Brattleboro MLK Jr. Day Closures

 In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, all Brattleboro Town Offices will be closed on Monday, January 21, 2019, with the exception of emergency services. 

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Monday, January 21. All other violations will be enforced. 


Give the Gift of Art at The Drawing Studio

Good morning everyone

The Winter/Spring schedule is now up on our website and enrollment is open for classes and workshops this Season. Give a gift of Art to someone you love. We now have gift certificates for the new year. www.vermontdrawingstudio.com

Here is some of what is on offer in January at The Drawing Studio:


iBrattleboro Animated Christmas Calendar

Time once again for the animated, interactive, Brattleboro-centric, advent-ish calendar, featuring different scenes and local facts, sponsored by no one. The iBrattleboro Christmas Calendar.

While it is continually popular, we were debating whether to bring this back again this year. The Christmas Calendar is built in Flash, an ancient programming tool that is fading away. iPads and many other devices just don’t allow it anymore.


Brattleboro Committee Meeting Agendas

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Human Services Review Committee will meet on Friday, December 7, 2018 at 1:00pm in the Holton Hall conference room (2ndfloor) on the Winston Prouty Campus located at 130 Austine Drive.

The Brattleboro Energy Committee meeting that was previously scheduled on Monday, December 3, 2018 has been CANCELLED.


Local Option Tax Increases Brattleboro Revenue, But Property Taxes Will Still Rise

At Tuesday’s special meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard discussed adding a 1% Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) to items purchased in the ‘boro. Adding this additional revenue stream to the Town coffers has been attempted before. Most recently it barely passed as an advisory vote, but was ultimately rejected.

The main argument in favor of the tax usually involves the expected revenue. In 2015, the estimate was $600,000. This, in theory, could offset property taxes by that amount.

But, taxpayers have seen these property tax reducing “deals” many times before, and property taxes do not go down. Spending rises to meet the new income.


Brattleboro Thanksgiving Closures

 In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, all Brattleboro Town offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 22 and 23, 2018, with the exception of emergency services. 

Brooks Memorial Library will close at 6:00pm on Wednesday, November 21, and will be closed on Thursday, November 22. It will be open for regular hours on Friday and Saturday, November 23 and 24. 2018. 


Town of Brattleboro Veterans’ Day Closings

 In observance of Veterans’ Day, all Brattleboro Town Offices will be closed on Monday, November 12, 2018, with the exception of emergency services. 

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

Brooks Memorial Library will be closed on Sunday and Monday, November 11 and 12, 2018. 


Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – October 16, 2018

Parking rates are set to go up after the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.  They’ll also be repealing the begging ordinance that caught the recent attention of the ACLU.

Brattleboro will buy sand and salt, get some bulletproof vest upgrades, and the board will review their goals as well as bulky item trash pickup. You can bring up other matters during public participation.


Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting – Youth Vote Public Hearing

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 5:00pm to discuss pending or probable civil litigation or a prosecution to which the public body is or may be a party, and then reconvene for the special meeting at 6:15pm.  An ASL interpreter will be present for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.


It’s True. We Moved.

You may have heard rumors and yes, they are true. Lise and Chris have moved up river to Williamsville.

One might ask, and it is a reasonable question, why did we depart the town we love?

Many reasons, but the main one is that we could not find a good place to live within our budget within town limits. The places for sale in Brattleboro this summer were either gorgeous and expensive, or near-dumps.


Early/Absentee Ballots in Brattleboro, Voter Registration and Town Clerk Hours

Early/absentee ballots for the General Election to be held on November 6, are now available in all Vermont town clerk’s offices. Anyone wishing to vote prior to November 6, may apply for an early/absentee ballot until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 5.

Early/absentee ballots may be voted in person in the clerk’s office, mailed to the voter by the clerk’s office, picked up by the voter or if a voter is in need can be delivered to the voter’s residence by two justices of the peace. All voted ballots must be received by the clerk before the polls close on election day in order to be counted. For more information or to request an early/absentee ballot in Brattleboro call 251-8157.


Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – September 18, 2018

At their next regular meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard will take some early steps toward work on the next Hinsdale Bridge. The new bridge begins with relocation of some utility lines near the project and some signing of agreements, at least as far as Vermont is concerned. NH is building it.

Vehicles for hire will again be on the agenda. New vehicles will be purchased, financial reports will be heard, litigation with Retreat Farm will be resolved, Hermit Thrush will get a break on loan payments due to their product recall, bulky waste collection will be discussed, and more. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.


Small Fire at Groundworks Shelter Causes Relocation to Winter Shelter Dormitory

BRATTLEBORO –  Just before noon on Monday, September 10th, a small fire broke out in a clothes dryer at Groundworks Shelter (formerly Morningside Shelter) on Royal Road in Brattleboro. No one was hurt, but the fire resulted in extensive smoke damage to the Shelter.  

Staff mobilized quickly and have temporarily relocated residents of the Shelter to the dormitory that is used for the winter warming shelter – on the Winston Prouty (formerly Austine School) campus. There is potential that the relocation will last for up to two weeks while thorough cleaning of Groundworks Shelter occurs.


Brattleboro Water Main Flushing Schedule

WATER MAIN FLUSHING TO START

Utilities Divisioncrews will start Fall Flushing of the Town water mains on Thursday September 20, 2018 at 10:00 p.m. and continue through Saturday October 6, 2018

NOTE: Some daytime flushing will continue throughout the weeks of October 8thand 15th


Beware: Brattleboro Area Chamber Spoof/Scam

This morning I got a very official looking email from “Susan Walker” , who claims to be from the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce. The subject: “2018 Updated Business License.”

The message says “Please see attached for the new business License to carry out your daily business activities,failure to get new license will result in penalty on your business,thanks.” and is followed by “Susan Walker,” the Chamber’s mailing address, and the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce logo.


Selectboard Meeting Notes : The Parking Garage, Safety, and a Pause on Vehicles For Hire

The parking garage, a.k.a. the Brattleboro Transportation Center, had center stage at Tuesday’s meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. Is it safe? Is it energy efficient? Is it bright enough? Should we add a permanent art project? How big is that ceiling? Is there something we can do instead of paying half a million for reflective paint? These are the issues of the day.

There was quite a bit of public discussion throughout, new energy projects were approved, and the vehicle for hire ordinance is on hold. But really, it was mostly about the parking garage.