News & Information

Brattleboro is restructuring the way town employees are compensated for health care. A new program to fill the gaps of higher deductibles might end up saving taxpayers $30,000 a year while continuing to provide a solid level of coverage for employees.

The decision of the recent special Representative Town Meeting to move the police station to Black Mountain Road has been incorporated into the budget to be presented at the regular Representative Town Meeting, Bradley House might be renovated and expanded if a new package of grants is approved, the town will buy new police cars, and Donna Macomber had a final regular meeting with the board. 

Strolling of the Heifers and SEON — the Sustainable Energy Outreach Network — are partnering to present a workshop to explore collaborative opportunities between businesses in the farm, food, green building and green technology sectors.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, 157 Main Street, in Brattleboro.

The event is the second workshop in the Windham Grows series — the first was “Tech Salad,” which brought together farm, food and technology entrepreneurs on March 3.

Like Tech Salad, the March 29 event will be facilitated by Nadav Malin, president of Building Green, Inc., a Brattleboro consultancy that gathers, organizes and publishes information about green building technologies for building industry professional and policy makers.” 

By a vote of 111 Yes to 27 No, Brattleboro Town Meeting Representatives have decided to move the police station to Black Mountain Road.

This approves the concept. At their regular Representative Town Meeting later this month, representatives will vote on the budget that contains this option. That budget, and other business, remains to be approved.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will incorporate the decision of Town Meeting Representatives into their annual budget suggestion at their next meeting on Tuesday at the Municipal Center, adjusting levels of anticipated debt service payments for facility projects depending on the outcome of the vote.

The police will get police cars, the substation at Cotton Mill Hill may be upgraded, and Bradley House might be expanded and improved. They’ll also revise the town’s health insurance program for employees. You can participate in person or watch on TV, and you are free to bring up other items that aren’t on the agenda during Public Participation.

The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at 8:00am in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Thursday, March 17, 2016, at 4:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

Richard DeGray will once again bring his special grace to the Brattleboro Selectboard. The Brattleboro Reformer reports a hand count of ballots has flipped the election results, giving DeGray one additional vote and diminishing Avery Schwenk’s count by 8. http://www.reformer.com/ci_29622449/brattleboro-recount-select-board-flips-results

Previously it was reported that Schwenk had won by a single vote: 1,505 to 1,504. The new count is 1,505 for DeGray to 1,497 for Schenk: A virtual landside for the popular former Selectboard Chair.

I just read on the Reformer Facebook page that Dick Degray won the election. He won an additional vote and Avery Schwenk lost 8 votes. It will be interesting to hear more about the process.

The Brattleboro Selectboard received a detailed report on why our downtown traffic system is just about the best it can possibly be, as is. In discussing the lack of major opportunities for improvements, the name Malfunction Junction returned as shorthand for the intersection causing problems up and down Main Street.

The board also learned about the best path forward toward addressing issues related to being a hub town in Vermont, which is to form a coalition with other hub towns, such as Bennington, St. Johnsbury, and Springfield, to put pressure on the state to create new sources of revenue.

A trailer was bought, committees have new members, and the town now offers larger loans to help businesses.

Town Manager’s Office teammates Peter Ewell, Patrick Moreland and Jan Anderson take a few moments to discuss the different ways area residents can get involved with Town Meeting–whether it’s participating in the annual town meeting, attending this year’s special Town Meeting on the Police-Fire Upgrade, prepping yourself with the pre-town meeting info sessions, attending the regular selectboard meetings throughout the year, or watching all of it on BCTV. .

The next monthly meeting of the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will be held on Thursday, March 10^th at 6:00 PM in the Hayes Court Community Room on Garfield Drive (just west of the W Bratt PO). After a review of the treasury report, the WBA will discuss the status of the welcome signs and other pending issues.

A feature of this month’s meeting is the WBA hosting of District 1 Town Meeting representatives at 7:00 that evening. This is a chance for area residents to engage in an informal Q&A regarding the warrants for the upcoming March 12^th Special Town Meeting which will specifically address the proposed police/fire facilities upgrade, and to engage them in a discussion about the March 19^th Annual Representative Town Meeting. This part of the meeting will be facilitated by West Brattleboro’s own Orion Barber.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will receive a report regarding downtown traffic lights and traffic flow at their next Tuesday meeting. They will also receive a final report from the Regional Economic Hub Committee and act on that committee’s recommendation to dissolve.

The board will assist local businesses via new policies and procedures for the Small Business Assistance program, and will places fines and fees on local businesses for failing to get a business license in a timely manner.

You can participate by attending in person, or watch on BCTV. Read about the meeting the next day.

The Brattleboro Energy Committee will meet on Monday, March 7, 2016 at 5:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Tree Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 7:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.