News & Information

News and information sections, from near to far

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Town Meeting Petition Triggers Public Vote On Brattleboro Budget

by cgrotke | Town News

The registered voters of Brattleboro will have an opportunity to vote on the town budget within a few weeks. David Gartenstein told fellow Brattleboro Selectboard members that a successful petition by fifty-six Town Meeting Representatives will trigger a town-wide vote by ballot, as stipulated in the Town Charter, allowing for voters at-large to weigh in on the $16.2 million budget.

The Police Fire Facility Project committee has been requested by the board to look for additional ways to cut costs. New cell phone towers, solar arrays, skatepark location possibilities, and more were also discussed Tuesday evening.

Petition Succeeds

by spoon | Town News

56 Town meeting Member signatures were collected calling for a town-wide vote on the budget (Article 19 of the warning for Representative Town Meeting).  This exceeds the minimum requirement of 50.  The Selectboard now has 10 days to set the date for the vote which must be within 15 days thereafter.  Thus the first two if not all three of the initial steps will be concluded in April.  If the budget is defeated the Selectboard will have to call a Special Representative Town Meeting to present a new budget.

Heavy Rains Delay Closing Rt. 30 for Bridge Repair Work

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

Good Morning:

The heavy rains we’re getting have resulted in a slow down on the project. We now anticipate that we won’t be ready to do the work that necessitates the closing of VT RT 30 until April 9 or later. I will let everyone know as soon as we’ve set the new dates.

When it rains, it pours,

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – April 1, 2014

by cgrotke | Town News

The “new” Brattleboro Selectboard will have their first regular Tuesday meeting of the year on April 1.

There are some atypical items on the agenda awaiting them, too. There will be a Representative Town Meeting follow-up discussion, and an issuance of a Health Order against Susan Rockwell, owner of 19 Elm Street.

Also on the agenda, a new cell tower for Meadowbrook Road, an update from the Skatepark Site Selection Committee, a request for additional solar energy use, and more.

You can watch on BCTV or attend in person. If you go, you may bring up additional items not on the agenda during Public Participation.

Vermont Official Warns U.S. Senate Panel: Don’t Let Transportation Funding Run Out

by Not Signed In | State News

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 27 – Testifying at the invitation of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Vermont Agency of Transportation Deputy Secretary Sue Minter warned a Senate panel today that a looming shortfall in federal transportation funding could put people out of work in Vermont and “tip the balance of our fragile economic recovery.”

Projects slated for this construction season could be cancelled unless Congress acts soon to shore up the federal Highway Trust Fund, which is projected to be depleted by July.

“Reducing or eliminating transportation projects translates into job losses in the construction industry,” Minter told the Senate public works committee. “In a small state like ours, this can tip the balance on our fragile economic recovery.”

A Local Gas Tax?

by AHubbard | Town Plan

Brattleboro is in a very tough spot. The town has suffered three severe economic blows in the past 5 years, in cascading order from national to state to local: The Mortgage Crisis, Tropical Storm Irene and the Brooks House Fire. Each event had a multiplying effect on the Town as revenue and equity evaporated from the region.

The mortgage crisis sapped equity from our homes and crippled real estate values which, in turn, crimped the tax revenue and town budgets. Tropical Storm Irene washed untold millions of equity downstream and cost millions more in repairs and rebuilding. And when the central block of your downtown lies vacant for three years, the economic scars seem fairly tangible.

Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Note RT Closure Scheduled for April 4-11

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge in the Fall of 2015.

Weather permitting, night work will be conducted Sunday night, March 30th through Saturday night, April 5th.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Spring of 2016.

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting in Montpelier

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting in Montpelier on Wednesday, March 26, 2014. The Board will meet with the Governor, Legislators and other officials starting at 1:00pm, to discuss regional economic hubs, State plans for Vermont Yankee settlement funds, State aid to municipalities for class 1 roads and other regional matters.

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

State Rail Plan Meeting – Increase Passenger Train Service In Connecticut River Valley?

by cgrotke | State News

From the Vermont Rail Action Network – a call to discuss additional train service in the region. Is it important? They are having a meeting and would like to know what you think.

….

“Tuesday’s meeting in Brattleboro is an important chance to demonstrate public support for additional trains in the Connecticut River Valley.

The meeting will be 6:30 pm, March 25 in the community room at Brattleboro Savings & Loan (221 Main Street, across the street from the library).

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Organizational Meeting

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special organizational meeting on Monday, March 24, 2014, at 8:00am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. The purpose of the meeting is to swear in the new board members and elect officers.

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

Strolling of the Heifers Welcomes Merchants Bank as 2014 Presenting Sponsor

by MartinLangeveld | Business

Strolling of the Heifers has announced thatMerchants Bank will continue as Presenting Sponsor of the upcoming Strolling of the Heifers Weekend, Slow Living Summit and Tour de Heifer.

Stroll Weekend takes place June 6-8, with the world-famous Strolling of the Heifers Parade as its centerpiece on Saturday, June 7, followed by the all-day, 11-acre Slow Living Expo, all taking place in downtown Brattleboro.

The Slow Living Summit, a conference on mindful, artful living and connected, resilient communities, takes place just before the weekend on June 4-6, while the Tour de Heifer, a set of 15, 30 and 60-mile farm-to-farm cycling tours, happens on Sunday, June 8.

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project Update: Week of March 23 and RT 30 Closure

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge in the Fall of 2015.

Weather permitting, night work will be conducted Sunday night, March 23rd through Friday night, March 29th.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Spring of 2016.

Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently both day and night, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Brattleboro Begins Work To Recognize Martin Luther King Day

by cgrotke | Town News

It’s not official yet, but the Brattleboro Selectboard promised that the town will take steps to recognize Martin Luther King Day as a town holiday, despite concerns of complexity voiced by the Interim Town Manager and the results of an informal poll of town staff. 

Sidewalk plowing on Cedar Street was debated, but with the snow season coming to an end the board decided to contemplate the issue for a while longer before making any decisions.

Duo gets a loan, CRT gets a memo of understanding, and the Fire Department is staffed well. All this and more follows below.

Skatepark Site Selection Committee Minutes Draft – March 13, 2014

by cgrotke | Town Plan

Meeting called to order: at 5:20 PM

Members present: Joe Bushey, Marty Fitzgerald, Betsy Gentile, Elizabeth McLouglin, Jacob Roberts, Andrea Watkins. Others present: Jeff Clark, Francine Vallario, Howard Weiss-­‐Tisman, Linda Whelihan, Patty Fitzgerald

Agenda:

  • Public Participation

    Jeff Clark, the chair of BASIC informed the SSSC members that there might be vacancies coming up on their committee. He thought some members from SSSC might be interested in seeing the skate park project through to completion (possibly a new design, fund raising and building) and would be welcome to serve on BASIC as members or consultants. Chair, Betsy Gentile, replied that it would be a very good idea and a logical step for members to consider when their work on the site selection committee was completed.