News and information sections, from near to far
The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 4:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
The Brattleboro Tree Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 7:00pm at 9 Southern Avenue (257-1164). NOTE: new location for this meeting only.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
The fourth installment of the 2013 Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes will be due on May 15, 2014 by 5:00 PM. Payments made after May 15, 2014 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.
The utility billing is also due on May 15, 2014 by 5:00 PM. Payments made after May 15, 2014 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.
UPPER DUMMERSTON ROAD UPDATE: Upper Dummerston Road will remain open for the remainder of this week and next week. We do not anticipate any further closures of Upper Dummerston Road until later this spring or summer.
Cindy Cook
Principal, Adamant Accord, Inc.
Past Vice President, Association for Conflict Resolution
Friends of the West River Trail has re-routed the section of the trail between the southern trailhead near the Marina Restaurant and the I-91 bridge. The new section of trail passes under the interstate on the hill just below the bridge abutment, offering a great vantage point to watch the bridge construction.
From the southern trailhead, the trail extends for 3.5 miles north to Rice Farm Road in Dummerston and is open to the public for walking, bicycling, fishing, and nature study. Wildflowers are abundant, and now is a great time to enjoy the trail!
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.
There will be no night work the week of May 11.
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.
Former New England Center for Circus Arts student Samantha Pitard was one of the eight circus acrobats that fell at a Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey circus show in Providence.
She’s the only performer released from the hospital so far.
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Elsie Smith, NECCA co-founder and Artistic Director, said doing aerial arts is like driving a car. ”You learn slowly, and know that there is danger in what you are doing. There are bumps and bruises and fender benders along the way, and every once in a while there is an accident like a pile up on the interstate that gets a lot of attention.”
UPPER DUMMERSTON CLOSURE UPDATE: Demolition work on the I-91 Bridge over Upper Dummerston Road will be halted later today, May 7. Upper Dummerston will remain open from later today through to the morning of Monday, May 12.
Our work and the Upper Dummerston Road closure will resume at 7:00 AM Monday, May 12th and will be completed Wednesday, May 14th. Upper Dummerston road will only be closed during the day from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM and will be reopened at night. We do not anticipate any night work for the closure.
The FY15 budget was again the focus of discussion for the Brattleboro Selectboard. At their regular Tuesday meeting they refined their positions on what cuts to aim for, and instructed the Interim Town Manager to prepare and bring options to their next special meeting to discuss and decide on the budget. This, despite significant disagreement amongst board members over which way to proceed.
In other news, work will begin on a plan to implement some sort of Pay As You Throw system to comply with state law. The board decided to hire a consultant, quite likely Moss Kahler, to assist.
There was also ample discussion of heifers, bridges, the parking budget and more.
Strolling of the Heifers … Slow Living Summit . . . . and the River Garden!
The “Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast” will take place on Friday, May 16, 2014 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals. Doors open at 7:30am.
We plan to hear from Orly Munzing , Strolling of the Heifers Founder and Executive Director who will talk about the Strolling, the Slow Living Summit and the River Garden and invite questions and suggestions.
Governor Peter Shumlin has issued a proclamation declaring May 10, 2014 as “Winston Prouty Center for Child Development Day in Vermont.”
The proclamation coincides with the The Prouty Center’s 25th Taste of the Town fundraiser, which will take place May 10th, from 6:30-10:30pm at the International Center on the campus of SIT Graduate Institute.
The proclamation reads:
An alternate route for the West River Trail that provides recreational use of the trail near the construction access road has been opened at the Marina Trailhead. Signage has been installed providing clear direction to recreational users of the trail. There are intersections between construction access and the trail; users are strongly encouraged to exercise extreme caution at these intersections. As an additional safety precaution, users of the West River Trail are reminded to keep pets on a leash when using the trail in this area.
The next monthly meeting of the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will be held at the New England House
on Thursday, May 8th at 6:00 PM. The guests are Pat Moulton Powden and Laura Sibilia of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation/BDCC and the Southeast Vermont Economic Development Strategies/SeVEDS. Their discussion will likely focus on the recently published regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy/CEDS plan.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will return to the discussion of what to do about the FY15 budget at their next regular Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center. You can attend in person or watch on BCTV.
The board will also take first steps toward a state-mandated Pay As You Throw system, the Planning Department will receive grant money for a rewrite of the zoning regulations, there will be discussion and approval of a Parking budget, the Heifers will get a parade permit, and more. You can also bring up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation.
I am hoping that people bring their cameras to Brattleboro tonight.
We are mere hours away from the arrival of the UFO, and ir would be a shame to not have it be well documented.
Green Mountain Crossroads Announces New Executive Director
Brattleboro, VT (05/01/14) – The Green Mountain Crossroads (GMC) Board of Directors has appointed HB Lozito as its new Executive Director. Green Mountain Crossroads works to strengthen the community, conversation, and identity of rural LGBTQ folks in Southern Vermont and throughout the region. Lozito joins GMC with varied experience as a grassroots organizer, advocate, designer, educator, and leader in the LGBTQ community. The Board is thrilled to have Lozito join GMC and eager to see them succeed in this new position.
The Brattleboro Energy Committee will meet on Monday, May 5, 2014 at 5:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
The Brattleboro ADA Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, May 9, 2014 at 10:00am at the Marlboro College Graduate Center in the VCIL conference room.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
The Brattleboro Selectboard held their special meeting to continue discussion of the FY15 budget on Thursday with a large crowd in attendance that included many town meeting representatives and town staff, along with others including some that rarely attend public meetings of any sort.
No decisions were made, but the Selectboard seemed to be sticking to their previously announced views, a 3-2 majority favoring significant cuts beyond the elimination of the second bond.
The public seemed divided as well, with some insisting they could afford increases and would like the same budget as before, while others expressed real issues with tax increases and asked for relief.
