BRATTLEBORO — An open letter to those who will be making a decision on the River Garden RFPs:
Readers would do well to reassess the misstatements in the Brattleboro Reformer article, “River Garden repayment repealed,” May 20, 2013. The article correctly noted that the Legislature repealed language in a 1999 law requiring the town repay a $150,000 appropriation to the state of Vermont.
The article then misquoted the language that was repealed by referring to a statement that is contained in an entirely different document: a mortgage deed between Building a Better Brattleboro and the Town of Brattleboro, dated Aug. 5, 1999, which can be found at the Town Clerk's Office:
“This pledge of collateral shall be null and void and of no force and effect, unless the mortgagor [Building a Better Brattleboro] herein, or its successors or assigns, shall convey the property to a for-profit entity of any kind. The purpose of this pledge is to confirm that Building A Better Brattleboro, Inc., its successors and assigns, shall not convey this property to a for-profit entity, unless it shall reimburse the Town of Brattleboro the sum of $150,000, without interest, at the time of said conveyance, if ever it were to occur.”
This language still stands; it has not been repealed by the Legislature. This language came out of a discussion at the Brattleboro Selectboard meeting on July 6, 1999.
Two points concerning that discussion require further discussion:
• As to why the $150,000 appropriation was made payable to the town and not BaBB directly, “it was done that way to protect the state's money.”
• The town lent the $150,000 to BaBB to meet the August 1999 closing date on the Rite-Aid property, expecting that “once the legislation is changed, BaBB would own the property and the funds would be transferred back.”
The deed adds the stipulation - still in effect - that BaBB would owe the money to the town only in the event BaBB conveyed the property to a for-profit entity.
In conclusion, Brattleboro community leaders once approached the General Assembly for financial assistance to create a public space on Main Street.
At that time, then-Sens. Peter Shumlin and Vince Illuzzi agreed to help, but on the condition that the use of public funds would guarantee that the space remain open to the public.
If we do not properly and honorably handle these matters today, that worthy goal will be but a sad footnote in Brattleboro's history.