By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—The Brandon SB convened for its regular meeting on Monday evening.
After approving minutes, agendas, and a warrant in the amount of $103,732.42, the Board received its biweekly report from Town Manager Seth Hopkins.
Town Manager report
Town Manager Seth Hopkins delivered his report, the text of which is reprinted in this issue.
Mr. Hopkins highlighted some items and added some updates:
- The Reporter will hold a public forum on Thursday, September 18 at 7 p.m. in the downstairs meeting room of the Brandon Town Hall. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the future of the community’s newspaper.
- Town boards and committees will begin using a uniform Zoom Meeting ID. If meetings of different committees/board conflict, different IDs will be used, however.
- There are still openings on the Development Review Board (alternate), Planning Commission (alternate), and Energy Committee. Anyone interested in any of these should contact Mr. Hopkins.
- Chief Kachajian has received some interest in officer positions with the Brandon Police Department. The Chief has also received quotes on replacements for the Sig Sauer handguns currently used by BPD officers.
- Mr. Hopkins is trying to get a new signal company to adjust the timing of the traffic lights on Route 7 in downtown in order to ease congestion in the village.
Community Development report
Deputy Town Manager Bill Moore delivered his Community Development report, the full text of which is reprinted in this issue.
Mr. Moore added that he would work with the Brandon Historic Preservation Commission in their update of their Workbook, which hasn’t been revised since 2002. Mr. Moore specifically mentioned that he had been asked to consult on the parking section of the book. He agreed at the meeting to consult on the traffic section as well.
Mr. Moore stated that 2 student-interns from Otter Valley would be working at the Town Office from 12 to 3 during the week, learning the ropes of town management and assisting on projects large and small.
In response to questions from Board member Ralph Ethier and an attendee, Mr. Moore indicated that the owners of the now-defunct Ripton Mountain Distillery had removed from its old space the collateral which had been put up to secure a $25K loan from the town’s Revolving Loan Fund. The loan had been made to the Distillery in 2019. The town is not in possession of the collateral.
In a later conversation with The Reporter, Mr. Moore stated that the owners of the Distillery still owe $22,748.77 on the loan. Mr. Moore said that the owners had pledged to sell the collateral, which consisted of distillery equipment, and repay the loan. Mr. Moore also stated that this was a rare instance of default in the loan program, which is intended to provide loans at favorable terms to small businesses looking to open in Brandon.
Animal Control Officer appointed
The Board voted unanimously to appoint Larry Stevens as the town’s Animal Control Officer. The position had been held since 2021 by Tim Kingston, who has recently become the Chief Operator at the town’s wastewater treatment plant on Union Street.
In addition to his new appointment as Animal Control Officer, Mr. Stevens is also the town’s Zoning Administrator, Health Officer, and Rental Housing Officer.
The position comes with a stipend but does not hold regular hours. Instead, the Animal Control Officer works on an on-call basis, responding to requests from the public for assistance with stray pets, rabid or invasive wildlife, etc.
Town Manager Seth Hopkins said that the Animal Control Officer had received 29 calls for assistance last year, though some of them turned out not to be related to animal control.
Budget Workshop dates
The Board agreed to hold budget workshops on the following Mondays: September 15, October 6, October 20, November 3, and November 17. The meetings will take place in the downstairs meeting room of the Brandon Town Hall at 7 p.m. on those dates.
During the meetings, the Board will discuss and craft a proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027, which runs from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The current fiscal year began on July 1, 2025 and will run through June 30, 2026.
The first meeting will be an overview of last year’s budget, potentially with presentations from the heads of the town’s various departments.
All budget workshops are open to the public, who are encouraged to attend and offer input.
The town had in previous years appointed a five-member Budget Committee, which offered guidance and advice to the Selectboard but could not vote on the final budget proposal to be put before voters at Town Meeting. However, it was recently discovered that the town’s appointment process was in conflict with state law. To bring the town into compliance, town residents will be asked at Town Meeting in March 2026 whether they would like to have a Budget Committee and, if so, whether its members should be elected or appointed.
Town ordinance review
Board Vice-Chair Cecil Reniche-Smith and Board member Jeff Haylon offered an update on their continuing review of the town’s ordinances and policies. The purpose of the review is to identify any ordinances or policies that they believe the Board should revise or repeal.
No ordinance will be repealed without a public discussion during which town residents can weigh in.
Ms. Reniche-Smith brought three ordinances to the Board’s attention, noting that two of them may be “repealed by implication” because subsequent ordinances have either contradicted or superseded them.
The three ordinances flagged for discussion in this round of review are:
- Wireless Telecommunications Facilities Ordinance (2002)
- Central Business District Sidewalk Sign and Merchandise Display Ordinance (2014)
- Sewer Ordinance for the Town of Brandon, Vermont, Relating to Individual Sewage Disposal Systems (1994)
The first two ordinances were flagged for review and potential repeal because the issues they addressed have since been addressed by the current Brandon Land Use Ordinance.
The last ordinance in the list, which deals with private septic systems, seems to have been made obsolete by state law. However, in-meeting review of the relevant state law suggested that the Board had an option whether to pursue its own inspection of septic systems or leave the permitting to the state. Mr. Hopkins suggested that the Board vote to leave the permitting to the state, noting that the town had not been involved in septic permits in the time he had been Town Manager or on the Selectboard.
The next step in the process will be to publicize the texts of these ordinances in advance of a public meeting to discuss their repeal.
Public Comment
During the public-comment segment of the meeting, an attendee thanked Tim Kingston for his work as Brandon’s Animal Control Officer, noting that Mr. Kingston had done “a great job.”
Mr. Moore encouraged town residents to attend the public forum on the future of The Reporter at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 18 in the downstairs meeting room of the Brandon Town Hall.
Board Chair Doug Bailey noted that there had been some form of newspaper in Brandon for all of the 42 years that he has lived here and that it would be disappointing to see it disappear entirely.
