For stories pertaining to the town of Brattleboro at large and its government.
Notice to Taxpayers
The taxpayers of the Town of Brattleboro are hereby notified and warned that Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes assessed upon the Grand List of 2020 are now due and payable to the Town Treasurer at the Treasurer’s Office in the Brattleboro Municipal Center, 230 Main Street, Suite 111, Brattleboro, Vermont, in four equal installments as follows:
The Brattleboro Selectboard is holding another meeting, and you are invited to catch up on town business such as financial reports, water and sewer improvements, purchase of winter sand, and more. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The Brattleboro Selectboard held another special meeting via Zoom to discuss an RFP for review of police and community safety. It was long meeting that resulted in sending the draft RFP to town staff for further changes and possible approval at the August 18 meeting.
Warning: Offensive Descriptions Below!
Tuesday’s meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard was unusual in multiple respects. The remnants of a hurricane passed overhead, causing power outages and damage across the region, it was the first time the board tried a meeting using Zoom rather than GoToMeeting, and the meeting was hijacked by someone.
The weather event the board was ready for. They met on Zoom as scheduled, using a phone version of the Zoom app because power was lost as the wind and rain picked up.
About 16 minutes into the meeting an unidentified male joined and “zoom bombed” the meeting.
Return your ballots now! Be sure your vote is counted!
The safest practice is to either bring ballots to the collection box in the Municipal Building parking lot or to bring them in person to the American Legion by 7:00 on Tuesday, August 11.
Stay safe!
Good Morning –
Attached is the proposed RFP submitted by the community members for review at this Thursday’s Selectboard meeting. This document has been posted in the section of the Town’s website where Selectboard meeting backup materials are posted. Also posted there for easy reference are the related documents that the Selectboard has reviewed at its meetings on July 7 and July 21.
Please assist us in advising the public that these documents are all available for review in advance of the August 6 Selectboard meeting.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold two meetings next week. The first is their regular Tuesday meeting at which they will approve water and sewer construction contracts, set a date certain for Representative Town Meeting 2020, set property tax rates, buy winter sand, resume water shutoffs for commercial and industrial customers, and more.
Their second meeting of the week will be on Thursday, to review the Community Safety RFP.
You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
“After our recent discussion about the advantages of using Zoom for Representative Town Meeting,” said Brattleboro Selectboard Chair Tim Wessel, “I realized there are several reasons to go ahead and try Zoom now for Selectboard meetings. It’s more well-known to regular users than GoToMeeting, more user-friendly, and we will have time to ‘break-in’ the service as both a host and as users well in advance of RTM.” Wessel added that “the security concerns we had in March that swayed us toward GoToMeeting are no longer present.”
The Brattleboro Tree Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday, August 6, 2020, at 7:00pm at 9 Southern Avenue, Brattleboro (telephone 257-1164).
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
Here are the chat box comments from last night’s meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.
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6:32 PM
Rikki Risatti (they/them/their/theyre) to Everyone
i have a public business comment
6:32 PM
The Brattleboro Selectboard discussed and pretty much decided on a way to hold Representative Town Meeting. It will be a 26 hour Zoom meeting. Well, perhaps not 26 hours, but there are concerns. They’ll make the meeting style and dates official at their next regular meeting.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, July 28, 2020, via GoToMeeting. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 5:30pm to discuss contracts and confidential attorney-client communications made for the purpose of providing professional legal services to the body. The Board will reconvene the business meeting at 6:15pm. In keeping with Governor Scott’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order, this meeting will be held with no physical location using GoToMeeting. The attached agenda contains information about how to access the meeting remotely. ASL interpreters will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.
The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, July 27, 2020, at 5:30pm via GoToMeeting. In keeping with Governor Scott’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” order, this meeting will be held with no physical location using GoToMeeting. The attached agenda contains information about how to access the meeting remotely.
Here’s the full text of the document discussed at the July 21, 2020 meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard:
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July, 21, 2020
Collaborative Community Statement Regarding the Brattleboro Policing/Community Safety Review Process
Summary Statement
We are seeking a review process focused on a comprehensive examination of community safety and policing in Brattleboro to determine whether the police force effectively meets the communities’ needs, and to determine how to best fund and support community safety.
Below you will find all of the comments from the Selectboard meeting chat box for Tuesday July 21, 2020. This conversation isn’t archived and doesn’t become part of the public record, but it does happen.
6:12 PM
Brandie to Everyone
I am on the phone so patrick will need to let me in..lol
There was just one topic for the Brattleboro Selectboard meeting this week: the police review process.
It took hours, but they approved a community-led writing of an RFP to detail a community safety program to be voted on in early August.
A special meeting to discuss Representative Town Meeting will occur next Tuesday.
WHAT IS NEW TODAY
• Here are links to 3 important COVID-19 financial relief programs offered by the State of Vermont for renters, landlords, and sole proprietor businesses:
o Emergency Mortgage Assistance- https://www.vhfa.org/documents/images/vt_map_flyer.pdf
o Rental Housing Stabilization Fund – https://www.vsha.org/rental-housing-stabilization-program/
o Vermont Sole Proprietor Stabilization Fund – https://www.vermont-cdbg-cv.com/
The next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard will be devoted to a single topic – the continued discussion of a potential police review process.
The previous conversation left off with two competing proposals – one from the board and one from community groups working with these issues – and a request that the selectboard’s proposal be withdrawn. The board wanted time to consider merging the two proposals.
You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
Handy Stations were the primary topic of a special virtual meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. The board approved spending $3,600 on three artistic devices to help people sanitize their hands downtown. If it works out, they may spend even more on keeping people safe.
It was admitted that some hand sanitizer taped to the wall might be significantly less expensive, but a motion-sensing, artist -decorated, musical hand sanitizing station to be adopted and maintained by businesses was the preferred idea. There was also an interesting discussion about the Civil War monument.
Hydrant Flow Testing in the Town of Brattleboro
On Thursday, July 16, beginning at 9:00pm through approximately 4:00am Friday, July 17, Utilities Crews will be conducting flow tests of the hydrants around town. Residents may see water in the roadway and/or have discolored water in their homes. If you experience water discoloration, you should run the cold water for a few minutes to flush your pipes which should take care of the issue.
