Town News

On Thursday, March 12th at 7:00 PM, in the Hayes Court Community Room on Garfield Drive, the West
Brattleboro Association is hosting a Q&A session with District 1 Town Meeting members.  All residents, most especially District 1 residents, are invited. The hour-plus meeting will be facilitated by Orion Barber.

Immediately preceding the Q&A, at 6 PM in the same community room, the WBA will be holding its regular monthly meeting. The primary topic will be the pursuit of both Vermont and federal non-profit-hood.  If time permits, there will also be discussion of safety issues related to Marlboro Road traffic and to recent break-ins..

The Selectboard has found a way, they think, to keep the municipal tax rate the same as last year. A new dog park is anticipated to join the skatepark at the top of Living Memorial Park. There’s a new financial and budget plan in the works for the town, and new zoning is also underway.

The press, however, abandoned this meeting when there were election results to chase, leaving the board to lament a total lack of reporting, other than BCTV, of important issues.

Read on for the full report of the over four hour meeting.

Once again, the voters of the Town of Brattleboro have weighed in.  Since all of the candidates were running unopposed, they all won. Turnout was not listed but it appears to be just under 1000 voters.

On the ballot questions, there were four, numbered 2 through 5.  All of the ballot questions failed, including and notably, the 1% sales tax.  John Allen suggested at tonight’s Selectboard meeting that with this vote (nearly 2-1 against), the Selectboard might want to give the 1% LOST tax a rest for a while.

Outside the snow is falling and Brattleboro snow plows are plowing.  Just another night in the town that spring forgot…on Town Meeting Day 2015. Read on for links to full results and ballots.

All candidates elected. All ballot measures defeated.

Details later.

A new dog park for Brattleboro? It will be up for discussion at the next regular Tuesday meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard, to be held in the BCTV studios to make room for Election Day activities on the second floor of the Municipal Center.

The board will hear legal opinions on bonds and bids, hear about the new zoning ordinances being planned, continue with decisons relating to Pay As You Throw, and will discuss assessing penalties and/or suing Brattleboro businesses to collect the business license fees.

You can participate by attending in person, or you can watch on BCTV. We’ll have the full account here the day after.

The Brattleboro Energy Committee will meet on Monday, March 2, 2015 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

Alert! More candidates needed for Representative Town Meeting!

If you read the paper, you know that Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting is woefully short of candidates for the Town Election next week (Tuesday, March 3).

So we are putting out an appeal to all Town residents to consider running as write-in candidates for any uncontested (currently having NO candidates) seats at Representative Town Meeting.

The Brattleboro Town Clerk’s office will be open Saturday, Feb. 28 from 9 a.m. to noon for early voting in Brattleboro’s Annual local elections. The Town Clerk’s office will be closed Tuesday, March 3 as staff will be conducting elections in the Municipal Center, room 212. Polling hours are 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.

The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, February 23, 2015 at 5:30pm in the community room at the Brooks Memorial Library.

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

The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 2:30pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. NOTE THE TIME CHANGE.

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

The Town of Brattleboro would like to remind everyone that the snow emergency ban is in effect.

Snow and ice will be removed from Western Ave this evening. If they have enough time then they will work on Main St and the North Bridge Down.

Parked vehicles in the downtown area must be removed by 10:30pm or they will be towed at the owner’s expense.

The Town of Brattleboro would like to remind everyone that the snow emergency ban is in effect.

Snow and ice will be removed from the parking lots in the downtown area this evening.

Parked vehicles in the downtown parking lots must be removed by 10:30pm or they will be towed at the owner’s expense.

The third installment of the 2014 Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes will be due on February 17th, 2015. Payments made after February 17th, 2015 will have an additional 1% interest added to the unpaid balance.

The utility billing is also due on February 17th, 2015. Payments made after February 17th, 2015 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.

The Treasurer’s Office will be closed on February 16, 2015 in observance of President’s Day.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will take action on a number of issues related to the implementation of Pay As You Throw at their next regular Tuesday meeting. The decisions were delayed to this meeting in part to give the public time to weigh in.

The board will take up the matter of their special mailing to all residents in opposition to proposed Charter change amendments on the March ballot, learn about the Union Hill improvements at the Western Ave intersection, approve homeland security and terrorism prevention grants, and more.

You can attend in person at the Municipal Center, even participate in the meeting, or watch on BCTV and read about it here when it is over. If you are really ambitious, you can do all of those things.

An abbreviated Brattleboro Selectboard had an extended special meeting to primarily discuss Pay As You Throw. Donna Macomber was absent, and David Schoales left midway through.

New information revealed that our new trash bags will be color coded (colors undisclosed) with drawstring enclosures at top.

Also new, that bags will be sold about town in packs of five or ten. A 5-pack of small, 15 gallon bags will cost, at $2 each, ten dollars. For the larger 32 gallon bags, a 5-pack will cost, at $3 each, fifteen dollars. Ten packs will then cost $20 and $30.

Individual bags will be sold at the Municipal Center and at the Gibson-Aiken Center.

In observance of President’s Day, all Town offices will be closed on Monday, February 16, 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, February 15 and February 16. All other violations, including extended parking will be enforced.

Brooks Memorial Library will be closed on Sunday and Monday, February 15 and February 16, 2015.

The Brattleboro ADA Advisory Committee meeting previously scheduled on February 13 is cancelled due to the expected extreme cold and difficult travel conditions. The next scheduled meeting is 03/13/2015.

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

This evening (February 10, 2015) starting at 10:30 pm, the town will begin snow removal operations in the downtown area to improve pedestrian access, sight visibility, and open up parking spaces.

Please remember that per the Brattleboro Code of Ordinances, that overnight parking is prohibited on all streets within the Town limits. Vehicles parked for longer than one (1) hour between 11:00 pm and 07:00 am may be ticketed and towed at the owner’s expense. Vehicles may be towed at any time if they are hampering snow plowing or snow removal. Please refer to Chapter 16 in the Brattleboro Code of Ordinances for further information.