John Snyder
Returning for a mission
Fresh from a three-year hiatus, Hatch Vermont presents its seventh Storytellers on a Mission, promising “an evening of humorous storytelling from some of the hottest entertainers in the business” to help raise much-needed cash for a great cause.
Hatch cofounder Tom Bodett, no stranger to a microphone, good deeds, and a fun time, told The Commons last week he's solidly behind co-host and nonprofit beneficiary Groundworks Collaborative, which provides ongoing support and services to families and individuals facing housing and food insecurities in the greater Brattleboro area.
Towns react to changes in open meetings law
Architect of law takes issue with Townshend’s decision to pull plug on website; opinion varies among other county officials, employees
The Selectboard overreacted in shuttering the town's website and listserv July 7. That's according to an author of an overhaul to the state's open meetings law, who says those changes, which officials here object to on logistical grounds, are seen as generally positive in municipalities statewide. Days after a...
Townshend town website goes dark
Faced with new state regulations for posting agendas and minutes, and new consequences for failure, town opts out
The Selectboard on Monday voted unanimously to mothball the town website and stop sending out e-mails via its listserv, saying maintaining those resources is all but impossible given new state rules on open meetings, which went into effect July 1. The website, www.townshendvt.net, established in 2005, is a treasure...
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Board gets budget update, mulls staffing request by DPW
In addition to endorsing the West Brattleboro Bicycle Pedestrian Scoping Study on Nov. 18, the Brattleboro Selectboard heard or acted on a wide variety of issues, from finances to housing rehabilitation to public works jobs opening up. October finances show funds on track In new business, the Selectboard heard the October monthly finance report from Finance Director John O' Connor, according to whom, with 33.3 percent of the fiscal year complete, the total General Fund expenditures are 36.1 percent of...
Town highway budget to be level-funded next year
A Selectboard meeting of less than an hour on Nov. 25 took up cemetery mowing bids, the highway budget, and a town dump truck being out of commission in advance of the recent snowstorm, but one thing it didn't hear were public comments. There weren't any. According to draft minutes of the meeting, held at the Town Office, Board Chair Zeke Goodband noted that no visitors were present and mentioned that the public is always welcome at Selectboard meetings and...
Study recommends bike lanes, widened sidewalks in West Brattleboro
Michael Bosworth clapped politely and let out a wan cheer with the six or seven others of the audience as the Selectboard approved a scoping study that recommends adding bike lanes and widening sidewalks to both sides of Western Avenue between Academy School and Greenleaf Street. The vote, cast at the Nov. 18 Selectboard meeting, followed a consultant's slideshow on road changes in the area, and years of mounting municipal and voter concern about bicycle and pedestrian safety. “There is...
Work begins on FY16 budget
With the drama of the 2015 budget process still ringing in many ears here, there was on Tuesday a sneak peek at the town's thinking on the 2016 general fund budget. Interim Town Manager Patrick Moreland detailed at the Selectboard meeting on Nov. 4 budgets that assume a continuation of the same level of service as with FY15 and show an overall expense at or below that of its previous year. With a bit of modification, he said, he can...
Police, DPW chiefs seek additional staff
Police Chief Michael Fitzpatrick said he will seek support from the Selectboard to add three officers to his department, which is staffed with 27 sworn officers to cover three shifts, seven days a week, with a minimum staffing of three officers on at all times. Speaking at the Selectboard's request for a general personnel update at the board's Nov. 4 meeting, Fitzpatrick said routine attrition created the gap in headcount and that he was paying overtime to assure public safety.