News and information sections, from near to far
In observance of the Christmas holiday:
Brattleboro Town offices will close at 12:00pm (noon) on Friday, December 22, 2023.
In observance of the Christmas holiday all Town Offices will be closed on Monday, December 25, 2023.
Town staff is monitoring a weather event that is expected to begin later in the day on Dec. 17. Weather forecasts indicate an expected rainfall of 1-3 inches starting this evening and extending possibly through tomorrow and into Tuesday.
This precipitation may result in river flooding due to a combination of rain and snowmelt in higher elevations. Currently, there is no concern for flash flooding. There is also potential for high winds and wind gusts. Residents should be prepared for potential power outages.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will take up reviewing the revised FY25 budgets at the final regular meeting of the year. They will be examining the general fund, the capital fund, and the ARPA budgets – the only agenda item they plan to discuss in detail.
The consent agenda, however, has some interesting items. Notice the small grant to add EV charging stations to town properties, the grand list errors, and 47 lost land record binders, among other things.
You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Thursday, December 21, 2023 at 8:00am in the Selectboard Meeting Room (230 Main Street, room 212) and over Zoom.
The Brattleboro Charter Review Commission will meet on Thursday, December 21, 2023 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room (230 Main Street, room 212) and over Zoom.
Central Station and Station 2 were dispatched at 23:28 on a first alarm to 1178 Western Ave. for smoke on the second floor. Ladder 1 arrived on the scene at 23:32 and FF Chase Ibey reported heavy smoke showing from the second floor of a two-story wood framed structure and requested that a second alarm be dispatched. Ladder 1’s crew stretched a hose line to the second floor to encounter a heavy smoke condition and located the fire in the kitchen/living room area. Engine 2 arrived on the scene and assisted with water supply,fire suppression and ventilation. The fire was reported under control at 00:01.
The Brattleboro Selectboard bravely took no action against a non-existent problem at their most recent meeting. Panhandling isn’t a problem to be solved, and existing laws cover any other potential issues. Perhaps we will make… a sign!
The Library has a strategic plan, housing development is lackluster, the town might get McNeill’s property to pay off demolition of his building, the public wondered about unusually large raises for department heads given an expected increase in property taxes, and an exhaustive search led the Town to hire Golden Cross’s billing service for EMS billing.
(December 4, 2023 / JNS)
OFAKIM, Israel—A reverential silence fell on the room as the four American-Muslim women bowed their heads in prayer on Friday for the victims of the Hamas attack on Israel.
Moments earlier, the interfaith crowd in the apartment in this western Negev city, which included Muslims, Jews, a white-turbaned Sikh, a mixed Israeli family and Mayor Yitzhak Danino, stood mesmerized as the Arabic words of supplication for the Israelis murdered in the massacre were intoned.
Ooops. A “previously overlooked item” will require an estimated base increase in Brattleboro property taxes for FY25 of 3.6%. It’s on the agenda for the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.
The Brattleboro Fire Department would like $3000 a month to pay an outside company for EMS billing services. Doing everything in-house is no longer an option.
The board will also hear about a strategic plan for Brooks Memorial Library, and update on how their housing plan has been going, talk of acquiring the McNeill’s property in exchange for the demolition costs, and another discussion of things that can be done about panhandling.
You can bring up almost anything else during public participation unless it is some issue the Chair doesn’t want discussed in public.
The Brattleboro Human Services Committee will meet on Monday, December 4th, 2023 at 4:00pm and on Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at 4:00pm. Both meetings will take place in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street).
The Brattleboro RTM Finance Committee will meet on Thursday, December 7, 2023 at 6:00pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room.
The Town of Brattleboro is considering improvements to the intersection of Green Street and High Street. We’ve engaged an engineering team to support this effort and are inviting you to join a public forum on the matter later this month.
This forum will be an opportunity to review the preliminary concept and offer comments or potential improvements. Please join us on November 29, 2023 from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Selectboard Meeting Room.
Budget season is underway at the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. Reports and budget requests from BDCC, SeVEDS, and the DBA are scheduled, as is the draft FY25 budget. There will also be ordinance changes, software explanations, and an update from the fire department.
You can bring up other issues not on the agenda during public participation. (Except that one issue, whatever it is, that the Chair will not allow discussion of at the meeting.)
In Observance of Thanksgiving all Town Offices will be closed on Thursday, November 23, 2023, and Friday, November 24, 2023, with the exception of emergency services.
Brooks Memorial Library will close at 6:00pm on Wednesday, November 22, 2023. They will be closed on Thursday, November 23, 2023 and open on Friday, November 24, 2023 from 10:00am to 6:00pm.
The Brattleboro RTM Human Services Committee will meet on Tuesday, November 21, 2023 at 4:00pm in Room 306 at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street) and over Zoom.
The Brattleboro Parking Department would like to advise everyone that the winter parking ban will go into effect, starting Wednesday, November 15, 2023. Overnight parking is
forbidden on all streets in the town of Brattleboro. Vehicles parked for longer than one (1) hour between 11:00pm and 07:00am may be ticketed and towed at the owner’s expense.
THIS BAN IS IN EFFECT EVEN IF THERE IS NO SNOW ON TOWN STREETS.
The Brattleboro Human Services Committee will meet on Wednesday, November 15th at 4:00pm in Room 306 at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street). Attached is an updated agenda.
The Brattleboro Charter Review Commission will meet on Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Suite 212) and over Zoom.
1. Minutes – October 17, 2023
2. Public Participation
3. Monthly Report on Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Traffic Incidents– For October
4. Old Business
(a) Frost Street Parking
The Brattleboro Selectboard held an extended conversation with members of the state legislative delegation, handing them a long list of things that Brattleboro would like help with – money, staff, changes to laws, and so on.
Reps said they were working on many items already, but were eager to stay involved and work together to find solutions to housing, justice, addiction, mental health, crime, and other issues plaguing the ‘boro.
The second installment of the 2023 Brattleboro Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes will be due by 5 p.m. on November 15, 2023. Payments made after November 15, 2023 will have an additional 1% interest added to the unpaid balance.
The Town of Brattleboro utility bills are also due by 5 p.m. on November 15, 2023. Payments made after November 15, 2023 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.
In observance of Veterans’ Day, all Brattleboro Town Offices will be closed on Friday, November 10, 2023, with the exception of emergency services. Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Friday, November 10. All other violations will be enforced.
Brooks Memorial Library will be closed on Friday, November 10, 2023.
