaces.
Please remember that per the Brattleboro Code of Ordinances, that overnight parking is prohibited on all streets within the Town limits. Vehicles parked for longer than one (1) hour between 11:00 pm and 07:00 am may be ticketed and towed at the owner’s expense. Vehicles may be towed at any time if they are hampering snow plowing or snow removal. Please refer to Chapter 16 in the Brattleboro Code of Ordinances for further information.
With the recent large snowfalls and more in the forecast in the coming days, the Brattleboro Fire Department would like to urge all residents to check your roofs and shovel them as needed. In the past couple of weeks we have received 2+ feet of snow, the weight of inches or feet of snow on even the sturdiest roof can cause structural or leakage problems.
One of the biggest problems is when the snow melts a little and then re-freezes. This melting and re-freezing causes ice to form on the top of the snow pack, creating even more weight. If you do not get the heavy weight of the snow off a flat roof before the melting and freezing occurs, you could wind up having structural issues and possible collapse. Flat roofs pose the biggest threat of collapse.
Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast
January 23, 2015
Gibson-Aiken Center
Breakfast with the Brattleboro Chief of Police Michael Fitzgerald
(802) 257-7950
Chief Michael Fitzgerald spoke about the vision he has for the Brattleboro PD as it relates to the community. “No one is immune from the impact” of the recent events in Ferguson, MO. What is needed is that we all sit down and have a candid and in depth conversation with the community.
The Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro will be closing today (Monday, 2/9) at 6:00pm due to the weather. The bookdrop will be open and the Library will re-open tomorrow at 10:00am.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
On Friday evening, February 6, 2015 at 5:27pm the Brattleboro Fire Department responded to a reported kerosene heater explosion at 27 Brattle St. The 2nd floor front apartment, in the four unit apartment building, received extensive heat and smoke damage in the 2 alarm fire. Two occupants of the building received injuries, one treated for smoke inhalation, the other for minor burns.
A joint investigation by the Brattleboro Fire and Brattleboro Police Departments over the weekend has determined that the cause of the fire to be accidental. The investigation has revealed that there is a strong possibility that the wrong type of fuel was accidentally used in the heater.
The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
The Brattleboro ADA Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, February 13, 2015 at 10:00am at the Marlboro College Graduate Center in the VCIL conference room.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
The Brattleboro Pay-As-You-Throw Advisory Committee/Working Group will meet with the Selectboard on Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 5:15pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 5:15pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
Brattleboro Time Trade:
Exchanging services, creating connections, strengthening communities, one hour at a time.
See below for exciting Upcoming Events and learn what Time Trade is all about!
This week’s fabulous listings, brought to you with thoughts of warmth:
OFFERS:
Help Photographing your Stuff
Life Sciences Tutor
Borrow My Snowshoes
I Will Help You Sleep Better
Night work on the new bridge will resume at Route 30. Night work will be conducted Monday night, February 9th thru Friday night, February 13th.
Travelers are advised to take high traffic volumes associated with Presidents Day weekend into account when making travel plans.
I-91
Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.
Sadly, yet another fine downtown business is closing. MILAGROS restaurant’s last day will be February 13th. This restaurant was really fun to go to; delicious, inexpensive authentic food, great atmosphere, colorful space. Most of all it was a welcome change from the overwhelming amount of pizza and Chinese food places. This is tough town to try to keep a business with reasonable prices afloat. One more big, empty storefront on Main Street. It’s a shame to see them close.
The Brattleboro Selectboard had a non-controversial, almost-dull meeting Tuesday night. If you are looking for fireworks, there are none to report.
Interesting things were accomplished, however. Things you need to know about. Things that will change the way of life as we know it in this town. A major sidewalk renovation will be underway later this year, there are new zoning regulations being developed, and Representative Town Meeting informational meetings for Town Representatives are being planned.
There was no decision regarding opposing the Charter change questions, other than to prepare informational materials, in case the board decides to send a statement.
The Brooks Memorial Library at 224 Main Street in Brattleboro offers free sessions on its public access computers for filing taxes online.
Because the IRS and Vermont Department of Taxes have severely limited their distribution of paper tax forms through libraries, many citizens are turning to online filing, which has many benefits—including, in many cases, a quicker refund.
The library cooperates with the Windham County United Way and its partner agencies to provide access to www.myfreetaxes.com, where citizens with household incomes at or below $60,000 can file their taxes for free.
In his campaign against the Pro-Democracy Amendments Mr. Gartenstein said he wants to provide guidance for the town. Town charter gives the selectboard a list of duties “not committed by law to the care of any particular officer . . .”. “Guidance” and “ideas” are not on their list. The charter assigns guidance of the office of town rep: the rep town meeting is “. . . a guiding body for the town and a source of ideas . . . “.
Mr. Gartenstein may want to provide public education, but that is not their job either. That is assigned to another office, the school directors. These are just excuses to interfere with the democratic process described under the charter “Powers of the People”
The Brattleboro Energy Committee meeting previously scheduled for today has been rescheduled due to the weather. The meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 5:00pm in the Planning Services Department at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
Express Fluency- a language school offering innovative courses in VT, MA, ME, and NY, has opened a new classroom at 73 Main Street in Brattleboro.
Express Fluency offers a new approach to learning a language which has helped thousands of people, including those who were previously unsuccessful language students, gain fluency in Spanish quickly and easily. French and Mandarin classes will be added in 2015.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will begin working to identify and promote an explanation for their public position against proposed Charter changing amendments at their next regular Tuesday meeting at the Muncipal Center.
The board will also approve grants and funds for a radio repeater, sidewalk repair, and “highway safety equipment,” learn more about VT Alert from the Fire Department, consider giving out three more licenses for liquor samples for a tasting and sampling event at the River Garden, and more.
Watch it all on BCTV, or better yet, attend in person and participate. You can read all about it here the next day.
The Brattleboro Energy Committee will meet on Monday, February 2, 2015 at 5:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
