Town News

Petitions for Brattleboro Town and Town School District Officers and Town Meeting Members are now available at the Town Clerk’s office.  Town elections will be Tuesday, March 3, in  the Selectboard Meeting Room of the Municipal Center and the Annual Representatives Town Meeting, Saturday, March 21, in the BAMS multi-purpose room.
 
Petitions for Town Officers must contain at least 30 valid signatures of registered Brattleboro voters and be filed in the clerk’s office no later than 5:00 P.M. on Monday, January 26 in order to have their name placed on the ballot.
 
Candidates for Town Meeting Member must file a nomination petition with at least 10 valid signatures of voters from the district where the candidate lives.  Petitions of new candidates must be filed no later than 5:00 P.M. on Monday, January 26 (same date as Town Officer petitions).  Incumbents for Town Meeting Member must return their Notice of Intent form no later than 5:00 P.M. on Tuesday, January 20.

In observance of New Year’s Day, all Brattleboro Town offices will be closed on Thursday, January 1, 2015, with the exception of emergency services. Offices will be open regular hours on Wednesday, December 31, and Friday, January 2.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Thursday, January 1.All other violations, including extended parking, will be enforced.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, December 30, 2014 at 7:00am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at approximately 9:00am to discuss the appointment or employment or evaluation of a public officer or employee.

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

In observance of the Christmas holiday, all Brattleboro Town offices will close at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, December 24, and will be closed all day Thursday, December 25, 2014, with the exception of emergency services. The offices will resume normal hours on Friday, December 26.

Brooks Memorial Library will close at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, December 24 and will be closed on Thursday, December 25. It will resume normal hours on Friday, December 26.

The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, December 22, 2014 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, December 23, 2014 at 8:30am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

The Brattleboro Selectboard snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at Tuesday’s long, final regular meeting of the year. With a vote of 3-2, the board threw away their carefully-crafted and quite palatable FY16 budget that featured no cuts to services and no significant tax increase.

Instead, the split decision was to endorse going forward with all three Police and Fire facilites immediately, and to ask for a new budget that would include payments to do the full scope of work, potentially adding a significant amount to property taxes.  This sends the board back into budget meetings, and the spectre of service cuts and tax increases is now again on the horizon.

In other news,  a list of capital improvements that were to be added back in to the budget had to be sidelined, Brattleboro pays a somewhat arbitrary rate for solid waste removal, the board endorsed the use of the higher-priced bag system for PAYT, and a new union is recognized for town employees.

Sorry for the delay. I had this almost finished last night and the power went out.

Roads & Bridges’ Top 10 Bridge awards, created in 2000, recognize the top projects in North America. Each year, nominations are submitted to the R&B editorial staff, which determines the Top 10 list based on project challenges, impact to region and scope of work.

In 2014 the top bridge chosen by Roads and Bridges is the I-91 bridge in Brattleboro over the West River.

You can read the article here on Roads and Bridge’s web site.

Roads and Bridges also made a site visit earlier in the year and produced a video that you can watch here.

The West Brattleboro Association (WBA) announced the Community Leader of the Year recipients during its annual Holiday Party on Thursday, December 11, at The New England House. The winners of this 4^th annual award are Bill and Judy Daley, owners of the Vermont Country Deli as well as the associated, brand new Market next door.

After living for ten years in Central Vermont, the Daleys came to Brattleboro to purchase the ever-popular delicatessen in 2007. Bill grew up in Cleveland and met Judy, who grew up in Brattleboro, at Miami University (Ohio). She is the daughter of Sylvia and (the late) John Hunter who was president of the Vermont National Bank. Since buying the deli seven years ago, together the Daleys have made it thrive even more, adding many features including a quick-stop facility with extra parking next door.  The new market is in the process of becoming an official Vermont Ambassador Welcome Center, and will be adding an ATM in January. Both Bill and Judy work full time in their Deli.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will receive their first official report on possible police facility locations at their final regular meeting of the year. You can attend in person at the Municipal Center, or watch on BCTV.

If you do, you can join talk of additions to the FY16 budget in the form of capital improvements and expenses, a discussion of the Windham Solid Waste District budget, a continued debate on a motion to incorporate life cycle costs considerations for town capital projects, an update from the Pay As You Throw Committee, a request by the Stroll for a permit for their June parade, and wishing a happy retirement to a long-time children’s librarian.

All this and more. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during Public Participation.

The Brattleboro Pay-As-You-Throw Committee (PAYT) will meet on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.  The Committee will then meet jointly with the Selectboard starting at 6:15pm in the Selectboard 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 joint meeting with the Selectboard on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 starting at 6:15pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

…

Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee
Tuesday, December 16, 2014 – 6:15pm
Joint Meeting with Selectboard
Selectboard Meeting Room, Municipal Center
Agenda

The Brattleboro Tree Advisory Committee meeting previously scheduled for tonight at 7:00am has been cancelled due to the weather.

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

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee will meet on Thursday, December 11, 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 Special Selectboard meeting previously scheduled for tonight has been cancelled due to the weather conditions.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-810

On Thursday, December 11, at 6:00 pm, the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will host its annual Holiday Party at The New England House, 254 Marlboro Road. This is a time for people and businesses in West Brattleboro to get together socially and to celebrate the Association’s numerous accomplishments in this past year. The evening will feature a cash bar with hors d’oeuvres prepared by the restaurant. The WBA suggests a voluntary donation of $5 toward the food, although no one will be turned away.

 In addition to this being a time to enjoy each other at this festive season, there will be a couple of short presentations.  The Association’s board president Michael Bosworth will give a brief “state of the Association” report after which the group will present the West Brattleboro Community Leader of the Year to a deserving person or entity. Come to our party to help us celebrate this worthy recipient! Previous winners have been Ahmad and Kat Rashed of Rashed’s Garden Center, the staff and board of the Brattleboro Housing Authority, and Todd Darrah of the Chelsea Royal Diner, each for their many contributions to our community.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at 5:15pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 5:15pm to discuss the appointment or employment or evaluation of a public officer or employee.

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

The December exhibit at the Gallery at the Garden (Robert H. Gibson River Garden, 157 Main Street, Brattleboro) features photographs of Vermont’s organic farming pioneers by John Nopper, along with photos from the Brattleboro Food Co-ops long-running “Producer of the Month” series.

Nopper’s photos will be accompanied by texts by Susan Harlow telling the stories of the farmers depicted. These farming pioneers started farming in the 1970s and 1980s, some as members of communes, others as new arrivals to the state looking to “get back to the land.”  

They were, in fact, reviving a way of farming that the Green Revolution had all but killed off. They learned how to grow vegetables and raise livestock in a difficult climate and topography, without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. They learned how to grow food that was good, and good-looking. 

In one of their longer meetings to date this year, the Brattleboro Selectboard worked their way through a great deal of municipal information Tuesday evening. 

They heard a full and detailed report on the usefulness of the West Brattleboro Fire Station, No. 2, learned about work being done by the Brattleboro Energy Committee, outlined preliminary and potentially positive plans for the FY16 budget, appreciated the work of the Downtown Alliance, discussed the value of putting vague items on the agenda, and more. There were also suggestions of abandoning the Municipal Center, and getting rid of the pool, from former Chair Dick Degray.

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Ad Hoc Futures Committee will meet on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at 6:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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