Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will be holding a big party Tuesday night. Just kidding. They will be holding a special meeting to begin discussion of the FY17 Budget, and to quite possibly adopt new Land Use Regulations for the Town of Brattleboro, an event that last occured in the 1980s. So perhaps there will be a party of some sort.

You are encouraged, invited, summoned, requested, asked, appealled for, solicited, incited, provoked and generally called forth into attending this meeting and expressing your views on these and other matters.

A few atypical work items were undertaken by the Brattleboro Selectboard at Tuesday’s meeting. These are things that boards do, but just not that often. 

The board bought and sold property, announced a new library director, held a close-out hearing on a Brooks House grant that got a bit heated, and contemplated long-term strategies for staffing and economic development. Plans for public meetings on the Police-Fire project’s latest form were also set, and more.

At their first Tuesday meeting in November, the Brattleboro Selectboard will consider overfilling the police department staff positions in an effort to help better retain and recruit new police officers.

The board will have some land transactions to undertake, will annouce committee vacancies, re-annouce meeting dates, and will have a discussion of economic development strategy. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation at the start of the meeting.

Watch on BCTV and read about it all here after the meeting.

The Brattleboro Regional Economic Hub Study Group will meet on Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 6:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Human Services Review Committee will meet on Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 6:30pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Committee will enter into executive session at 6:30pm to discuss records exempt from access to public records.

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

The Brattleboro Energy Committee will meet on Monday, November 2, 2015 at 5:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office

Public input was a main theme of a long meeting of few agenda items Tuesday night. 

The public is called upon for input to the police and fire facilities question once again. The public is invited to weigh in on upcoming budget discussions. And the public had some feedback at the meeting regarding Brattleboro’s new land use regulations.

The board also heard a monthly finance report and approved of some EPA brownfield grant related matters. Read on for all the details.

Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast  
October 16,  2015
Gibson-Aiken Center   

Restorative Justice             

“Community … is made from conflict as much as from cooperation; the capacity to resolve conflict is what gives social relations their sinew.”   David Cayley, The Expanding Prison 1998 (quoting Nils Christie, “Conflicts as Property,” 1977)

Darah Kehnemuyi, Executive Director  

Does anyone have more information about the current power outage effecting parts of Brattleboro?

Tuesday night the Brattleboro Selectboard will hold the first of two public hearings on the town’s new land use regulations. The new zoning rules are up for a final round of public discussion and comment, and a final opportunity to propose changes, before likely adoption in the near future.

At this special meeting, they will also officially announce a series of public meetings to discuss the Police-Fire Facilities project, and possible pre-select pre-qualified engineering firms to perform brownfield site assessments.

You can attend and participate, and bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.

The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, October 26, 2015 at 5:30pm at Brooks Memorial Library in the community room.

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

The Brattleboro Selectboard meeting previously scheduled on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 has been cancelled. A special Selectboard meeting is scheduled on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 5:30pm and reconvene for the business meeting at 6:15pm. An agenda for the October 27 meeting will be available and posted on the Town’s website by Friday, October 23.

TOWN OF BRATTLEBORO
Town Manager’s Office
230 Main Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
(802) 254-8151 FAX (802) 257-2322

The following dates have been scheduled for Brattleboro’s curbside Fall Leaf Collection. All locations will be picked up each Friday:

Leaf Pick Up Date

ALL RESIDENTS Friday, October 23, 2015

ALL RESIDENTS Friday, November 6, 2015

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 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 Tree Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at 7:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 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 Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 8:00am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

In observance of Columbus Day, all Town offices will be closed on Monday, October 12, 2015, with the exception of emergency services.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Sunday and Monday, October 11 and 12, 2015. All other violations will be enforced.

Brooks Memorial Library will be closed on Sunday and Monday, October 11 and 12, 2015.

Trash, recycling and composting will be picked up on the normal schedule. It is NOT affected by the holiday.

The Brattleboro Selectboard had their first discussion of an option to buy the Reformer building on Black Mountain Road to use for a new police station, as well as the process to decide if the property should be purchased at all. Nothing specific was decided, except that public input was required before the Selectboard could feel confident to make a recommendation. Public comment is expected to come at special meetings to be scheduled, and via other informal feedback. 

The Our Town grant was awarded, other grants were accepted and applied for, and other special meetings requesting your input will be scheduled to focus on the FY17 budget and the adoption of new Land Use Regulations.

Restorative Justice

“Community … is made from conflict as much as from cooperation; the capacity to resolve conflict is what gives social relations their sinew.”  David Cayley, The Expanding Prison 1998 (quoting Nils Christie, “Conflicts as Property,” 1977)

The next Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast is planned for Friday, October 16, 2015 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals. Doors open at 7:30am.

We plan to hear from and meet with Darah  Kehnemuyi, the new Executive Director of the Brattleboro Community Justice Center.