Lightening Strike Causes Fire in Bradford Building

After all the flooding this spring, a fire was the last thing anyone in Bradford expected. However, thanks to  the bolt of lightening that struck the Richardson Building on Main Street, the building caught fire in the middle of a thunderstorm on April 11.

Most residents believed that it was a propane tank explosion, but the reality was that the lightening strike, combined with old wires in the attic that were burned off from the strike, contributed to fire on the third floor. The firefighters managed to contain the fire between the attic and third floor, which was especially fortunate due to the age of the structure. The two feet of air space between the floors, had the fire gotten into it somehow, could have greatly enhanced the damage caused. As it was, fire crews from New Hampshire and Vermont had to be called in from several towns to combat the threat.

Although the offices of the accounting firm in the building were damaged, with waterlogged files and destroyed computers, tenants were left mostly unscathed. While it took time to get the fire under control, Main Street was reopened a few hours after the incident.

Sale of Town Municipal Forest Sparks Debate

The crowd looks forward to a lively debate. (Photo courtesy of Victoria Loyer.)

While several other sections of the agenda took up decent chunks of time, by far the most controversial and long-discussed piece was Article 11, the sale of Bradford's Municipal Forest to the Trust for Public Land. The entire meeting had been a practice in compromise between tradition and harsh reality, but this issue proved difficult for citizens to come to terms with.

 An official started off by saying that the deal was a win/win for all towns involved, especially when it came to Bradford. In the past around four million dollars, three of which came from grants and one from loans, was present for work on Bradford's old and leaky water system. That money is no longer there to be used, so the money that would be gained from the sale- around $850,000- could be put to very good use in enhancing and repairing the town's water system.

The questions posed by some town citizens helped clarify the issue, while others proved to muddy the waters. One woman asked whether or not that money would go to improving or expanding the town's existing water system. The answer was that, due to the fact that there wasn't enough money to do both tasks, the focus would be on replacing and fixing urgent problems in the existing system and working on a new water storage reservoir. The already-existing pipes had been in place since 1900, and there is a major issue with pressure throughout town not being equal. One official said that there was "60% leakage somewhere in the system area due to all those old pipes." This statement, and other complaints for citizens, made it clear that the town's water system is in need of repair.

Despite that fact, there was still a strong debate over the sale of the land. Primary among the concerns was the fact that the land currently serves as a watershed for Bradford's water source, which prompted the proposal of an amendment to keep water rights to the land. The current reservoir is right next to the interstate, and many citizens consider it to be at risk from contamination (i.e. it could be polluted if a crashed tanker spilled chemicals on the highway, etc), which makes the Municipal Forest valuable if it could be used as a water source.

 An official from the Water and Sewer Commission attempted to put some of this debate to rest by discussing a hydrogeological study done within the past few years. The results showed that the Bradford Municipal Forest, while it had a great deal of streams and surface water, did not have enough ground water to be a viable water source; and the existing aquifer, while right next to the interstate, was protected by a thick layer of clay in the ground. The Forest holds the potential to become one if all the pipes that lead to town and the old, abandoned reservoir (capable of holding 1 million gallons of water) already in place there were completely repaired. However, the cost to repair that infrastructure would greatly outweigh the amount of water that could be obtained from the land. Moreover, that water would have to be purified in a treatment facility to meet state standards to be used. The officials believe that the land is important as a watershed, but not a water source. In a word, it is impractical.

More debate arose from these facts. Some citizens still wanted to retain water rights to the land. Some compared that desire to the old adage "wanting to have their cake and eat it too," and there was also the issue that keeping those water rights would greatly reduce the price. Moreover, the town had already signed an agreement with the Trust for Public Land for the sale, pending on the approval of voters, and they would have to go back to the Vermont government and re-negotiate the contract. Eventually the amendment to the article was dropped, but discussion continued.

Voters cast in their ballot for a decision on the amendment. (Photo courtesy Victoria Loyer.)

Others protested the sale due to fear that the land would be developed and lose its function as a watershed, but the official from the Trust for Public Land  guaranteed that the land would be carefully preserved. The Trust's plan is to sell the forest to West Fairlee so it can be added to that town's preserved lands.

Another issue was logging rights to the land. One man's testimony on that subject was striking. He was the owner of a tract of land even larger than the Bradford Municipal Forest, and has been since 1953. Overall, the money he has made from the sale of wood from that land since that time hasn't equaled the $850,000 the town would get if they sold the land outright. In his opinion, the decision was an easy one.

Many didn't find it so easy. One Brian Seligamn, the owner of a pond near the old one-million gallon reservoir in the Forest, loudly advocated for the repair of the old pipes in and around the forest. He proposed an amendment to the article to allocate some of the money to that purpose. He saw the old reservoir as a viable, important water source for the town. There was a great deal of debate about this due to the fact that the water would have to be umpedup to it from Bradford. There was a great deal of discussion about this issue, which was further complicated by the fact that there were several locations and reservoirs being discussed.

In the end the motion was to let the selectboard and water board decide. Debate on the amendment to the article was closed and, after another few short issues, the bill was passed through as it had originally been proposed. It took over two hours and an incredible amount of debate for the town to decide to give up its Municipal forest, valuable in both a historical and monetary way, but the hard choice proved to be the best to allow the town to move on into its future.

Bradford Town Meeting Faces Breaks in Tradition

A view from just outside the meeting room.

 As with all town meetings, Bradford's, held at 9:00am at the Academy Auditorium, aws one deeply rooted in tradition. However, participants and spectators at the meeting had to deal with modern problems in this new economy.

One of the plaques on the back of the chairs.

The location itself showed some of the dichotomy between the past and present. Once the town's school, the building is wooden, brick, and full of age. The meeting room was furnished with narrow wooden seats paid for by the students of classes passed almost a hundred years ago, while bright fluorescent lights, newly-painted walls, and an elevator confronted the steady stream of people filing in. Unlike years past, citizens who arrived couldn't simply take a seat. Voters had to register in the small area near the doorway in order to vote or speak.

This was far from the first break in tradition. After the initial opening statements, which included a moment of silence of the full room for those lost in the previous year as well as a pledge of allegiance, Article 1 included the elections of the town moderator. Lawrence Coffin, the well-respected town meeting moderator since 1971, was quickly elected but announced that this was his last year in office. He nevertheless called for orderly and courteous conduct, citing that Bradford had been used years ago by a doctor in his book "Honeybee Democracy" as an example of how small towns come to decisions in meetings.

The next order of business was  to go over the Annual Report in Article 2. Certain subjects, such as the collection of delinquent taxes, were brought up by concerned citizens. Article 3 was another point of interest, where new candidates vied for the old for offices of Town Clerk, Treasurer, and Select Board seats. This introduced the new ballot system, breaking nearly two hundred year of tradition in Bradford. Whereas previous years had involved lists of people's names and checking off whether or not they said yes, this required those citizens who wished to vote to go up to the front and have their red card, a sign that they were a registered voter, punched. Several people admitted that this was a much quicker and smoother system than the last, although several issues- such as the fact that there wasn't always a consistent number of voters for each decision- bothered some voters. While there were also some grumbles among the crowd after they had to get up several times in a row, this new system seemed to work very well.

Voters headed to the front. (Photo courtesy of Victoria Loyer.)

The following articles passed with some discussion, especially Article 6, which discussed the payment plan for a badly-needed replacement for the plow truck. It was on this issue and several others, such as the one to motion money to go toward maintaining the town's parks, that modern issues especially came into play. The downturn in the economy means that the town, like many others in New England, had to make some hard choices. Many departments hadn't kept up with inflation and the rising cost of equipment, which made the purchase of equipment- such as the new plow truck- a major issue. After three hours of discussion on Articles 1-10, the board decided to adjourn for lunch.

As the group reconvened, others made pleas for the voter's attention. One group brought up the issue of a Bradford War Memorial, which would be made of wood so names could be changed more easily, while another official spoke and fielded questions about major issues in Vermont as a whole. Health care claimed a large portion of her speaking time as she said that the state's current $3.9 billion bill was projected to rise another two billion in 2012, and the state was planning to implement a three-step program to attempt to ratify this situation.

However, the meeting quickly turned to the matter at hand. Article 11, the sale of Bradford's Municipal forest to the Trust for Public Land, took up almost two hours of meeting time in intense discussion. Concerns over preservation, water rights, lumber, and money were discussed at great depth, and many who had a person stake in the project came forward to speak. This issue with be covered in depth in the next post on this blog, but suffice to say that the issues and Amendments proposed were many. Eventually, however, the sale was voted through.

The remainder of the meeting went without much issue. Despite having to confront a new voting system as well as the harsh realities of the declining economy, all participants, whether they were the many elderly citizens or the young students who ran around with extra microphones, felt proud at having participated in another town meeting. While it's difficult to say where the town will be in another year at this point in time, it's safe to say that the town's strong traditional base and the fresh faces that spoke up with ideas for its future will work together to do their best in the upcoming year.

Reminder!

The Bradford Town Meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 1, at 9:00 a.m. at the Bradford Academy Auditorium.

The issues to be discussed can be found on the Town Warning.

Expansion of Sewer Depends Upon Sale of Town Land

A view down mainstreet Bradford.

 In the North Country, people often feel that their land and forests are part of their roots- but for Bradford, the sale of their Municipal Forest could allow them to sink those roots in even deeper.

The story of Bradford's Municipal forest is both colorful and somewhat controversial. The land that makes up the forest is located in Fairlee and West Fairlee and comes out to nearly 600 acres of land in total. While it was bought by the Village of Bradford to act as a backup water source, the town of Bradford is technically defunct due to the fact that it merged with the Town of Bradford some time ago.

Regardless, the land belongs to Bradford, and the Trust for Public Land is very much aware of that. They've offered the town of Bradford approximately $850,000 for the land, money the town needs for the expansion of its sewer system. Downtown Bradford (otherwise known as the Lower Plain) has no sewer system that's connected to the town. Since that area of town is home to many of its restaurants as well as Hannaford supermarket the fact that there is no decent sewer system in place has been a problem for quite some time. By selling the land, which isn't very useful when it comes to serving its original purpose of providing water, the town will gain the money they need to improve the Lower Plain.

Of course, a sale this large doesn't come without controversy. The offer has been floating around for around a year now and last fall the select board decided to approve the sale so long as the voters agreed. Issues have arisen when people concerned with timber rights clash with those who promote land conversation, and the town and sewer commissions are also have some disagreements. The fact is that the money from this sale would greatly benefit the town- but at what cost? Some believe that improving part of the town doesn't outweigh the loss of part of the town's heritage.

The Trust for Public Land has already anticipated the sale and are making offers for West Fairlee to take control of the land. A list of questions and answers given to the townsfolk can be found here.