By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—The Brandon Selectboard convened for its regular meeting on Monday evening. A minimal agenda kept the proceedings brief.
Town Manager Seth Hopkins did not elaborate on or add to his written report, the full text of which is available in the Selectboard packet for 12/11/23 on the town website. Highlights from that written report include:
- Brandon participated in Vermont’s first-ever interviews for “Electrify Your Fleet” mini-grants. The town hopes to received two $2,500 grants to defray costs of lease-purchases of electric police cruisers.
- Board Vice-chair Cecil Reniche-Smith identified a preservation grant that Mr. Hopkins is pursuing in order to secure additional funds for the roof of the Town Hall. Mr. Hopkins made it through the initial screening and is at work on the main application. The grant would provide between $50K and $100K for the project.
- The town has been awarded a BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities) grant from FEMA for a scoping study to assess the bridge on Wheeler Road. The grant allows the town to spend up to $100K with no town match.
Board member Brian Coolidge noted that the BRIC grant had been “in the works for a while,” an apparent reference to its inception under the previous town management.
Mr. Coolidge also asked Mr. Hopkins if the presence of the town manager on the board of the Brandon Industrial Corporation (BIC) presented a conflict of interest in the negotiations between the town, repped by the town manager, and BIC with respect to leasing land at the Brandon Industrial Park for a town-owned solar array.
Mr. Hopkins replied that he was representing the town with integrity and that it was for BIC to decide whether there existed a conflict that needed to be addressed. Board member Tim Guiles stated that he did not see a conflict.
BIC has a 5-person board composed of local businesspeople and the Brandon town manager. Its purpose is to “responsibly develop lots at the Brandon Industrial Park” off of Arnold District Road.
Rec Director Bill Moore presented his report as well, highlighting an upcoming bus trip to the Troy, NY in March for the Capital Region Flower & Garden Expo. Anyone interested should contact the Rec Department for details and/or tickets.
Mr. Moore also announced a new round of trivia nights co-sponsored with the Brandon Library, to begin on Sunday, January 7.
He also announced continued work with the Brandon Library and the Ilsley Library in Middlebury to prepare for the total eclipse in April 2024. Brandon will be just outside the “path of totality” while Middlebury will experience it 100%. Mr. Moore cautioned that Brandon’s position just outside the path would likely mean the experience in Brandon will be much less intense than that in Middlebury.
During the public-comment portion of the meeting, Ms. Reniche-Smith gave public thanks to Town Clerk Sue Gage for Ms. Gage’s well-received posts on Front Porch Forum explaining to the Brandon community how the town has come to devise its current system of water and sewer billing.
Mr. Moore then asked the Board to allow him to apply for a VOREC (Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative) grant in the amount of $73,000 to develop the area behind the American Legion on Route 7. The plan would entail an area for disc golf and other trails. The grant would require no match or outlay from the town. Mr. Guiles and Board member Heather Nelson both praised the proposal, and a motion was unanimously approved to allow Mr. Moore to apply for the grant.
The Board’s final piece of public business was the approval of a warrant in the amount of $389,950.14 to cover the town’s expenses and obligations.
