News & Information

News and information sections, from near to far

Brattleboro Selectboard Meeting Agendas – April 8 and 10

by cgrotke | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard begins the double-meeting stretch, with meetings on both Tuesdays and Thursday for most of April as they try to compress an enormous amount of work into a short time frame.  First up – a listening session on Tuesday. Go tell the board your thoughts on the budget for the coming year. They are redoing it and want to know how you would like it redone. It would be very helpful for RTM members to attend, too.

Thursday the board will review what was heard, and figure out how to turn that into a series of useful meetings that results in a budget that will pass Representative Town Meeting.

Compassionate Dining Helps Brattleboro Businesses Thrive By Increasing Plant-Based Food Options

by LBritt | Business

Brattleboro, VT – Compassionate Brattleboro is excited to announce the launch of Compassionate Dining (compassionatedining.com). This volunteer group is inspiring people to eat compassionately, sustainably, and healthfully by increasing the availability of plant-based dining options. This work helps businesses–and the community at-large–thrive by fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment for locals and visitors alike. 

Business partners are being added every day and now include High Thai, India Masala House, Superfresh!, Tavernier Chocolates, and Vegan A.F. These businesses are showing off their participation by displaying the Compassionate Dining certificate and, during April, many of them will put up smiling carrot balloons to call attention to their delicious plant-based offerings.

Selectboard Meeting Notes – New Board Thinks About New Budget

by cgrotke | Town News
sb swearing in fire chief april 1 2025

The newest version of the Brattleboro Selectboard had their first regular meeting, and it was quite something. Chair Liz McLoughlin kept things under control but things weren’t going her way most of the evening. The public was riled, the new members had “ideas,” and her suggestions weren’t always easily agreed upon by others. It was a long meeting.

The primary focus of the night was what to do about the rejected FY26 budget and how to go about doing it. It’s not 100% determined, but generally there will be lots of meetings in April (most Tuesdays and Thursdays), including a listing session to hear why the budget was rejected, a meeting to discuss what was heard at the listening session, and more meetings to discuss whatever then needs to be discussed. There will also be one or two special Representative Town Meetings to vote on whatever gets presented.

And, our new Fire Chief was sworn-in. There was much rejoicing.

No Joke

by MarkTwain© | Other

April First – I had wanted to play an April F00ls’ joke and came up with the idea of a bogus announcement that an expedition to discover the East Pole is underway. But then I realized that the joke will not work because any educated person knows that the East Pole was discovered decades ago.

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – April 1, 2025

by cgrotke | Town News

The newest iteration of the Brattleboro Selectboard will ease into their work year at their first regular meeting with an approval of an outdoor consumption permit for Snow Republic, then will take assignments for signing warrants and committee assignments and adopt rules of conduct. 

The Town Manager will review the budget re-development process with the board and supply his list of proposed cuts – to services.

The final item will be approval of a plan to re-paint bike lanes on Western Avenue in a new single-side-of-the-road pattern from Green Street to Exit 2 when the road is paved later this year.  You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation, and the board is free to engage with you on those items but not take any action.

More Buildings Open for Occupancy at SIT in Brattleboro

by Not Signed In | Town News

About 24 hours after emergency personnel responded to multiple fires at the School for International Training (SIT) campus, nine of the 26 buildings on campus have been cleared for occupancy, with three more expected to open tomorrow.

The American Red Cross plans to keep the temporary shelter open and provide food to those affected through the weekend as more buildings are cleared for occupancy. About three dozen people will remain in the shelter through Friday evening.

“At this time, SIT is taking things day by day as we focus on the well-being of our refugee students,” said Tim Rivera, Senior Advisor of World Learning & SIT. “We continue to assess the situation in all of our buildings and are looking forward to when we can resume normal operations on our campus. We would like to express our enormous gratitude to the Red Cross for their care and professionalism throughout.”

Brattleboro Three-Alarm Fire at SIT Quickly Contained, Emergency Response

by Not Signed In | Police & Fire

On March 26, 2025, at approximately 11:11 a.m., Brattleboro emergency personnel received call of a fire alarm activation at the School of International Training (SIT), located at 1 Kipling Road in Brattleboro. Units arrived at 11:19 a.m., and first-arriving crews located a fire in Gamble Residence, a building on the north end of the campus.

After locating the fire, Captain Emery upgraded the incident to a first-alarm assignment, calling in additional crews.

The incident was upgraded to a second alarm after fires were located in other buildings. There were active fires in a total of five of the 26 buildings on campus. The call was upgraded to a three-alarm fire at approximately 11:45 a.m., and additional equipment and personnel were called to the scene.

Noticed Around Brattleboro – Spring 2025

by cgrotke | Town News

What have you noticed? Little things matter.

Add any items that have caught your eye recently… such as:

– The Estey Organ Museum is featured in the AAA Explorer magazine. They got a nice photo, a few paragraphs of praise and even a mention of their program to give away organs. 

Brattleboro Selectboard Elects Liz McLoughlin Chair

by cgrotke | Town News

New Brattleboro Selectboard members Oscar Heller, Amanda Ellis-Thurber, Isaac Evans Franz were sworn in by Town Clerk Hilary Francis to begin the organizational meeting.

Peter Case nominated a slate of candidates:  Elizabeth McLoughlin as Chair, Oscar Heller as Vice Chair, and Isaac Evans-Frantz as Clerk.  The board voted 5-0 to approve the slate.

Returning Chair Liz then took comments from the board and public participation.

Town of Brattleboro to Revise FY26 Budget Following RTM Vote

by Not Signed In | Town News

Following the Representative Town Meeting’s (RTM) vote not to approve the Town of Brattleboro’s proposed FY26 budget, the newly seated Selectboard will begin work to revise and resubmit a new budget proposal.

“We stated our reasoning and knew it was an uphill climb,” said Selectboard member Peter Case, “but we live in a community that still respects democracy, so now it’s back to the drawing board.”

The original FY26 budget included a combination of strategic investments to address community safety concerns and build long-term capacity. It proposed funding for additional police officers to respond to sustained increases in crime, while also supporting the behind- the-scenes work needed to launch One Brattleboro—a collaborative initiative that brings together public safety, social service providers, and community partners to reduce future reliance on police through prevention, outreach, and coordinated response.

Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office By Appointment Only

by Not Signed In | Town News

Due to reduced staffing, meetings with the Town Manager’s Office will be by appointment only for the foreseeable future. Please contact Jessica Sticklor at 802-251-8115 or email her at jsticklor@brattleboro.gov to make an appointment. You can also email the Town Manager directly at townmanager@brattleboro.gov. 

Found 1 Cell Phone on Western Ave

by PeterW | Other

Found on Western Ave near the Dim Sum place.At about 1:30pm Saturday 3/22/25
No damage. I doubt it was in the road very long.
Turned into the Fire House downtown. They told me they would be giving it to the Brattleboro Police.
Good luck.

Brattleboro Selectboard Organizational Meeting

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold an organizational meeting on Monday, March 24, 2025 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Brattleboro Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 212) and over Zoom. The attached agenda contains information on how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.”  ASL interpreters will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members. There is no backup for this meeting.

Brattleboro Appoints Jay Symonds as Fire Chief

by Not Signed In | Police & Fire
Jay Symonds

The Town of Brattleboro is pleased to announce the appointment of Jay Symonds to the role of Fire Chief of the Brattleboro Fire Department. Symonds brings an extensive record of experience in fire and emergency medical services, disaster response, and leadership. Symonds will begin his new role on April 7, 2025.

“Chief Symonds has a track record that matches the excellence of the team at the Brattleboro Fire Department,” said Brattleboro Town Manager John Potter. “He’s joining our community with decades of experience as a paramedic, firefighter, educator, and member of the National Guard.”

Symonds previously served with the Manlius Fire Department in upstate New York as a lieutenant and public safety coordinator, overseeing staff EMS education and recertification. Throughout his career, he has held various leadership roles, including five years as Assistant Fire Chief of the Sherburne Fire Department, also in upstate New York.

Charter Revision Commission Forum March 31, 2025

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Charter Revision Commission invites Brattleboro residents to a discussion on the form of Brattleboro’s annual town meeting.

The meeting will take place on Monday, March 31, 2025, 6 to 8 p.m. in the Main Reading Room at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main Street, and will be broadcast live on BCTV Channel 1079, BCTV’s YouTube Channel, Facebook Page and website, Brattleborotv.org.

The Charter and information about the Charter Revision Commission, including a summary of the forms of annual town meeting and a Frequently Asked Questions sheet, are available at Brattleboro.gov.