The Brattleboro Selectboard made important decisions over the last year
–Proposing to Representative Town Meeting an increase in staff salaries by 13.1%, which will result in salaries and benefits constituting 61.2% of the Town budget, up from 58.3%
–Replacing emergency medical services (EMS) previously provided by Resue (and in the last two years by Golden Cross) with EMS services embedded in the Brattleboro Fire Department, all despite sustained public opposition
I went out on a date this week, if you can call it that. All it was really was dinner. We knew each other quite well, and both of us had the taste for a certain cuisine from a very popular place. It was bound to be crowded at the dinner hour, we knew it would be. And it was. But nonetheless, we were game.
This establishment has a particular and rigid system in place regarding ordering. One line at a counter. For everything. To pick up take out. To eat in. Get a beverage. Whatever. A single line that delivers customers to the register one at a time like a gum-ball machine. You line up and wait your turn. No wiggle room to the method. There are tables, but no table service. Servers bring the carefully prepared items over to you when ready, but the only way to obtain food is to place and pay for an order when it comes your turn.
This brings me to the point of all this. The other night, on our “date”, I went up to order for us and it’d be fair to say there were half a dozen or so people ahead of me. Suddenly, a guy sidles up to the counter, we could all see it coming, and it wasn’t made any better by the fact he had his AirPods in, but anyway, he leans in- well, first he shut his music, angles in and then says, to all of us, “I placed my order before and got served already but forgot something, would you mind if I just slip in and add a little something?”
The Brattleboro Selectboard has decided to have a tiny meeting on Vermont’s Town Meeting Day. While everyone else will be looking over vote totals and analyzing candidate and issue wins and losses, the board will discuss upcoming legislation at the state level this season, public safety, and committees. They will likely squeeze in reactions to local election news as well.
You can bring up other items, if this Chair allows, during Public Participation.
I am Richard Davis, a 74 year old semi-retired nurse, writer and political activist running for a one year seat on the Brattleboro selectboard. A Boston area native, I have lived in Windham County for the past 45 years, 41 of those years in Guilford and for the past 2 ½ years in Brattleboro with my wife Roberta Levy.
I feel that the current board would benefit from new blood to provide a different perspective on issues important to the people of Brattleboro. Many people have been frustrated at the appearance of a lack of transparency that has surrounded the actions of the current board, especially in relation to the decision to end a long-standing relationship with Rescue Inc.
Agenda Items
• Approve Minutes
• Public Participation
• Tree Inventory
• Library Spruce
Recent favorable weather has helped the cure of the footing at Pier 1 and the strength of the concrete has allowed crews to move forward with the work on the Pier 1 stem and cap. As the stem rebar is placed and tied, form walls and corners will be set. Once the stem rebar is complete, crews will finish the cap rebar. The next concrete placement will be for the Pier 1 stem and is scheduled for Wednesday, March 6th.
I am Jaki Reis and I am running for Select board here in Brattleboro. You may know me from the 22 years that I’ve lived and worked downtown. Maybe we met at Brown and Roberts, or at the Chamber or the River Gallery School, or at the Latchis Theater. I have been close to so many who know me as their neighbor, friend, and fellow volunteer.
I have gained a rich understanding of how we all live and the concerns and complaints that we all share. Like most of you, I love this town a great deal, and I’m happy to have a chance to contribute to the Select board in doing its job.
This is my fourth year on the RTM Finance Committee. Many people have asked me what the committee’s job is, and now that we’ve finished our report (link), I can give a specific answer.
Our job is to provide citizen oversight of the Selectboard and the town’s budget. This report represents the culmination six months of research, analysis, and hard work by David Levenbach, Millicent Cooley, Mike Hutcheson, Paula Melton, and myself. We watched and rewatched Selectboard meetings, interviewed Town staff, and performed independent research.
Some notable sections:
• Call to Order – 6:00 pm
• Review of minutes from January 4, 2024
• Confirm Notetaker for future meetings
• School Update from BAMS Principal
The Dummerston School Leadership Council will meet at 5:00pm on Thursday, March 14, 2024 at Dummerston School. DLC will meet each month in person in the 4th grade classroom, and via Google Hangouts (unless there is an unforeseen interference). Future meetings-2024: Apr. 11, May 16, Jun. 13.
The Brattleboro Town Clerk’s office will be closed all day on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 in order to run the Town Meeting elections, which will be held at the American Legion from 7am-7pm. The Town Clerk’s office will also be closed to the public on the morning of Wednesday, March 6. On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, the Town Clerk’s office will reopen at noon (12:00pm).
There has been a lot of talk about electing someone to the office of President of the United States, perhaps the most demanding job in the world, who is in his eighties. Joe Biden was born in 1942 making him the oldest person to sit in the oval office. People express misgivings about voting for him because of his age, but there is very little discussion of what exactly they fear about his age.
It is time to unpack the issues relating to an octogenarian president to see if they will really make it difficult for Biden to continue in office. The worst case scenario is that he dies in office. Males at 80 years old have a seven year life expectancy. That is based on averages, but when it comes to Biden, he is not your average 81 year old. He remains mostly physically fit and his father died at 86 and his mother at 92, so he has some genetic longevity working for him. He had a physical a few days ago and was declared physically fit to perform the duties of President. His doctor felt no need for cognitive testing.
Next Stage Arts presents Cuban quintet Espirales Project on Friday, March 29th at 7:30 pm, at Next Stage Arts, located at 15 Kimball Hill, Putney, VT. Tickets are $20 in advance / $25 at the door / $10 livestream. Next Stage will provide a beer, wine, and cocktail cash bar. Advance tickets are available at nextstagearts.org. For information, call 802-387-0102 or visit nextstagearts.org.
Newly emerging on the Cuban music scene in 2023, the Espirales Project brings together five top graduates of Cuba’s Instituto Superior de Arte performing across several genres—Cuban, jazz, world, and chamber music. Tania Haase, Olivia Rodríguez, Alejandro Aguiar, Jesús Estrada and Rodrigo García have led or contributed nationally and internationally to projects across all these styles, performing at Cuba’s International Jazz Plaza Festival and the Habana Clásica concert music festival. They are also teachers who have designed a development program on Cuban music and culture.
The town has waged a legal campaign against BCS for its emergency homeless shelters in RVs for a year now. Their charges are based on rumors and technicalities.
They can win only by their legal power. At our “trial” February 21, 2023 selectwoman Elizabeth McLoughlin objected to the chairperson referring to the housing emergency. She said BCS (Daims) was the only one declaring it that. BTW the housing crisis was already a national issue. The only deniers were on the Brattleboro selectboard. (The selectboard is the health board).
Dummerston Leadership Council Monthly Communication to School Board
1-3 Things we celebrate/appreciate this month about our school:
Successful winter sports program. Black lives matter/black history/let me be great campaign underway
DPW will continue inspecting and reporting the conditions of Brattleboro’s gravel roads during mud season as we did last year.
The updated report will not be sent daily as in past years. Starting in the coming days, you will see a sign at the beginning of each gravel road. The sign will have a color-coded section that indicates the current condition of the road and QR code that will take you directly to Maps-on-line for the conditions of all roads. Instead of waiting for all of the roads to be checked to report each road be entered immediately which should speed up the reporting significantly. Attached is a press release explaining the new procedure.
Next Stage Arts and Twilight Music present roots and world music quintet The Gaslight Tinkers at Next Stage on Friday, March 22 at 7:30 pm. Blending African, Caribbean, Funk, Reggae, and Latin grooves with traditional fiddle music, the quintet creates the genre-bending future of the music of the past.
The Gaslight Tinkers’ mix of global rhythms creates a joyous world beat sound around a core of traditional New England old time and celtic fiddle music, merging boundless positive energy with melody and song. Drawing from their extensive musical backgrounds in traditional folk, Caribbean, old time, Celtic, and rock, I-Shea, Clara, Garrett, Elie, and Peter craft a sound that brings world traditions together.
The Town of Brattleboro’s harrassing Kurt Daims for doing what he could to shelter homeless people closely parallels something that happened nearly 4 decades ago.
Thirty-eight years ago, the Town of Brattleboro gave a homeless shelter run by Faith Ministries a December 25 deadline to close.
The Christmas deadline — a public relations blunder — was dramatic enough to garner national attention, but the real issue was articulated in a press release in which Wally & Emily White said the following:
AGENDA
I. Call to Order [6:00 to 6:05]
II. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items [6:05 to 6:15]
III. Executive Session [6:15]
1VSA §313 (a)(1)(F) confidential attorney-client communications made for the purpose of providing professional legal services to the body.
Leadership Council organization
Stephanie was elected as Leadership Council Chair. Renee will continue to take minutes as Clerk.
Discussion of old business. Agree to leave issues from last year regarding the Athletic Department and Union with previous LC. Any issues with AD or department should be brought individually to Hannah directly. Winter Sports parent meeting set for 11/27.
