DBA reports to Selectboard
BRATTLEBORO — BRATTLEBORO - Stephanie Bonin of the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance provided the Selectboard with a semi-annual report at the July 17 Board meeting.
Bonin briefly went over the DBA's recent projects.
She noted the organization's online work: the new community events calendar they've created in conjunction with the Brattleboro Chamber of Commerce and Brattleboro Savings & Loan, and the DBA's new website. She noted several of the DBA's staff are assigned exclusively to social media tasks.
The DBA ran another round of the “Golden Ticket” promotion, which awarded tickets - hidden in chocolate bars - good for one year of free parking.
They also developed a “parking hero” character who dresses in a super-hero costume and feeds parking meters and pays people's parking tickets. The “parking hero” adds “levity,” Bonin said. “I deem this a success because the conversations on social media have all been positive,” she added.
Bonin announced the DBA awarded $30,000 in economic development grants and an additional $2,000 in facade-improvement grants.
The DBA recently added another member to its Board of Directors, said Bonin, and they are actively seeking a few more. Interested parties can contact them at www.brattleboro.com.
Town receives state highway grants
BRATTLEBORO - Department of Public Works Director Steve Barrett appeared at the July 17 regular Selectboard meeting to announce two grants the town recently received from the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Both will fund work on Hinesburg Road.
The first is a Class 2 Roadway Paving Grant of $78,400 for a new layer of asphalt on the road. The town must provide a 20 percent local match, Barrett said.
The Structures Grant, for $175,000, will help the town install a new box culvert. Barrett described it as “a little smaller than a bridge and a little larger than a culvert.” The funding will pay for a hydraulic study, engineering, and the box culvert's replacement. The local match for this project is 10 percent.
Barrett noted the local match monies will come from the capital improvement program's budget, which the Selectboard had previously approved.
At the July 17 meeting, the Selectboard voted to accept and appropriate the two AOT grants.
Selectboard awards capital paving bid
BRATTLEBORO - At the July 17 regular Selectboard meeting, Director of Public Works Director Steve Barrett announced the receipt of five bids for the summer's paving project.
The town has worked with all five vendors in the past, Barrett said, “and we'll continue to in the future.”
Barrett recommended the Board accept the lowest bid, which came from Mitchell Sand and Gravel in Winchester, N.H., for $189,644.95. The Selectboard agreed, and voted to award the bid.
The project includes paving on Hinesburg Road, Green Meadow, Jenny Lane, Glen Street, and Maple Street. “Those are the lucky recipients,” Barrett said.