By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—The Brandon Selectboard convened for its regular meeting on Monday evening. It was the last meeting before the election of new members on Tuesday, March 4.
Board members Heather Nelson and Tim Guiles are not running for reelection and will be leaving the Board. Mr. Guiles has served two 3-year terms. Ms. Nelson has served one full 1-year term and part of another, as she was appointed by the Board in 2023 to fill the seat vacated by Seth Hopkins when he stepped down to become Brandon Town Manager.
Board member Ralph Ethier, who was appointed to the Board in 2022 to replace Michael Markowski, is running for the 3-year seat being vacated by Mr. Guiles. If unsuccessful, he will not have a seat on the Board.
Board Chair Doug Bailey thanked the departing members.
“I respect the work they put in this year. They will be missed,” he said to applause.
Ms. Nelson said, “We all want the best for Brandon. I’ve enjoyed my time on the Board and will try again in the future.” She noted that she wanted to spend more time with her family.
Town Manager’s report
Town Manager Seth Hopkins delivered his report, the full text of which is reprinted in this issue.
Mr. Hopkins also thanked the departing Selectboard members.
Mr. Hopkins also noted that the revenue ($86,153) from the 1% local option tax from the last quarter of 2024 had just been received by the town and that it was $20,000 higher than the same quarter in 2023. The 1% funds are used for capital expenses.
He noted that there are currently 75 properties at risk of sale because of property-tax delinquencies. The Town’s attorney will be sending letters to these property owners to encourage them to meet with Mr. Hopkins to work out payment plans to avoid tax sale.
An attendee asked Mr. Hopkins how Brandon residents could financially help property owners at risk of losing their homes. Mr. Hopkins responded that anyone could pay down a delinquent property. The list of delinquencies is not published by the Town but is public information and will be provided to anyone who asks at the Town Office.
BRIC scoping grant
The Board voted 4 to 1 not to pursue a scoping grant for flood mitigation from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. The grant would provide 75% reimbursement of funds expended to determine what mitigation efforts might help reduce the damage caused by flooding in Brandon. So, for example, if Brandon spent $100,000 on an engineering study, the BRIC program would reimburse $75,000 of that amount.
Town Manager Seth Hopkins had identified 3 areas in Brandon that he felt would benefit most from such a study: Union Street, Pearl Street, and Newton Road. All of these streets regularly experience flooding.
The grant would not provide any funds for the implementation of the study’s findings and Mr. Hopkins acknowledged that there was no guarantee that any such funds would be available through grants.
Board member Brian Coolidge made a motion to decline pursuing the grant, noting that it could end up being a significant amount to spend with no guarantee of follow-through implementation funds, especially given the current federal government’s hostility toward public funding.
Board member Tim Guiles disagreed, stating that it was worth considering the benefits of using federal money to assess Brandon’s flood-mitigation needs.
Board Chair Doug Bailey said that scoping studies were often expensive and the likely recommendation—culverts—would be cheaper to install than the cost of the study.
An attendee noted that Union Street would need to be raised in order to be suitable for culverts, adding to the likely expense of any mitigation efforts.
Ultimately, only Mr. Guiles supported the proposed grant.
Ethics protocols
The Board evaluated a proposed protocol for complaints received under the state’s new ethics law. Board member Heather Nelson presented the proposal as an “interim procedure” that will likely undergo changes as the Board gains more experience handling these complaints.
Ms. Nelson noted that the term “ethics” in this context may seem confusing because the law seems designed to address financial conflicts of interest specifically rather than what people might think of as “ethics” in a broader sense.
Ms. Nelson walked the room through a flow chart that she had devised to show Brandon residents how their complaints would be handled. The flow chart is available in the Selectboard packet for 2/24/25 on the Town website.
The chart offered two options: submission of a complaint to the state or submission of a complaint to the Selectboard. In either case, the complainant would be required to fill out a form describing the nature of the alleged violation (the form is also available for review in the Selectboard packet).
The main concern for the Board and attendees was privacy. Initially, the protocol allowed anonymous complaints to the Selectboard. While the state required the identity of the complainant, that identity would not be revealed publicly. Even when the state referred complaints back to the Selectboard for investigation and resolution, a state-submitted complaint would be handled confidentially in executive session.
However, Mr. Guiles noted that there was a difference between anonymity and privacy. While it made sense to protect privacy, he found anonymity “problematic.”
The Board ultimately voted unanimously to edit the protocol to disallow anonymous complaints to the Selectboard. However, complainants will be given the option to have their names withheld from the public as their complaints are assessed and investigated.
Public comment
An attendee asked the Board to prevent people from parking illegally on the bridge over the Neshobe River in front of the Town Office. Mr. Hopkins stated that he had already looked into installing No Parking signs.
Neil Silins, who is the Brandon Tree Warden, asked the Board to consider ways to provide access to the Brandon Town Forest, which is a vast expanse of woodlands to the east of town and which currently is difficult to access for recreational use. The forest is managed for logging, but access to other residents is limited and generally requires permission to cross private land. Mr. Silins said that the Town should conduct an inventory of resources in the forest to determine what’s there and what kind of income could be produced.
Mr. Hopkins replied that some research had already been done on the topic and that he would review it.
Mr. Guiles also recommended that the Town Forest be made more accessible to residents.
Two attendees with mobility-assistance devices asked that the Town do a better job clearing sidewalks of snow and ice, as the condition of sidewalks in downtown made it impossible for people to use wheelchairs and scooters. Other attendees agreed, and Mr. Bailey said that the Town would try to address the situation.
Warrant
The Board approved a warrant in the amount of $1,507,924.21 to cover its expenses and obligations. The large amount included $1,294,436.12 to the Otter Valley Unified Union School District as a pass-through for education tax funds owed to the District by the state.
