The Brattleboro Selectboard approved a guaranteed maximum price for the police station at their last regular meeting of 2016 Tuesday night. With all three facility project prices locked in, the total project remains very close to the estimated cost originally anticipated, even with some additions of new work.

Westgate received funding to move forward with restructuring, the board reviewed a number of FY18 budget loose ends, and parking, parking, parking!

Maybe I just don’t get out enough but today I noticed the name “Mary Shiminski” in white letters back up on the rusty Bratt-Chesterfield border railroad overpass. I thought, we have such literate, history-loving grafitti artists. For background:

In observance of the Christmas holiday:

All Brattleboro Town offices will close at 12:00 noon on Friday, December 23, and will be closed through Monday, December 26, 2016, with the exception of emergency services.

Brooks Memorial Library will be open for regular hours on Friday, December 23. It will be closed Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, December 24 through December 26.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, December 24 through December 26. All other violations will be enforced.

Trash, recycling and composting will be delayed one day all week.

In observance of the New Year holiday:

Brattleboro Town Clerk Annette Cappy will retire after 28 years of exemplary service to the Town of Brattleboro. An open house is scheduled on Thursday, December 29, 2016 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm in the Town Clerk’s Office. Light refreshments will be served. All are invited to attend and extend their best wishes and gratitude for all of Annette’s contributions and accomplishments throughout her career.

Incoming Town Clerk Hilary Francis will be officially sworn in on Friday, December 30, 2016, at 1:00pm in the Town Clerk’s Office. The public is invited to attend. She will be formally appointed as Town Clerk by the Selectboard at its meeting on Tuesday, January 3, 2017, subject to ratification by Representative Town Meeting on Saturday, March 25, 2017.

The Town of Brattleboro would like to remind everyone that the snow emergency ban is in effect.

Snow and ice will be removed from the streets in the downtown area this evening.

Parked vehicles in the downtown district must be removed by 10:30pm or they will be towed at the owner’s expense.

If vehicles are going to remain in Town overnight they should park in the Brattleboro Transportation Center. If you use the Transportation Center, do not park in a Reserved Permit space without a permit. Pay and Display is in effect after 9:00 a.m.

Contact the Brattleboro Police Department at 257-7950 for any questions.

The Town of Brattleboro would like to remind everyone that the snow emergency ban is in effect.

Snow and ice will be removed from the parking lots in the downtown area this evening.

Parked vehicles in the downtown parking lots must be removed by 10:30pm or they will be towed at the owner’s expense.

If vehicles are going to remain in Town overnight they should park in the Brattleboro Transportation Center. If you use the Transportation Center, do not park in a Reserved Permit space without a permit. Pay and Display is in effect after 9:00 a.m.

Contact the Brattleboro Police Department at 257-7950 for any questions.

Following on the thread here at iBratt concerning energy efficiency at the West Brattleboro fire station, this article is on life-cycle cost analysis as an alternative, many would say better, decision making tool for major capital expenses like fire stations.  Versions of this should appear in the Reformer and Commons soon as well.  Info on assumptions, modeling tools, etc. will be added in the comments section.

The (truer) Cost of Things (like buildings)

When a large building is built the owner usually bends over backwards to keep construction costs as low as possible.  What would happen if the primary objective were not to minimize up-front costs but rather to keep the cost of operating the building over its lifetime as low as possible?  This is called a life-cycle cost analysis.  Let’s apply it to the West Brattleboro fire station that is currently under construction, in particular its heating energy use.

At their next Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center, the Brattleboro Selectboard will likely approve of the $2,773,336 guaranteed maximum price for the work to be done for the new police station.

Ten more areas of the FY18 budget will be reviewed, a downtown parking study will get underway, parking lots will be discussed, and single stream transition issues will be reviewed.

All this and more, and you can attend and participate! Bring up anything else not already on the agenda during Public Participation.