On Thursday, October 2nd, Green Mountain Power will be replacing telephone poles and other utility work on Abbott Road.
A full road closure will be in effect between the Ames Hill intersection to 541 Abbott Road on Thursday from 7:00a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Abbott Rd can be accessed from Greenleaf Street, up to 541 Abbott Road.
The Brattleboro Selectboard learned what the Brattleboro Charter Commission has been working on regarding the form of town governance and other possible changes to the Charter. The Commission has put over two years of work into this and the Chair seemed quite interested in being able to edit whatever they present, such as the form of town government, when it comes before the board again in September.
The next big discussion was about the old Hinsdale bridges. Hinsdale sent some semi-unanticipated reps to read Brattleboro the riot act. They seemed to take special glee in pointing out just how terrible Brattleboro’s problems are, and wanted to know if the town would agree that the bridges should be destroyed or sold. A split vote at the end of the discussion means Brattleboro does not surrender in the battle
The Brattleboro Selectboard starts July with a big meeting on the 8th. They’ll spend almost a half million dollars on DPW vehicles, authorize tax collectors going after local businesses, pay for a new $476k retaining wall, and that’s just in the consent agenda. (They’ll also retroactively consider a parade permit – if it fails, do the participants need to march backwards?)
Once the meeting gets going in full, the board will hear from the Charter Revision Commission, receive an update on the old Hinsdale bridges, set a property tax rate of $1.5835 per $100, hear about increases to water and sewer rates, spend over $500k on space for police and bathrooms downtown, and more.
You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
On Monday June 9, 2025, BELLCO Excavation, a contractor hired by the Town, will begin a stormwater improvement project on Abbott Road. A full road closure can be expected from the intersection of Abbott Road and Greenleaf Street to the intersection of Abbott Road and Gateway Farm Lane.
The closure will be in effect on June 9 and June 10 from 7:00am to 5:00pm.
The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Thursday, October 17, 2024 at 8:00am in the Selectboard Meeting Room and over Zoom. The agenda has been amended to accommodate an additional request.
Beginning Monday, July 15, 2024, DMI Excavation, a contractor hired by the Town, will be replacing the southern section of sidewalk on Western Avenue between Edward Heights and Greenleaf Street. This project is expected to take several weeks.
Crews will be working Monday through Friday between 6:30am and 6:30pm daily. There will be no on-street parking during this project and motorists should expect heavy delays in the area and seek alternate routes. Bicyclist and pedestrian traffic should use caution within the work zone and also seek alternate routes. Temporary walking paths will be established where necessary.
It was a really long Brattleboro Selectboard meeting with not much getting done! They heard about downtown safety issues, but took no action. They approved a mural design they couldn’t see. There will be more places to buy liquor. The preferred bridge design was selected. And then it was 10:30 pm with discussions of a woman right to choose and EMT issues, among other things, still awaiting ample discussion. They ended up postponing much of the agenda to a future meeting.
A packed agenda of important items awaits the Brattleboro Selectboard for their first regular meeting of July. It’s going to be a long meeting.
There will be new liquor licenses, Commonwealtth Dairy wants to nearly double its water and sewer use, rental housing fines will be set, and the board will choose a bridge design for Melrose. There will be a discussion of downtown safety and a new mural for High Street. The board will discuss a woman’s right to choose. There are emergency repairs to authorize.
The firefighters get a “recently concluded additional collective bargaining agreement,” and the Fire Chief would like the board to approve additional funds to meet requirements of becoming a paramedic-level service.
But wait, there’s more! There will be a first reading of a new ordinance regarding wastewater allocation approvals, there will be a new contract for the Interim Town manager, a new street name will be approved, and the FY23 tax rate will be set.
AGENDA
1. Minutes – February 18, 2021
2. Public Participation
3. Monthly Report on Pedestrian and Bicycle Incidents
4. Monthly Report on Traffic Data Collection
5. Updates/Continued Discussion on Ongoing Matters
(a) Route 9 Bike Lane Scoping Study
