Town News

On Thursday evening, December 12 at The New England House, the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) announced its third annual ‘Community Leader of the Year’ at its holiday party.  Ahmad and Kat Rashed were bestowed that honor by the Association president Michael Bosworth amidst a crowd of agreeing onlookers, many of whom have patronized Rashed’s Garden Center in West Brattleboro throughout the last 22 years. The Rasheds, including their sons, provide all manner of plants and shrubbery during the growing season. But their work doesn’t stop there. Every year they direct proceeds from their sales of pumpkins and Christmas trees to local non-profits.   The WBA thanked them for this excellent above-and-beyond community service.

Property owners within certain areas in and near downtown are reminded that snow and ice must be removed from sidewalks within 48 hours of accumulation. Following is an excerpt from Chapter 14 of Brattleboro’s Code of Ordinances: 

Sec. 14-4. Removal of snow from sidewalks on certain streets – Required. 

A truck has broken down on I-91 Southbound between Exits 2 and 3.  All southbound traffic is stopped.  State police are responding, and will get traffic flowing again asap.

Cindy Cook
Principal, Adamant Accord, Inc.
Past Vice President, Association for Conflict Resolution
Affiliate, RESOLVE

For the final regular Brattleboro Selectboard meeting of 2013, the board plans to continue their discussion of a PACE Energy District in town, and the legal and accounting hurdles that remain.

The board will also hear about the cost of Elm Street Bridge repairs, discuss penalties for late Homestead Declarations, consider grants for zoning rewrites and brownfield remediation, and evaluate a request for a Planned Unit Development for Red Clover Commons.

You can attend in person or watch on BCTV. You may also bring up other items for discussion during Public participation.

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facility Building Committee will meet on Thursday, December 19, 2013 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 Representative Town Meeting Human Services Review Committee will meet on Tuesday, December 17, 2013 at 6:30pm at 175 South Main Street.

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 Tuesday, December 24, and will be closed all day Wednesday, December 25, 2013, with the exception of emergency services. The offices will resume normal hours on Thursday, December 26.

Brooks Memorial Library will be open on Tuesday, December 24, from 9:00am to 12:00 noon and will be closed all day Wednesday, December 25. It will resume normal hours on Thursday, December 26.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots from 12:00 noon on December 24 through December 25. Parking enforcement will resume normal hours on Thursday, December 26. All other violations, including extended parking, will be enforced.

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Friday, December 13, 2013 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 ADA Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, December 13, 2013 at 10:00am at Marlboro College Graduate Center in the VCIL conference room.

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

The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 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 Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 11:00am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Sunday, December 15, 2013 at 2:00pm 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 Tuesday, December 10, 2013 at 6:30pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

The Brattleboro Selectboard took up issues of farming, energy audits, and downtown improvements at Tuesday’s regular meeting. 

The tax stabilization rate for farms was discussed and formalized, but a debate is now brewing over $95,000 in a little-used but popular loan fund for farms. The Selectboard has eyes on it as a way to reduce taxes.

A request to look for ways to save money was tabled, putting the issue of energy audits for municipal buildings on hold for the moment.

Vermont’s downtown program was described in detail, and the BaBB budget and workplan were approved for presentation at Representative Town Meeting.

On Thursday, December 12, 6:00-8:00 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.

Building a Better Brattleboro will come before the Brattleboro Selectboard at their next Tuesday meeting to present the downtown organization’s new budget, sans River Garden for the first time.

The board will also take up decades-old Farmland and Agricultural Land issues, look at errors and omissions to the Grand List, consider more energy audits for town buildings, hear about downtown program strategies from a state agency, and more.

If there’s something you’d like to discuss that isn’t on the agenda, there’s time for that during Public Participation. You can attend in person, watch on BCTV, or get the highlights here the day after.

In the first of a planned series of “brown bag lunches” at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, Strolling of the Heifers is presenting singer-songwriter Jim Knapp from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4.

Knapp will be playing guitar on Wednesday, but he also plays banjo and mandolin.  He will be playing original Vermont songs as well as covers of country and folk songs.  He has played with the Town Hall Boys and the Bills Band and refers to himself as “the ol’ woodchuck”.

The event is free and open to the public. It is suggested that people bring their lunch to eat while they enjoy the music. Additional events in the series will be announced soon.

The Brattleboro Energy Committee will meet on Monday, December 2, 2013 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

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Human Services Review Committee will meet on Tuesday, December 3, 2013 at 6:30pm at 175 South Main Street.

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 4:30pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, all Brattleboro Town offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 28 and 29, 2013, with the exception of emergency services.

Brooks Memorial Library will close at 6:00pm on Wednesday, November 27, and will be closed on Thursday, November 28. It will be open for regular hours on Friday and Saturday, November 29 and 30.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Thursday and Friday, November 28 and 29. Parking will resume regular enforcement hours on Saturday, November 30.

All other violations, including extended parking, will be enforced.

The Brattleboro Energy Committee has received an award for its successful efforts to advance and implement clean energy measures around town.

The committee received the award from the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network.

Specifically, the Brattleboro Energy Committee has helped advance energy efficiency goals by helping the Town convert streetlights to LED fixtures, working to establish a PACE district for residential energy financing, promoting weatherization of Town buildings and participating in the Vermont Home Energy Challenge.