Town News

Tuesday night the Brattleboro Selectboard will hold the first of two public hearings on the town’s new land use regulations. The new zoning rules are up for a final round of public discussion and comment, and a final opportunity to propose changes, before likely adoption in the near future.

At this special meeting, they will also officially announce a series of public meetings to discuss the Police-Fire Facilities project, and possible pre-select pre-qualified engineering firms to perform brownfield site assessments.

You can attend and participate, and bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.

The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, October 26, 2015 at 5:30pm at Brooks Memorial Library in the community room.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Selectboard meeting previously scheduled on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 has been cancelled. A special Selectboard meeting is scheduled on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 5:30pm and reconvene for the business meeting at 6:15pm. An agenda for the October 27 meeting will be available and posted on the Town’s website by Friday, October 23.

TOWN OF BRATTLEBORO
Town Manager’s Office
230 Main Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
(802) 254-8151 FAX (802) 257-2322

The following dates have been scheduled for Brattleboro’s curbside Fall Leaf Collection. All locations will be picked up each Friday:

Leaf Pick Up Date

ALL RESIDENTS Friday, October 23, 2015

ALL RESIDENTS Friday, November 6, 2015

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, October 14, 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 Tree Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at 7:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 13, 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 Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 8:00am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

In observance of Columbus Day, all Town offices will be closed on Monday, October 12, 2015, with the exception of emergency services.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Sunday and Monday, October 11 and 12, 2015. All other violations will be enforced.

Brooks Memorial Library will be closed on Sunday and Monday, October 11 and 12, 2015.

Trash, recycling and composting will be picked up on the normal schedule. It is NOT affected by the holiday.

The Brattleboro Selectboard had their first discussion of an option to buy the Reformer building on Black Mountain Road to use for a new police station, as well as the process to decide if the property should be purchased at all. Nothing specific was decided, except that public input was required before the Selectboard could feel confident to make a recommendation. Public comment is expected to come at special meetings to be scheduled, and via other informal feedback. 

The Our Town grant was awarded, other grants were accepted and applied for, and other special meetings requesting your input will be scheduled to focus on the FY17 budget and the adoption of new Land Use Regulations.

Restorative Justice

“Community … is made from conflict as much as from cooperation; the capacity to resolve conflict is what gives social relations their sinew.”  David Cayley, The Expanding Prison 1998 (quoting Nils Christie, “Conflicts as Property,” 1977)

The next Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast is planned for Friday, October 16, 2015 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals. Doors open at 7:30am.

We plan to hear from and meet with Darah  Kehnemuyi, the new Executive Director of the Brattleboro Community Justice Center.

Because of schedule conflicts for a great many of the regular West Brattleboro Association folks, the monthly meeting previously scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 8th is canceled.

The next monthly WBA meeting will be held on Thursday, Nov. 12th.  More info will follow as that day
draws nigh.

After much work to reduce costs of the proposed Police and Fire facility projects, the new price tag for the three projects has a price range, depending on the path chosen, from $12.5 to $15 million. The options and corresponding price tags were previewed this week at the Brattleboro Selectboard’s special meeting, and will be discussed in more detail at their next meeting.

Brattleboro’s connection, or lack thereof, to the Connecticut River was the recommended art project chosen as the winner of the National Endowment for the Arts Our Town public art competition. “From the River, To the River” is a multi-artist, multi-media, multi-site installation with numerous opportunities for the community to become involved.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, September 29, 2015 in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.  It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 5:30pm to discuss contracts, pending or probable civil litigation to which the public body is or may be a party, and the negotiating or securing of real estate purchase or lease options.  The Board will reconvene for the business meeting at approximately 6:00pm.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, September 28, 2015 at 5:30pm at the Brooks Memorial Library in the local history room.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Arts Committee will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, September 22, 2015 at 4:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Representative Town Meeting Human Services Review Committee will meet on Thursday, September 24, 2015 at 6:00pm at the Brattleboro Food Co-Op in the community room.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Regional Economic Hub Study Group will meet on Thursday, September 24, 2015 at 6:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro NEA Our Town Grant Selection Committee will meet on Friday, September 25, 2015 at 8:00am at the Latchis Theatre on Main Street.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

The Brattleboro Selectboard began a preliminary discussion of the future of the Municipal Center, somewhat unintentionally, while discussing necessary repairs to bring the building up to current fire safety codes. It began with John Allen questioning the large investment in the structure, meandered through talk of responsibility and stewardship, and ended with a plan to spend the necessary funds one way or another.

Parking ordinance changes were approved. Most of the rest of the evening involved discussions of money.