Town News

Central Fire Station plans have been approved. The Brattleboro Selectboard took a look at a series of architectural and mechanical drawings provided by the project team, had no objections, and gave the architect a green light to continue.

The board announced decisions in three matters they have been considering regarding three streets in town, Brattleboro has a new Assistant Fire Chief, many municipal projects are underway, the Library will soon be renovated, DeGray ‘s request for immediate blinky lights was slowed somewhat, the Stone Church gets semi-belated approval for a liquor license, and more.

Throughout the meeting were small victories for pedestrians, from preserved access to possibilites of new funds for safer crossings.

The 2016 General Election polling place will be moving to a different location.  Voting on Election Day, November 8^th, will take place at VFW Carl Dessaint Post 1034 on Black Mountain Road.  The Brattleboro Board of Civil Authority, which has jurisdiction over polling places reluctantly made this decision earlier this year.  “We considered a number of factors including accessibility, traffic congestion, cost, and parking before selecting the VFW for our polling place, “ according to Elliott Greenblott, Chairman of the Board of Civil Authority.

The Presidential Election voting was held at Brattleboro Union High School but a combination of factors including the rental fee charged by the school, limited parking, traffic congestion, and the fact that school is in session combined to make the location less attractive.  “BUHS is a fine site in itself,” said Greenblott, “but it has been challenging in recent elections.  The heavy volume of traffic, limited parking, school activity, and cost are big concerns. Many have asked me why we have to pay to use ‘our’ high school.  The reality is that BUHS is a separate political unit owned by the member towns of the high school district, not Brattleboro alone.”

The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, August 16, 2016 at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center. NOTE THE CHANGE IN THE REGULAR MEETING DAY FOR THIS MONTH ONLY.

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

Central Fire Station’s plans will be presented and reviewed at the next Brattleboro Selectboard meeeting at the Municipal Center on Main Street.

The Stone Church is applying for a liquor permit, road re-classifications (if any) will be announced for three sites in town, there will be a discussion of push button crosswalk lights, ordinances will begin the amendment process, and other projects will get underway.

You can bring up other matters not on the agenda during public participation.

The 2016 Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Bills were mailed on August 8, 2016. The first quarter payment will be due on September 15th, 2016 by 5:00 PM. Payments made after September 15th, 2016 will have an additional 1% interest added to the unpaid balance.

Utility bills are due on August 15th, 2016 by 5:00 PM. Payments made after August 15th, 2016 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.

The Brattleboro Tree Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at 7:00pm at 9 Southern Avenue. NOTE the change in location for this meeting only.

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee will meet on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 4:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Ouch. The Brattleboro Selectboard settled a lawsuit with Kingsbury Construction Co. at their meeting on Thursday night. Brattleboro won’t owe the $1.5 million, but the settlement payouts will add over $800,000 to the cost of work done at Black Mountain Road for the gravity fed sewer line to be complete.

Assistant Fire Chief Peter Lynch is taking a new job, tax rates were set, good news on Police and Fire project bond financing was reported, committee appointments were made, and Brattleboro’s new Comprehensive Review of Town Operations is officially debuted and open for public comment.

The Brattleboro Town Clerk’s office will be open Saturday, August 6, from 9 a.m. to noon for early voting in the State Primary elections. The Town Clerk’s office will be closed Tuesday, August 9, as staff will be conducting elections in the Municipal Center, room 212. Polling hours are 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Annette L. Cappy
Brattleboro Town Clerk
230 Main Street, Suite 108
Brattleboro. VT 05301

acappy@brattleboro.org
ph 802-251-8129
fax 802-257-2312

The Brattleboro Energy Committee will meet on Monday, August 1, 2016 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

The Town of Brattleboro invites citizens and interested persons to attend a ground-breaking ceremony celebrating the rebuilding of the West Brattleboro Fire Station on Thursday, August 4, 2016 at 4:00pm at the West Brattleboro Fire Station.

TOWN OF BRATTLEBORO
Town Manager’s Office
230 Main Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
(802) 254-4541
FAX (802) 257-2322

Brattleboro’s first Comprehensive Review of Town Operations will be presented for approval at the next not-so-regularly scheduled meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.

Property tax rates will be set for FY17, grants will be discussed, appointments to committees will be made, and more. Watch on BCTV or attend in person and participate. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.

There is also a special meeting scheduled to hold a deliberative session the next day.

On Thursday, July 28th, from 7:00 a.m. until approximately 3:00 p.m., Greenleaf Street will be closed for tree removal between Western Avenue and Mather Road. Traffic detour signs will be set up allowing traffic to use Mather Road across to Bonnyvale Road for access to Western Avenue. Crews will ensure access to residences within the closure area.

If you have any questions, please contact Stephen Barrett, Director of Public Works, at the Brattleboro Department of Public Works at (802)254-4255.

The Brattleboro ADA Committee will hold a special meeting on Thursday, July 28, 2016, at 1:00pm at The River Garden located at 157 Main Street.

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

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 7:30am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will immediately enter into executive session to discuss pending or probable civil litigation to which the Town is or may be a party and mediation or arbitration. If time allows following the executive session, it is anticipated that the Board will enter into deliberative session to discuss site visits and public hearings held on June 28, 2016, re: (1) Minshall Street, (2) Bittersweet Lane, and (3) Wickopee Hill Road / Gulf Road.

The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, July 25, 2016 at 5:30pm at the Brooks Memorial Library in the community room.

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

Town Clerk Annette Cappy is retiring! Oh, dear. Oh, my.

Plans for Central Fire Station were discussed and approved by the Brattleboro Selectboard at their regular Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center on Tuesday. Finances are looking good on many fronts, a big Caribbean food and culture festival was given permission to take place, the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance told the board what they’ve been up to recently, a new highway arts project got permission to find out if the project was feasible, and more.

The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Thursday, July 21, 2016 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 future of the Municipal Center is just one of many issues the Brattleboro Selectboard will take up at their next regular meeting.

Central Fire Station plans will be reviewed, the board will get a preliminary look at the 2016 year end financial report, they will hear about downtown activities, and consider an arts project for highways. All this and more. You can attend in person, participate, and bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.

The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Tree Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 7:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee will meet on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 4:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 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

The next monthly meeting of the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will be held on Thursday, July 14^th at 6:00 PM in the Community Room at Westgate Housing on Westgate Drive. Park on Westgate Drive if there is no room in the lot.

After a review of the treasury report and addressing the issue of directors and officers insurance, there will be an update on the spring plantings and the upcoming BizUp event.  Among other pending issues to be addressed are the result (if any) of the Thompson Trust application for the Neighborhoods Fund and an update on West B neighborhoods and drugs.