For stories pertaining to the town of Brattleboro at large and its government.
The third installment of the 2023 Brattleboro Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes will be due by 5 p.m. on February 15, 2024. Payments made after February 15, 2024, 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 February 15, 2024. Payments made after February 15, 2024 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.
A possibly short meeting with potentially interesting topics ahead was actually not so short due to technical difficulties, but it certainly was interesting. A respite from budgets, for sure.
Sustainability, food security, downtown safety, bridge fixing, and more were all discussed. Some with slide presentations!
Due to emergency work, Western Avenue between the two ends of Meadowbrook Road will have alternating one-way traffic with flaggers tomorrow, February 6, 2024 starting at 8:15am and going on for most of the day.
Flood Plain Restoration is more expensive than originally thought. By hundreds of thousands of dollars. That’s part of what the Brattleboro Selectboard will hear at the first regular meeting of February 2024.
The board will also create a new road for the Town to take care of, hear updates on town safety, sustainability, food, farms, and vacant buildings. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation, if the Chair allows.
The Brattleboro RTM Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, February 7, 2024 at 6:30pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room.
NOTICE is hereby given that the Brattleboro Town and 2023 Town Auditors’ Reports for fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, are available upon request and may be picked up at the Brattleboro Town Clerk’s Office, 230 Main Street, Brattleboro, Vermont.
The Auditors’ Reports will also be available as part of the Town Annual Report which will be available at the Town Clerk’s Office no later than March 1, 2024.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will meet for a Special Meeting on Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Brattleboro Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 212). At the conclusion of the meeting the Board will meet and is expected to immediately enter into executive session to discuss contracts, possible litigation, and evaluation of a public employee. No action will be taken in executive session. The public may also participate in the meeting over Zoom. The attached agenda contains information on how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.” ASL interpreters or closed captioning will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.
The Town of Brattleboro is looking for citizens to serve on the following committees and boards:
Agricultural Advisory Board
ADA Committee
Arts Committee
Cemetery Committee
The Brattleboro RTM Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 6:30pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 211).
The Brattleboro Tree Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 4:15pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 211).
Agenda:
• Minutes of 4 Jan
• Review of SB-recommended budget
• Other business
• Adjournment
The Brattleboro Selectboard heard a request from two organizations for an $80,000 a year part time position (and some data collection) and decided to double it. They gave them $160,000 and two years for a “proof of concept” showing that this investment attracts new businesses to Brattleboro.
The board went on to discuss their ARPA plans and FY25 budgets.
On Wednesday, January 17, contractors for the New Hampshire Bridge Project will be moving a steel structure from New Hampshire to Depot Street on the Vermont side of the existing bridge. At approximately 1:30pm Bridge Street from Main Street to the NH bridge will be closed for a twenty-minute period. The rain date will be Thursday, January 18. Please expect delays and plan accordingly.
The Brattleboro Charter Review Commission will meet on Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 212)
At their next regular meeting , the Brattleboro Selectboard will approve budgets for FY25 to send along to Representative Town Meeting, including their plans to use what remains of ARPA funds.
The board will also hear from the Downtown Alliance and Chamber of Commerce (two of several organizations that foster economic growth, attract new business, and enhance the overall economic well-being of the community) for new funding to pay for someone to “foster economic growth, attract new business, and enhance the overall economic well-being of the community.”
You can bring up other items not on the agenda, if the Chair allows, during Public Participation.
The Brattleboro Human Services Committee will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 4:30pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room.
In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, all Brattleboro Town Offices will be closed on Monday, January 15, 2024, with the exception of emergency services.
Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Monday, January 15. All other violations will be enforced.
Brooks Memorial Library will be closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 15.
Ethan Grimes, the Vice President of mortgage lending at 802 Credit Union, recently joined 12 other community members in serving on Youth Services’ board of directors. With twenty programs ranging from court diversion, to trauma-informed after-school groups, counseling, mediation and case management to name but a few, Youth Services has built community throughout Windham County for over 50 years.
Since 2009, Grimes has worked in mortgages at River Valley Credit Union, now 802 Credit Union. Starting as a mortgage processor, he eventually became a mortgage originator and finally Vice President of the credit union’s mortgage department in 2016.
Grimes has deep roots in Windham County, having grown up and attended public school in Newfane, VT and graduating fourth in his class from Leland & Gray Union High School in Townshend. Grimes attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL, where he majored in Economics, with a minor in both Business Administration and Communications. He came home each summer to work with his father Marty Grimes with Southern Vermont Telephone and recalls even doing some wiring on occasion at Youth Services during those visits. After graduation, Grimes moved to Orlando, FL where he obtained his mortgage broker license and worked as a mortgage broker there for four years during which time he married his college sweetheart.
The Brattleboro Emergency Management group is watching two storms this week that could impact our area. On Tuesday evening into midday Wednesday, the National Weather Service is forecasting snow followed by 1.5 to 2 inches of rainfall with temperatures in the 40s and gusty winds.
Expect hazardous travel conditions, with icing on roads and then minor flooding along waterways. High winds are in the forecast with gusts at 40 to 50 mph, which could result in downed power lines and power outages.
Please prepare for:
Hazardous travel and some sporadic road closures
Power outages
Flooding with the potential for evacuations
A winter storm watch has been issued for southern Vermont from the afternoon of Saturday, January 6 through the evening of Sunday, January 7. Heavy snow and high winds are in the forecast. During this time, the Town of Brattleboro anticipates road crews and equipment will be working around the clock to keep roadways open and free of hazards.
Vehicles parked on Town streets create dangerous obstacles for all during a storm and are susceptible to being towed at the owner’s expense, per Brattleboro Town Ordinance. Please attempt to utilize off-street parking. Free overnight parking is available in the Brattleboro Transportation Center between the hours of 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. in UNRESERVED parking spaces. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Friday, January 5, 2024 at 3:30pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 212). The public may also participate in the meeting over Zoom. The attached agenda contains information on how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.” Either ASL interpreters or closed captioning will be available for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
