Town News

Some news from Tuesday night’s Selectboard meeting wasn’t mentioned at all during the meeting. In the written departmental report from the Brattleboro Police to the Selectboard were listed two items that neither the Police nor the Selectboard spoke about during the presentation to the board: powerful software to gather and evaluate intelligence of potential criminal activity, and live, remote access to private video systems in town.

From the Finance Director we learned that delinquent taxes increased by $100,000 in 2013. The Police Fire Project gained a Construction Management firm, the swimming pool will get some much-needed attention, and angels will begin appearing around Brattleboro in September.

Read on for full details.

The Waste Water Treatment Plant is substantially complete. So the Brattleboro Selectboard will hear at their next regularly scheduled Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center on Main Street. The pump stations still need a bit of work, but work the main facility is at the finish line.

Also on the agenda: the Police Fire Facility Project committee will make a recommendation for “construction management services,” we’ll learn of plans to fix the swimming pool at Living memorial Park, the board will hear about a new public art project, there will be a report from the Brattleboro Police Department, the board will accept and approve some grants, and they will create a PACE district in Brattleboro by adopting a resolution that allows VEIC to manage the program.

All this and more at Tuesday’s meeting. You can watch on BCTV, on TV or online, and read all about it here the day after.

The first installment of the 2013 Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes will be due on August 15th, 2013. Payments made after August 15th, 2013 will have an additional 1% interest added to the unpaid balance.

The utility billing is also due on August 15th, 2013. Payments made after August 15th, 2013 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.

A special meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard is scheduled on Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 2:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session to discuss a contractual matter.

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

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facility Building Committee will meet on Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 2:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Tuesday, August 13, 2013 at 4:30pm 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, August 13, 2013 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 theatre is dark, the Earth is bare and Latchis Arts is reaching for the Heavens.  

The main theatre of the Latchis complex closed for renovations on August 1 and on that day, all 750 seats in the theatre were cleared from the auditorium.  Day 2 brought New England Scaffolding Co. to begin the task of filling the 30 foot high void with scaffolding high enough to reach the signs of the zodiac residing in the Heavens.  “We are thrilled that the seats and ceiling project is underway,” said Latchis Arts managing director Gail Nunziata.  “Months of planning with architect Jeremy Coleman and fund raising for the Campaign for The Heavens and The Earth by board and committee members have brought us to this moment.”

The Brattleboro Selectboard had no problems guiding the town at their first regular meeting without an official Town Manager at the helm. They even did it without their Chair, too.

The board navigated concerns about downtown sidewalks, skateboarders, and homeless people in the parks. They heard an update on the SeVEDS program and gave them a second check for $25,000. They received an overview of the Town Clerk’s office, and debated skating rink compressor options once again. 

The board discussed becoming another online news source for Brattleboro, and how best to prepare to hire locally for municipal projects with big budgets.

Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast – Networking for Sustainable Energy

The next “Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast” will take place on Friday,  August 16, 2013 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals. Doors open at 7:30am.

Jonathan Morse will hold a conversation on the Sustainable Energy Outreach Network (SEON)  ~ it’s purpose, past programs, and plans for the future. SEON is a “networking organization, passionately committed to the promotion of sustainable energy for the benefit of the public, businesses, educational institutions, and public sector organizations.

As promised, the main theatre closed on August 1 and all the seats left the building that day. It was amazing!

Day 2 brought the scaffolding crew and they set to work, so that by Day 5 (today) they have reached the Heavens in some spots! What an achievement.

Many thanks to those of you who already donated to Latchis Arts’ Kickstarter Campaign as we continue to collect pledges toward the goal of $50,000 in 60 days for our seats and ceiling project.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, we urge you to take a look.

Brattleboro will return to the discussion of skating rink repairs at the next regular Tuesday meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. A grant for $100,000 will be accepted and applied to the cost, and a contractor to do the repairs will be chosen.

The board will hear from Town Clerk Annette Cappy about her department, will accept grants and grant permits, and may get to their long-scheduled discussions of local hiring and the town website.

You can bring up anything else not on the agenda during Public Participation. Attend in person at the Municipal Center on Main Street or watch on BCTV, and get the full report here the next day.

The Brattleboro ADA Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, August 9, 2013 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 Energy Committee will meet on Monday, August 5, 2013 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

Mid-summer volunteer opportunities in Windham County.

Loaves and Fishes food shelf and kitchen on Main Street, Brattleboro, needs volunteer(s) with computer skills. Contact Green Mountain RSVP (802) 254 7515.

Halifax School needs a volunteer gardener. Contact Green Mountain RSVP (802) 254 7515.

Volunteers needed to help with Brattleboro Housing Authority/United Way summer lunch program, one-hour slots. Contact Green Mountain RSVP (802) 254 7515.

The Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (VABVI) needs volunteer drivers, most particularly in Brattleboro, Putney, Bellow Falls, Saxtons River, Wilmington, West Dover. Mileage reimbursement available. Contact Green Mountain RSVP (802) 254 7515.

The Town of Brattleboro is looking for citizens to serve on the following committees and boards:

Agricultural Advisory Board
Arts Committee
BASIC (Brattleboro Area Skatepark is Coming)
CPCC (Citizen Police Communications Committee)
Development Review Board Alternate
Fence Viewer (by statute, must be legal voter of the Town)
Honor Roll Committee
Inspector, Lumber Shingles & Wood
Senior Solutions Representative
SEVCA Representative
Skating Rink Committee – do not have to be residents of Brattleboro
Town Service Officer
Tree Advisory Committee

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Friday, July 26, 2013 at 12:00 noon in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

A section of the Whetstone Pathway near the Co-op is closed today for pavement repair. This is work left from the Co-op project. The Pathway will reopen tonight and close again tomorrow to finish the repair. We apologize for the lack of notice.

The work disrupting traffic in the downtown area is the phone company (Fairpoint) lowering a few of their manholes so our snowplows do not hit them in winter.

Brattleboro Public Works

The state offices currently located on Linden Street in the former Linden Lodge will remain in that location until a later date.

The move back to 232 Main Street that was scheduled to begin July 26 has been postponed. A date for the move has not yet been determined. Offices at the Linden Street location include:

The Board of Directors of Building a Better Brattleboro today announced that it is in negotiations to transfer ownership of the Robert H. Gibson River Garden to the Strolling of the Heifers organization.

The details of the transfer are still being finalized, but the Strolling of the Heifers has committed to honor the spirit of the original intent of the building by keeping the space open to the public and providing visual access to the Connecticut River. The building will continue to be known as the Robert H. Gibson River Garden.