News and information sections, from near to far
The Brattleboro Parking Department would like to advise everyone that the winter parking ban will go into effect, starting Friday, November 15, 2024. Overnight parking is forbidden on all streets in the town of Brattleboro. Vehicles parked for longer than one (1) hour between 11:00pm and 07:00am may be ticketed and towed at the owner’s expense.
THIS BAN IS IN EFFECT EVEN IF THERE IS NO SNOW ON TOWN STREETS.
Expanding on a practice of the last several years, Bob Oeser and David Levenbach have planned to host two forums for District 9 (formerly District 3) residents, the first once the Town Manager has issued a budget proposal for consideration by the Selectboard and the second shortly before Representative Town Meeting after the Selectboard has approved a recommended budget and the other warned items are known.
Town Manager Potter discussed the Administration’s “base budget” proposal at the Nov 5 Selectboard meeting (a base budget involves no new services and no new staff positions but does include normal adjustments for inflation, contract obligations for unionized employees, capital expenditures for equipment and projects, and lesser things). Funding that proposal would necessitate a 14% increase in property taxes. This base budget did not include municipal expenses associated with the new waste management program, an issue still to be resolved, but the Selectboard told Administration that it wanted the most costly possible outcome (to the tune of $1.4 million) included in the base budget. That would mean potentially a 22% increase in property taxes.
The Town of Brattleboro will be transitioning to a new parking system beginning November 21, 2024, marking a significant shift in how parking is managed. Key features include:
– A Pay by Plate system, eliminating the former Pay and Display method
– The removal of all on-street parking meters
– The installation of parking kiosks throughout the downtown area
– A Pay by Text option, in addition to the existing mobile app
– New signage throughout town that will display instructions, including how to use the app and text service
On Monday November 18th, Green Mountain Power will be relocating an overhead power line to be buried under Melchen Road. Crews will start at the top of Melchen Road and work their way down towards Hinesburg Road. A full closure is expected within their working area from 8:00am to 4:00pm, Monday the 18th through Friday the 22nd. Residents should plan accordingly and seek alternate routes. Emergency services are aware of this closure and will implement a plan to continue to provide any services needed beyond this closure.
Crews were dispatched to 671 Kelly Road in Brattleboro at 07:37 on Nov. 13, 2024, for a reported brush fire. On arrival, crews reported approximately 5 acres burning.
The fire has since been contained, and crews will be on the scene for an extended period of time to extinguish the blaze. Fire Department crews from Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, Putney, Newbrook, along with the Brattleboro Department of Public Works, are on the scene. Keene is providing coverage for the Brattleboro Central Station.
In person Class with Patti Newton – Pre registration required contact me for details – Bach Flower Remedies and Gemstones as wellness tools based on the phenomenon of resonance.
The Town of Brattleboro is looking for citizens to serve on the following committees and boards:
ADA Committee
Arts Committee
Conservation Commission
Design Review Board (Alternate)
Brattleboro, VT — The southbound lane of Canal Street will be closed from South Main Street to Elm Street on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, from 09:30 to 12:30. The closure will facilitate ongoing debris removal following the recent fire at 45 Canal Street. Demolition crews will be on-site throughout the day to safely clear the affected area which could create traffic delays in the area.
Southbound traffic on Canal Street will be detoured via Flat & Elm Streets or South Main & Washington Streets. The northbound lane will remain open, but drivers should anticipate periodic delays to accommodate trucks and equipment entering and exiting the site.
On Friday, November 8, Station Two was dispatched at 14:34 hours to the area of 357 Melchen Road for a reported power line down. Engine 1 arrived in the area to report a power line down in the woods with a brush fire. Crews reported 1-2 acres burning and requested to upgrade to a first alarm. The fire spread quickly due to high winds, and the incident was upgraded to three alarms.
The response involved all Brattleboro Fire units and staff, as well as personnel, brush trucks, all-terrain vehicles, and tankers from neighboring departments, including from Guilford, Dummerston, Putney, Westminster, Halifax, Newbrook, Townshend, Wilmington, Keene, Spofford, Walpole, Chesterfield, Westmoreland, North Walpole, Swanzey, and Greenfield. Chesterfield, Walpole, Westminster, and Cheshire EMS provided coverage for the Brattleboro stations.
Brattleboro, VT — The southbound lane of Canal Street will be closed from South Main Street to Elm Street on Monday, November 11, 2024, due to ongoing debris removal following the recent fire at 45 Canal Street. Demolition crews will be on-site throughout most of the day to safely clear the affected area.
Southbound traffic on Canal Street will be detoured via Flat & Elm Streets or South Main & Washington Streets. The northbound lane will remain open, but drivers should anticipate periodic delays to accommodate trucks and equipment entering and exiting the site.
As the budget process gets going, Town staff will ask the Brattleboro Selectboard to approve a $700,000 police substation at a special meeting on November 12. The board will also be asked to put the Esteyville Gazebo project out to bid, and will tinker with the Parking Ordinance.
You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
• Approve minutes from previous meetings
• Review of grant applications.
• Revise the Town Charter Commission Suggestion for Inclusion of the Human Services Review Committee.
Brattleboro, VT —Canal Street will be closed from South Main Street to Elm Street on Friday, November 8, 2024, due to ongoing emergency services operations and debris removal following the recent fire at 45 Canal Street. Demolition crews will be on-site throughout most of the day to safely clear the affected area.
Southbound traffic on Canal Street will be detoured via Flat & Elm Streets or South Main & Washington Streets. The northbound lane will be detoured down Elm St and onto Flat St, but drivers should anticipate periodic delays to accommodate trucks and equipment entering and exiting the site.
Reports of explosion and big fire on Canal Street. Internet out for many. Firefighters on scene.
In observance of Veterans’ Day, all Brattleboro Town Offices will be closed on Monday, November 11, 2024, with the exception of emergency services.
Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Monday, November 11. All other violations will be enforced.
Brooks Memorial Library will be closed on Monday, November 11, 2024.
The second installment of the 2024 Brattleboro Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes will be due by 5 p.m. on November 15, 2024. Payments made after November 15, 2024 will have an additional 1% interest added to the unpaid balance.
The Town of Brattleboro utility bills are also due by 5 p.m. on November 15, 2024. Payments made after November 15, 2024 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.
The Brattleboro Selectboard discussed the “base budget” – a budget with no changes to services from current levels – at Tuesday’s Election Night meeting. As is, they said, it would be a 22% increase. Board members agreed it was a difficult budget, but none had any big ideas for getting the increase to a more manageable level.
Citizens attending had ideas – eliminate raises, cut Municipal Center hours to 32 hours a week for most employees, cut positions, and throw it all out and build up from what is truly necessary were suggested. Personnel costs, they noted, were the big numbers.
In a flashback to the era of Barb Sondag we heard the Town Manager ask the board to simply tell him what services they’d like to cut from the people of Brattleboro…
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at 5:50pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room.
We hear a lot of stories about people who were cheated out of their life savings or were scammed by so-called home improvement companies that collected money and never did the work. They all seem to have a sad ending. Well, I want to tell you a story with a happy ending.
My wife and I agreed to have our house painted and we found a person who had advertised himself on social media. He came to our house and he seemed very charming. From the start, my wife didn’t trust him. She kept saying she had a bad feeling about this guy, partly because he did not have any of the credentials of a businessman.
The Town of Brattleboro is announcing the retirement of Fire Chief Leonard Howard III, whose dedication to the Brattleboro Fire Department and the community it serves extends back to the 1980s. Chief Howard’s retirement becomes effective on Dec. 31, 2024.
“I’m proud to be in the fire service. It’s been the best job in the world,” said Chief Howard. “I’ve enjoyed helping people, and seeing my staff progress and be successful. I think they’re in a good place, and they have a good future ahead of them.”
Chief Howard joined the Brattleboro Fire Department in 1987 as a member of its call staff, a role in which he served for a decade. When he joined, Howard was among about 30 volunteers who helped support career firefighters during major events. Starting in 1988, days after graduating high school, Howard took a job at the Brattleboro Public Works’ Utilities Division.
