By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—The Brandon Selectboard convened on Monday evening for a meeting that lasted over two hours and veered between civil discussion and open hostility, with some residents expressing anger toward town management and the board.
The conflicts stemmed primarily from disagreements over last year’s budget process, the installation of water fountains at the dog park, and the proposed “downtown takeover” by a group of RV enthusiasts who planned to occupy Park Street for an entire weekend in September.
Budget Process
Board Chair Doug Bailey had placed on the agenda a discussion of the process that will be used in the upcoming budget workshops this fall. Last year’s workshops ended with some animosity between the Budget Committee’s non-voting civilian advisory panel and the committee’s voting members, who were simply the 5 members of the Selectboard. Several members of the advisory panel stated that they felt that their input had been dismissed by the voting members and blamed those members for the subsequent failures of the budget at the ballot box last spring.
Mr. Bailey said his goal was to avoid a repeat of that situation, much of which he believed was the result of a misunderstanding of the role of the advisory panel. Mr. Bailey emphasized that the panel is meant to offer guidance and suggestions but that ultimately the final decisions must rest with the voting members. He proposed that the process begin earlier, with clearer roles, and a more strategic roll-out of the resulting budget.
Board member Heather Nelson agreed that clear expectations would help ease tensions. Board member Tim Guiles stated that everyone was welcome to come to the budget workshops and offer input but that the final decisions should remain with the elected officials (i.e., the members of the Selectboard who also serve as the Budget Committee). Mr. Guiles even suggested that a Budget Committee wasn’t necessary.
Members of last year’s advisory panel were present and expressed their frustration with what they felt had been dismissive treatment by the voting members. They questioned the purpose of the advisory positions if they had no real authority. They agreed that it was essential that the role of the advisory panel be delineated.
Town Manager Seth Hopkins reminded the room that under Vermont law, the Selectboard cannot delegate its statutory responsibilities to town committees. Since Selectboards are responsible for town budgets, it would not be permissible to grant voting authority to the members of the advisory panel.
Ultimately, the board voted 4 to 1 (Mr. Guiles was the lone nay) to solicit applications from community members who wish to be on the 5-member advisory panel this fall. Anyone interested in the positions should submit a cover sheet and letter of intent to Mr. Hopkins (shopkins@townofbrandon.com) by noon on Thursday, August 22 and be prepared to be interviewed by the board at its meeting on Monday, August 26.
Dog Park Water Fountains
Board member Brian Coolidge presented Deputy Town Manager and Rec Dept. Director Bill Moore with a list of questions regarding two water fountains proposed to be installed on Seminary Hill, one in the dog park and one in the adjacent playground.
Mr. Coolidge expressed concern over the cost of the fountains and pressed Mr. Moore for details on the expense. Mr. Coolidge was particularly concerned that the Fire District had no written agreement with the town to cover the cost of one of the fountains and the installation, as had been stated previously by Mr. Moore. Mr. Coolidge also expressed concern that the fountain in the dog park was going to be installed on land that the town did not own, since a significant portion of the park occupies private property that is being donated for use by the park.
Mr. Moore explained that the fountains would cost approximately $3,000 each and that Ray Counter, who heads the Water Department, had assured him that he would cover the cost of one of the fountains out of his own budget. He also said that an expected donation to cover some of the cost of the other fountain had recently been rescinded because the donor felt that the fountain, which has 4 different faucets at different levels, was too elaborate.
That donor was present at the meeting and stated that she’d retracted her $500 donation because she felt that Mr. Moore had not represented the project to her accurately and did not have a plan to cover the total cost, going so far as to call him “disingenuous.” Mr. Moore pushed back, criticizing the donor for impugning his integrity. Other attendees expressed support both for the project and for Mr. Moore. Mr. Moore also stated that several fundraising events were scheduled for the fall for the express purpose of raising money to pay for the fountains.
One attendee stated that she’d heard that the town was planning to purchase the portion of the dog park that it doesn’t own. Mr. Moore said that the owner had approached the town with an offer to sell the parcel to the town for $25K but that the offer hadn’t even been brought to the board yet. Mr. Hopkins stated that he had planned to bring the offer to the board in executive session that evening but the open discussion eliminated the need. The board did not take any further action on the offer.
Park Street residents reject ‘Airstream Rally’
Residents of Park Street had received flyers in their mailboxes over the weekend informing them of an upcoming “Airstream Rally” to be held on the street over the weekend of September 27. Up to 30 Airstream RVs would occupy the parking spaces on either side of the street and the owners of the RVs would camp out on Park Street from Friday to Sunday. The event was organized by the Northeast Mountaineers Airstream Club in cooperation with the Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce (BACC) and the Downtown Brandon Alliance (DBA).
The announcement was met with anger by some homeowners on Park Street, who came to the meeting to express their displeasure. They felt it was unacceptable to plan such an event on a residential street, especially without any prior discussion with residents. Members of the Selectboard also expressed surprise at the extent of the event, saying that they had not been informed and that they would not have supported it if they had known.
Mr. Moore said that he, BACC, and DBA had thought the event would be fun and bring economic activity to town, but he understood the objections and would contact the organizers and ask them to move the event elsewhere.
One attendee also expressed frustration with the town’s emphasis on “fun” activities, claiming that Brandon was turning into “Disneyland” and becoming a “party town.” This attendee, who had earlier in the evening called Mr. Moore “disingenuous,” said that it was “ignorant” to plan an event like the rally in a residential area. Mr. Moore again objected to the language that she used to describe his actions.
Sidewalk and paving bids
The board voted unanimously to accept a bid of $131,498 from VT Roadworks for upcoming sidewalk projects and a bid of $244,037.03 from Pike Industries for upcoming paving. Both bids were the lowest of 3 that had been received for each project. The full list of bids can be found in the Selectboard packet for 8/12/24 on the town website.
The sidewalk project will be paid for with $175K in ARPA funds that the board allocated for the purpose last fall. Since the bid came in lower than the allocated amount, the board voted to use any leftover funds for other sidewalk projects in town.
The paving projects will be paid for by a $32K Class 2 paving grant, $85K in town appropriations, $100K in carryover funds from last year’s highway budget, and $100K from the 1% local option tax fund. Again, any allocated funds that are not used for the planned paving will be used for other paving projects.
Cannabis dispensaries
During the portion of the meeting in which the board acted as the Board of Cannabis Control Commissioners, the board voted to approve a license for a new retail cannabis dispensary, prompting questions from the room regarding the number of dispensaries a town is permitted to have.
Mr. Guiles stated that the town is not allowed to discriminate against cannabis businesses. Any cannabis business that meets the state’s criteria is basically approved by the town. The board would reject an application for a license only if there were some legal reason to do so. It cannot reject cannabis businesses simply because it feels that there are already sufficient retail outlets in the area.
Library grant
The board held a hearing before the main meeting to answer questions from the public regarding a $100K accessibility grant that it had received on behalf of and passed through to the Brandon Free Public Library (BFPL). BFPL had asked the town to apply for the grant because it was available only to municipalities. The board made clear that it acted solely as a passthrough and that no town taxpayer money was involved in the grant.
Warrants
The town approved two warrants in the amounts of $20,895.62 and $489,999.26 to cover its obligations and expenses. The larger warrant included $297,243.02 for a property on Newton Road that is part of the FEMA buyout program for flood-prone properties. The money, however, came entirely from federal and state sources with zero contribution from the town.
