News and information sections, from near to far
On Wednesday, March 17, Utilities Crews will be working in the junction of lower Main Street and Canal Street. The work will begin at 9:00 pm and continue through approximately 6:00 am Thursday morning, March 18. Traffic will be restricted in that area during the scheduled time while the Utilities Division works to repair a water main leak.
Motorists should plan to use alternate routes during this time period.
Effective immediately, the Whetstone Pathway Bridge connecting the Whetstone Pathway and the Preston Lot on Flat Street is closed.
A section of the retaining wall beneath the Whetstone Pathway Bridge has failed. The Department of Public Works is working with engineers, contractors and the State’s Stream Alteration Engineer to develop a plan for repairing the retaining wall. The bridge will be closed until the repairs are made and the safety of the bridge is restored.
Playground equipment, cemetery maintenance, and Representative Town meeting loose ends will be on the agenda for the next regular meeting for the Brattleboro Selectboard.
The board will also buy an insertion valve, hear updates on recent projects at the Windham Regional Commission, and appoint a new health officer, WRC delegates, and committee members. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
AGENDA
A. Meeting Called to Order
B. Announcements
C. Public Comment
D. Approve Minutes of January 12, 2021 and February 12, 2021 (5 minutes)
E. Approve Committee Bylaws (5 minutes)
The Brattleboro Selectboard approved of moving forward with the recommendations of the Town manager regarding the Community Safety Review Committee recommendations. Everything that can be underway is underway.
The board decided to go for a 6% investment in Cow Power and created a new fund with $70k to help reduce emissions and consumption.
On Thursday, March 4, Utilities crews will be working in the area of 80 Washington Street for a sewer repair. The road will be closed to through traffic in that area from 7:00am until approximately 3:00pm. Please seek an alternate route.
If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Department of Public Works at 802-254-4255 or email Mike Earle at mearle@brattleboro.org
Brattleboro Fire Chief Mike Bucossi has announced his retirement, effective April 1, 2021. Bucossi has served the community in the Brattleboro Fire Department (BFD) for literally his entire adult life. He became a call firefighter in 1975 during his senior year at BUHS and became a full-time firefighter two years later. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1984, to Captain in 1985, and to Assistant Chief in 2000. He became Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator in July of 2007 upon the retirement of Fire Chief / EMC Chief David Emery.
During his 43-year career full-time with BFD, Bucossi provided leadership at countless incidents. At two of the most memorable and significant, he was the Incident Commander at the Wilder Block fire on December 4, 2004, and at the Brooks House block fire on April 17, 2011. He also was the Operations Officer (second in command under then Town Manager Barbara Sondag) during the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Irene on August 28, 2011.
AGENDA
A. Meeting Called to Order (Planning Commission Chair)
B. Announcements (Planning Commission Chair)
C. Public Comment (Planning Commission Chair)
I’m attaching two PDF files here that are part of the upcoming Brattleboro Selectboard meeting.
The first is Town Manager Peter Elwell’s memo to the board regarding implementing the community safety recommendations. He gives some background information, acknowledges harm and a commitment to reckoning and collaboration, has some notes about the pace and timeframe of changes, accountability, and a bit about the way they annotated the recommendations.
The second is the list of the recommendations, now annotated by the Town with remarks. Of the 41 recommendations, 30 are marked with a “Yes” indicating that the Town can take unilateral action to accomplish the goal. Those marked “No” aren’t out of the question, but they are out of the Town’s direct control. State or federal changes would be required.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will take up Community Safety Review recommendations at their next regular meeting, which happens to fall on Town Meeting day. Town staff has provided the board with a path for adopting recommendations, if they so choose.
The board will also pick up on their conversation about Cow Power, get grant money for the new train station parking lot, and some possible money for eligible households impacted by COVID. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
Agenda
A. Introductions and announcements
B. Approve minutes
C. Review and revise draft reports
D. Public participation
E. Adjourn
Brattleboro Fire Chief Mike Bucossi announced his retirement via twitter this afternoon:
“After 43 years the end has arrived. I have retired from the Brattleboro Fire Department, effective April 1. It has been a fabulous career and a great honor to work with such a talented, dedicated group. I look forward to quality time with my beautiful wife!”
AGENDA
Call to Order
Review and Approve Minutes of previous meeting.
On the record review of Cases/Public Hearings to be reviewed under the Brattleboro Land Use Regulations. Pursuant to 24 VSA §§ 4464(a)(1)(C) and 4471(a), participation in this local proceeding is a prerequisite to the right to take any subsequent appeal.
The manufacturer of the Town’s Pay-As-You-Throw garbage bags recently sent purple bags intended for Portland, Maine, to Brattleboro retailers. That has caused some understandable confusion for customers and for Triple-T, the Town’s solid waste hauler. Compounding this confusion is the fact that the Portland bags (30.6 gallons) are slightly smaller than the Brattleboro bags (33.5 gallons). Customers who have ended up with Portland bags instead of Brattleboro bags have two options:
An extended discussion about Brattleboro becoming the largest purchaser of Cow Power ended with explanations of feelings and confusions, but no purchase agreement. The Brattleboro Selectboard was saved from making a decision by Town Manager Elwell’s suggestion to gather more data.
Lots of water and sewer improvements and activity, a thank you from Boys & Girls, and a new name for a short street rounded things out.
In October 2020, S.54, Act 164 became law. This legislation outlines how Vermont will establish retail cannabis sales. The implementation of the legislation is still very much a work in progress. The Act empowers communities to create a local cannabis control commission and for such commission to condition issuance of a local license on any zoning bylaw adopted pursuant to 24 V.S.A §4414.
The purpose of this memo is to provide information on what zoning controls are authorized under the legislation. Many details have been left to be decided on by the State Cannabis Control Board which will be formed in 2021. As currently written, the law allows the following types of zoning regulations:
Broad Brook Grange will hold its annual Pre-Town Meeting on Thursday, February 18, 7:00 pm. This year’s event will be online, via Zoom. Info on how to join the meeting is on the websites of Broad Brook Community Center, and on the Town of Guilford site, which have links below.
Town Meeting will be different this year, due to COVID, with no actual meeting. Instead, voting on articles will be by Australian ballot on Town Meeting Day.
Thus, this traditional Pre-Town Meeting — and an official informational meeting to be held by the selectboard online a week later — are the only opportunities for voters to hear details of the articles which will be voted on March 2, and to meet and discuss issues with the selectboard in advance of voting.
AGENDA
1. Minutes – December 17, 2020
2. Public Participation
3. Monthly Report on Pedestrian and Bicycle Incidents
(a) Overall Report
(b) Incident on January 2, 2021, on Canal Street near Fairview Street
There will be an emergency discussion of a Muffin Monster at the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. They’ll also discuss a new Cow Power agreement, water treatment facility funding and security, and hear an update about Brattleboro’s Boys and Girls Club operations during COVID.
The board will wrap up their meeting with a renaming of a portion of Elm Street in honor of Stanley Lynde, the well-know motorcycle shop owner. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will hold a meeting on Thursday, February 18, 2021 at 4:00pm using Zoom (with no physical location due to the ongoing social distancing requirements of COVID-19). The attached agenda contains information about how to access the meeting remotely.
