Brattleboro voters will be asked on Tuesday whether to direct officials to begin preparing for the possible shutdown of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The plant’s current operating license expires in eight years.
The non-binding referendum recommends that local, state and federal officials begin developing stategies to find work for people who would lose their jobs at the plant, as well as find replacement sources of electricity. Vermont Yankee employs about 500 people, with an additonal 120 who work as contractors.
Brattleboro Select Board member Pat DeAngelo says that rather than focusing on the closing of Vermont Yankee, the community should focus on bringing other businesses to the area.