No Town Council Meeting for August 2022
Updated: Jan 6
August 24th, 2022
Summer is getting closer to the end and the kids are heading back to school. Bramwell was again void of a regularly scheduled Town Meeting for August. Several citizens and council members did inquire with Mayor Stoker about having one scheduled, but they were met with no response. On Monday, August 8th, a group of approximately 25 concerned citizens met for an informal gathering at the Train Depot. Everyone sat and openly discussed their concerns about the town and actively listened to all in attendance. Although the gathering was not put together to be “productive” and did not intend to solve any of the issues, it was
wonderful for everyone to have the opportunity to express their views and concerns without anyone shaming them or making excuses. The collective group made a list of the concerns, and a letter was drafted and delivered to the mayor so that she was apprised of the meeting and what was communicated during the hours the group gathered. Here is a clip of the letter:
No word on a response from the mayor, regarding the letter or the concerns.
On August 12th, just four days after a regular town meeting would have taken place, if scheduled, a special town meeting was called to discuss plans for the area where the Episcopal Church once stood. An Architect close to Bramwell, David Lambert, has offered his services to draw up some plans for the area. All citizens were invited to attend the meeting and share their ideas. Becky Allen provided a sample drawing of a meditation garden for the space. Vicki Workman recommended a memorial with the bell from the church. Several other ideas were also expressed, including a community food garden. Most citizens had concerns about the cost of the project, how the town would come up with the funds and what future funds would be used to pay for the upkeep of any project put in place. Requests were made to have the town provide an inventory of the items that were salvaged from the church property and several people were interested in purchasing some of the items, possibly through an auction scenario. The Episcopal Church project was tabled,
and a small group walked down to the church site to see what the area looked like. There is very little structure left and of what is left, there appears to still be a lot of work that needs to be done to save it from falling in before or during the upcoming winter. We encourage other citizens to become involved in these discussions in the future.
On August 15th, an Executive Session for the town council was called to discuss personnel. As far as we know, the executive session had everyone in attendance except Mandy Fink. It lasted almost three hours. Since it was an executive session there is no word on what was discussed or any outcomes.
Some of the town employees did spend Sunday morning cleaning up the edges of the street and sidewalks of the downtown area. Some of the edges of Brick Street are getting overgrown with grass and weeds and could use some tending to as well.
We hope everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day weekend in a couple of weeks. Please be on the lookout for notifications of future town meetings or other events. We encourage you to join the other concerned citizens of Bramwell. This town is a beautiful place to live, and we want to see it remain sound and prosper.