The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Thursday, April 2, 2020, at 6:15pm. In keeping with Governor Scott’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order, this meeting will be held with no physical location using GoToMeeting. A copy of the agenda is attached and it contains information about how to access the meeting remotely. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.
WHAT IS NEW TODAY
A special Selectboard meeting will be held on Monday, March 23, at 5:30pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center. The Selectboard will appoint Ian Goodnow to the seat that became vacant upon Dave Schoales’ resignation and will elect Selectboard officers. Please note that the Municipal Building will be open to the public on March 23 from 5:15pm until 15 minutes after the special Selectboard meeting is adjourned.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Monday, March 23, 2020, at 5:30pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center. An ASL interpreter will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members. The building will be open to the public at 5:15pm on that day.
The Brattleboro Selectboard held their regular meeting, but it was anything but “regular” Tuesday. Board members were absent. Those attending sat apart from one another (not quite 6 feet…). COVID-19 was influencing almost every article on the agenda. And Brattleboro’s Skatepark was approved to begin construction.
The COVID-19 update and discussion was the main item. Groundworks got an additional grant to begin construction on their new building, the town finance report looks good up until last week but may show deficits before the fiscal year is over, and Representative Town Meeting is postponed.
We now have all interviews for Brattleboro Selectboard candidates available, and Tuesday is the day to get to the polls and vote if you haven’t already done so. Here are the links to candidate interviews, the candidate forum video, representative statements, and general election information. It is all to help guide your last-minute voting decisions.
Selectboard Candidate Interviews, alphabetically:
Kurt Daims is running for a one year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
Tell everyone a bit about yourself… who are you?
I was born nearby and travelled widely. I worked for inventors, started my family and loved the ocean in San Francisco. In 2002 I came to Brattleboro with my family. I devoted myself to raising and home-schooling my daughters and to public service. I hope to consolidate the power of the people in town government and help Brattleboro become town that acts as a member of the community of towns and cities As director of the non-profit Brattleboro Common Sense I taks the credo “Think globally: act locally” for an aggressive, pragmatic grass-roots politics, which I believe is needed to save an endangered world.
A community forum is scheduled on Saturday, February 29, starting at 10:00am, at the Brooks Memorial Library to address the recent vehicle break-ins in Brattleboro. Although the forum is not a Selectboard meeting, it is expected that a majority of Selectboard members will attend; however, no Selectboard action will be taken at the forum.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Ian Goodnow is running for a one-year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
Tell everyone a bit about yourself… who are you?
My name is Ian Goodnow. I grew up in Essex, Vermont and graduated from the University of Vermont in 2014, with degrees in Political Science and Russian Language. I’m currently enrolled in the Vermont Law Office Study Program, which is an alternative way to become a lawyer in Vermont. Instead of law school, I moved to Brattleboro to study under Tom Costello at Costello, Valente and Gentry P.C. I am also a Justice of the Peace and through that role serve on the Board of Civil Authority and am the alternate on the Developmental Review Board. In my free time, I love backpacking, eating dumplings with Ruth, my fiancee, and talking about movies.
There is an old saying about how, when asked to explain what one means by what one says nine out of ten people will become angry or silent. The one who does not become offended or feel attacked but rather is stimulated and eager for an opportunity to engage and learn would be a person like Oscar Heller, candidate for a one-year Selectboard seat.
The desire and ability to listen and learn is also a strong indicator of self-confidence and thoughtfulness, both of which are very apparent in Mr. Heller. He will bring a particularly strong understanding and voice concerning the most unabated, vexing and critical issue of our time: climate change and all its inseparable aspects.
A link to the Selectboard Candidates Video…
Oscar Heller is running for a one-year seat on the Brattleboro Selectboard.
Tell everyone a bit about yourself… who are you?
My name is Oscar Heller. I’m a programmer and graphic designer with my own web design business called 10F Design. I serve on the energy committee and the finance committee, and I’m a town meeting rep for District 3. The energy committee played a big role in successfully convincing the Selectboard to create the new sustainability coordinator position, and I also served on the hiring committee for the position.
David Schoales is an incumbent running again for a three year seat on the selectboard.
Tell everyone a bit about yourself… who are you?
Do you have any special powers or skills to offer?
Daniel Quipp, and incumbent, is running for a a one year seat on the selectboard.
Tell everyone a bit about yourself… who are you?
Like many people around here, I wear a few different hats. Obviously, one of these is my Selectboard hat. I hope to earn the voters’ trust to wear it for another year. I have two jobs – I work for SEVCA and help people keep their lights on and homes heated through our crisis fuel program and I work as a community organizer in southern Vermont for Vermont Interfaith Action. I also wear my community radio hat. I’m currently the president of the WVEW 107.7 FM board and also host a weekly show playing new alternative music called ‘Brand Spanking New’ (Thurs, 6 to 8 pm). When I’m not doing one of those things I’m probably either hanging out with my wife, eating sandwiches at Amy’s, playing tennis or reading and drinking warm beverages.
Elizabeth McLoughlin is a current member of the Brattleboro Selectboard and is running for a three-year seat.
Tell everyone a bit about yourself… who are you?
About a dozen years ago, I chose Brattleboro, together with my family, my Mother-in-Law, our jobs, and our whole lives– we moved to Brattleboro, where our youngest daughter attended BUHS. This move, after many years of visiting family in Brattleboro, was a happy choice. My husband and I both started small businesses. I own a planning and environmental consultancy business. I volunteered for a number of Town and civic committees, most notably: the Planning Commission, The RTM Finance Committee, BASIC, the Skatepark Committee, and the Empty Bowls Dinner Committee.
My Selectboard service is an outgrowth of the understanding I gained participating and contributing to these civic committees.
The Brattleboro Selectboard held a quick meeting to approve the FY21 budget, Town Meeting warning, and Representative Town Meeting warning. They also discussed a planned sidewalk for the new Hinsdale Bridge and changes to RT 142.
During public participation, citizens questioned the police chief about the recent uptick in vehicle break-ins.
On Election Day in March, Brattleboro voters will have the opportunity to tell the Selectboard to consider replacing the five-member Selectboard with one mayor.
The complete wording of the article which will appear on the ballot: “Shall the voters of the Town of Brattleboro advise the Select Board to amend the Brattleboro Town Charter to replace the Select Board form of governance with that of a mayoral form of governance?”
I encourage voters to reject this proposal for a number of reasons.
Can you please post a reminder that petitions for Brattleboro Town Officers, Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) Board Members, and Town Meeting Members are available at the Town Clerk’s office. Town elections will be Tuesday, March 3 at the American Legion, and the Annual Representative Town Meeting, Saturday, March 21 at the Brattleboro Area Middle School.
The Brattleboro Selectboard discussed some final issues related to the FY21 proposed budget, approving raises for non-union employees but delaying pool improvements for up to a decade, and settled on a final number that… increases property taxes.
The Current is going away, to be replaced entirely by spotted Moovers. All this and more…
Another timeless Brattleboro classic – the sock puppet Selectboard winter holiday special: “An Extra Special Selectboard Winter Holiday Thing.”
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, December 10, 2019, at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center. ASL interpreters will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.
