Town finances in good shape
BRATTLEBORO — BRATTLEBORO - John O'Connor, the town's finance director, gave the ninth monthly report for Fiscal Year 2017 at the April 18 regular Selectboard meeting.
As of the end of March, 2017, 75 percent of the fiscal year is complete.
According to O'Connor's report, the General Fund expenditures are 73.1 percent of the annual budget, the Utilities Fund expenditures are 70.8 percent, the Parking Fund is at 78.1 percent, and the Solid Waste Disposal Fund revenues and expenditures are 62 percent and 68.6 percent of their annual budgets, respectively.
Bradley House gets grant
BRATTLEBORO - The Bradley House, the senior residential care facility on Harris Avenue, recently received a $450,000 grant to help fund its renovation and expansion.
At the April 18 regular Selectboard meeting, Board members unanimously voted to adopt the grant agreement and accept the funding from the Vermont Community Development Program.
This funding comes directly to the town, and Bradley House is the subgrantee. As Selectboard Chair Kate O'Connor and Assistant Town Manager Patrick Moreland explained, this money comes from the federal Housing and Urban Development program in the form of block grants to states, which then disburse the funding to communities. No municipal property tax money is used in this grant, O'Connor noted.
In keeping with the terms of the grant, the Selectboard also authorized Town Manager Peter B. Elwell to administer the grant to Bradley House.
This project will modernize the building, upgrade the facility's heating system, and add to the number of units - a majority of which will serve low-to-moderate income residents.
Rescue, Inc. contract approved
BRATTLEBORO - At the April 18 regular Selectboard meeting, the Board unanimously voted to authorize Town Manager Peter B. Elwell to sign the 2017-2018 contract with Rescue, Inc. for an amount of $222,600.98.
This assessment is based on Brattleboro's population, and includes a discount the emergency medical provider gives the town.
Under the terms of its contract, Rescue, Inc. agrees to provide “primary emergency medical care, medical stand-by, rescue and transportation services” to the town, and will “respond as a mutual aid partner for technical rescue incidents” if resources are available.
Selectboard approves hydraulic hammer bid
BRATTLEBORO - The Selectboard unanimously approved a bid for a hydraulic hammer for $23,950.
At the April 18 Board meeting, Water & Highway Superintendent Hannah Tyler explained why her department needs this piece of equipment.
The hammer, which attaches to the backhoe, “is very essential, especially in the winter season,” Tyler said.
When the town experiences a water main break, the hammer cracks through concrete roadbeds and frozen ground so the Department of Public Works staff can access the water main and repair it, she said.
Milton Cat, of Milton, Mass., submitted the lowest bid that met the DPW's specifications, for an amount of $23,950. Tyler noted that the budget for this item was $40,000.
New water slide coming to town pool
BRATTLEBORO - This summer, swimmers can slip down a new slide into the town pool. At the April 18 regular Selectboard meeting, the Board unanimously agreed to authorize the purchase of a new, single-flume, 19-foot water slide.
As Recreation & Parks Director Carol Lolatte explained, the old slide was 20 years old and needed to go. Lolatte was able to secure a $35,000 donation from the Vermont Community Foundation Withington Fund to cover the cost of the project.
The bid the Board accepted, at Lolatte's recommendation, is from Recreonics, Inc. in Louisville, Ky., and will cost $20,041.03. Recreation and Parks staff will install the slide, at an estimated cost of $750.
Lolatte told Board members she was happy with the bids. Because they were much lower than expected, her department has almost $15,000 left in the fund. Selectboard Chair Kate O'Connor asked Lolatte what she planned to do with the money.
Lolatte said she wants to get a small slide for the wading pool - as long as the Withington Fund approves - but not just any slide. “You slide out the lion's mouth ... or you climb in the alligator's mouth and slide out the backside,” she said.
After Board members expressed their excitement, Lolatte thanked them and said, “I expect to see you at opening day, taking the first run down.”