For stories pertaining to the town of Brattleboro at large and its government.
Due to the inclement weather the Brattleboro Tree Advisory Board meeting scheduled for this afternoon is cancelled. It has been rescheduled for February 13, 2025.
Due to the inclement weather The Charter Revision Commission’s event at the Brooks Memorial Library, scheduled for 6:00pm today, has been cancelled. A makeup date will be determined later this week or early next.
The first regular meeting of February for the Brattleboro Selectboard was mostly a series of quarterly reports, punctuated by questions about EMS billing and budgets. The board learned that the bad-sounding audit will not really be as bad-sounding as it sounds. Just wait. You’ll see.
Notable – parking revenues are down, the downtown safety plan is beginning to take shape, Golden Cross is having problems collecting revenue for us, and a few candidates came to use public participation to show that they are involved.
Snow and ice will be cleared from several streets in downtown Brattleboro on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, after 11 p.m. The affected streets include: Main Street, Park Place, Linden Street, Grove Street, Elliot Street, and Flat Street. Vehicles parked along the streets listed above must be removed or they may be towed at the owner’s expense.
1. Call to Order
2. Chair’s Opening Remarks
3. What form of Annual Town Meeting is right for Brattleboro?
4. Adjourn
The Brattleboro Selectboard will begin the process of changing utility rates by having consultants come to explain the Utility Rate Study they are about to undertake.
The board will also hear quarterly updates from the police department, fire department, and finance office. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The Brattleboro Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 at 6:15pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room.
The Tree Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 4:15pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room.
Snow and ice will be cleared from parking lots and streets in downtown Brattleboro on Thursday, January 30, 2025, after 11 p.m.
The affected streets include: Canal Street, Main Street, High Street, Flat Street, Elliot Street, Grove Street, Harris Place, Walnut Street, Park Place, South Main, Green Street, Church Street, Elm Street, School Street, Oak Street, Putney Road, and Chapin Street.
Chair Daniel Quipp was under the weather, so the remaining four members of the Brattleboro Selectboard boldy went forth approving the warnings for the Annual Town Meeting and the Representative Town Meeting.
The biggest news is that there will be an advisory poll on the ballot when voters go to elect representatives and weigh in on articles, asking what percentage of future town budgets should be spent on human services. There will be five options, ranging from zero to over 2%.
Brattleboro’s Charter Revision Commission invites Brattleboro residents to a discussion on the form of Brattleboro’s annual town meeting.
The meeting will take place on Thursday, February 6, 2025, 6pm-8pm in the Main Reading Room at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main Street and will be broadcast live on BCTV Channel 1079, BCTV’s YouTube Channel, Facebook Page and website, www.brattleborotv.org
The Charter and information about the Charter Revision Commission, including a summary of the forms of annual town meeting and a Frequently Asked Questions sheet, are available at https://brattleboro.gov/blog/charter-forum-02-06-2025
Good morning,
Effective February 3, 2025, the Brattleboro Town Clerk’s will be closed from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm on a daily basis. This will be the case for the foreseeable future.
We appreciate the understanding and patience of the pubic, and apologize for any inconveniences this may cause.
Thanks,
Hilary
The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at 5:00pm in the Brooks Memorial Library Community Room (224 Main Street).
The Brattleboro Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 6:15pm in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street, RM. 211).
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Brattleboro Municipal Center (230 Main Street, Room 212) and over Zoom. The attached agenda contains information on how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.” ASL interpreters will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members. The backup materials for this meeting will be available on the town Website Brattleboro.gov/Selectboard by the end of today.
Snow and ice will be removed from the parking lots in Brattleboro’s downtown area tonight, January 22, 2025, after 11 p.m.
Parked vehicles in the downtown parking lots must be removed or they may be towed at the owner’s expense. If you plan to leave your vehicle in town overnight, please park it at the Brattleboro Transportation Center. If you use the Transportation Center, do not park in a reserved permit space without a reserved permit. Parking enforcement is in effect after 9 a.m.
The Brattleboro Selectboard decided that a 12.1% increase is the best that they can do, ignoring members of the public and the Finance Committee who said it wasn’t enough but agreeing with the Town Manager who said the increase was necessary to avoid chaos.
One theme throughout the evening was that of continual eroding trust in the selectboard and their decision-making. “People are mad at us for a lot of different reasons,” noticed Chair Daniel Quipp. “We should think about it. Do we always have to make them a little more mad?”
A sub-theme was extreme agitation about representation at all levels of town government.
Weird meeting. If I were a Magic 8 ball I’d suggest “outlook not good.”
Utilities crews are on the scene of a water main break on Putney Road near the M&T Bank Operations Center. Staff is assessing the situation and will provide updates as soon as possible. Water pressure throughout the system has been affected. Traffic on Putney Road between Town Crier Drive and Noah’s Lane will be restricted. Motorists should seek alternate routes.
We apologize again for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we work to fix the problem.
The Brattleboro Selectboard has one final chance to cut their FY26 spending at Tuesday night’s regular meeting. More likely it will be approved as is.
The board will also take a third look at the ordinance governing the downtown improvement district. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.
The Brattleboro Finance Committee will meet on Thursday, January 23, 2025 at 6:15 in the Hanna Cosman Meeting Room.
The Brattleboro Human Services Allocations are ready. The Human Services Allocation spreadsheet can be found at the Town website: https://brattleboro.gov/representative-town-meeting.
In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, all Brattleboro Town Offices will be closed on Monday, January 20, 2025, with the exception of emergency services.
Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Monday, January 20. All other violations will be enforced.
The Brattleboro Town Auditor’s report is currently available at the Town Manager’s Office at the Brattleboro Municipal Center (230 Main Street) and on the Town’s website, Brattleboro.gov
