A new laundromat, expanded walking and biking trails, and more affordable housing could be in the cards for Brandon, if goals set at a community meeting this week become reality. Those were the top priorities for town development selected by participants in a discussion at Town Hall on Wednesday, May 27, hosted by the non-profit Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD).

Residents gathered on a nearly perfect early-summer evening for the second of three VCRD meetings, all of which are free and open to the public. The turn-out was impressive, with around 80 people attending in person and another seven joining virtually. Pizza provided by Brandon's Morningside Bakery was much appreciated.

This discussion about the future of Brandon focused on narrowing down a list of ideas brainstormed at the previous meeting, in April. Between the two meetings, VCRD had consolidated those ideas into 21 separate topics, including improved recreational facilities, housing, energy efficiency, bike routes, and more.

VCRD facilitators spent the next two and a half hours leading the attendees through a process to pare down these ideas to three priorities that will be the focus of the final meeting, in June, at which experts from around the state will converge to offer advice and resources for achieving them.

Blue Skies and Sticker Votes

The VCRD team began by encouraging the group to brainstorm around the topics they had collected. The feedback revealed several recurring themes throughout the evening, including a desire to involve more young people in the community, expand affordable housing options (especially for first-time homeowners), and ensure Brandon remains a place where all are welcomed and neighbors support each other.

As they had in the previous meeting, VCRD facilitators encouraged the group to "blue sky" by imagining the future of Brandon in broad, aspirational terms. VCRD Community Visit Program Manager Alyssa Johnson, started this exercise by saying: "So this is where we are, 30 years in the future, 30,000 feet in the sky above Town Hall. What you're seeing is the big landscape of your community. And this is where I want you to start, your vision. What does your community feel like?"

The prompting resulted in comments about housing, food insecurity, skill sharing, and civic engagement. Others brought up day-to-day problems that Brandon faces, in particular, that the town lacks a laundromat.

Participants were given eight stickers and asked to vote on their top priorities among the 21 ideas by placing the stickers on large sheets of paper. At the end of the exercise, VCRD said that, actually, nine ideas remained because two were so close in votes. Those nine priorities in no particular order were:

• Increase Community Skill Sharing and Learning
• Expand Outdoor Recreation and Trails
• Build Safe Bike and Walking Routes Across Town
• Expand and Improve Housing
• Promote Local Energy Efficiency and Production
• Maintain and Plan for Community Infrastructure
• Enhance Recreation Facilities
• Improve Transportation Options
• Open a Laundromat in Brandon

The group reviewed the list of "action ideas" and decided to combine two of the priorities into one goal: to expand outdoor recreation and trails as well as have safe bike and walking routes around town. At the April 30 meeting, the concepts of better sidewalks, bike paths, safer commuting routes, and recreational areas were popular ideas for a future Brandon.

VCRD then asked attendees to "champion" the topics they felt should be included in the top three priorities for the town.

Several people urged that improving connectivity between Brandon, Forest Dale, and the parks by establishing safe walking and biking routes would encourage more outdoor activity — bringing people together and benefiting people of all ages. The larger concept of fair and affordable housing returned in this comment round, and the need for a laundromat was frequently mentioned. More than one person described the difficulty of having to travel long distances to clean clothes.

Attendee Tricia Welch advocated for the laundromat, transportation, and skill sharing, saying that she was most in favor of "the things that community members can come together to do, committed to sharing, as neighbors helping neighbors." Like several others, she said that while housing was an important issue, she was concerned that some aspects of the problem were beyond Brandon’s control, particularly those shaped by state policy.

Participants then did another round of sticker voting, this time with just three stickers to allocate between eight choices. When the final tally was taken, the group’s top-three priorities for the future of Brandon were:

• Open a Laundromat in Brandon
• Expand Outdoor Recreation and Trails + Build Safe Bike and Walking Routes Across Town
• Expand and Improve Housing

At the end of the meeting, participants were invited to sign up for task forces focused on the “big-three” issues, which will be the focus of the next meeting on Thursday, June 25, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Neshobe School.

Photos: Neshobe Current