FOREX NEW YORK COMPANIES

BRATTLEBORO - The Town Arts Committee is probably not going to ask the Selectboard to create a public arts fund, but the group is continuing to work on creative ideas to find money to fund new public art in Brattleboro.

The committee was discussing whether it should ask the Selectboard to commit 1 percent of its capital budget, and 10 percent of the town’s local option rooms and meals tax, into an annual public arts fund.

But after meeting with Town Manager Barbara Sondag, who said she would not support the fund, Arts Committee Chairwoman Kate Anderson said the group should probably come up with other ways to leverage town funds, or "in kind" work, toward public art.

According to Anderson, Sondag recommended that the Arts Committee come up with specific proposed projects that the board could consider.

The committee met Tuesday and decided to begin working on a public arts project at the Union Station development project. The committee wants to find the money for art-enhanced bicycle racks on the Union Station site.

The committee talked about finding the money within the Union Station budget, and suggested that a portion of the funding could be matched with private money.

The Arts Committee expects to meet with members of the Union Station Committee in the coming weeks to present its plan.

Before deciding to focus on the Union Station idea, the committee looked at other municipalities around the country

The committee members also talked about introducing public art into the budgets for public development. The committee was not willing to completely give up on the idea of establishing a public art fund paid for with tax money.

Arts Committee member Doug Cox, who supports the proposal, said he did hear from a resident who opposed the fund. Cox said he understood that in the current economic climate it was going to be hard sell, though he said he was willing to keep the idea on the table.

"This is not something we should expect to be approved the first time around," said Cox. "We should expect push back. This is probably going to be a multi-year project."

Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@reformer.com or at 802-254-2311 ext. 279.

Question: I'm a middle-age guy who has always provided a good living for his family, and my wife, "Mona," is a stay-at-home wife and mother (three kids, all now out of the house). Out of the blue, Mona told me that she was unhappy with our relationship and was "lost and seeking to find herself."

She also said she didn't want to have sex with me until she did. That was a year ago, and nothing's changed. I continue to pay the bills, as I've always done. It seems to me that since I'm doing my part as a husband, Mona ought to be doing her part as a wife, and that includes sexual intimacy. What do you recommend I do? We've tried counseling, but that didn't help.

Answer: Apparently Mona has the "Let's make a bad situation worse" gene. Seriously, don't dishonor your decades-long marriage by recasting it as a money-for-sex arrangement. You have plenty to be angry about, but not that you're failing to get what you paid for. What you need to do is find a better marriage counselor, one who will call your wife on her punitive behavior and will help you decide what your next step should be.

Question: My sister "Penny" is furious because my parents are spending three times more on my wedding than they did on hers. The thing is, she's 15 years older than me, and she got married a long time ago, when our folks had a lot less money. Penny wants Mom and Dad to give her the $30,000 difference between the costs of the two

Answer: Not so fast, sister. Of course Penny is unreasonable to demand that your mother and father hand her a check now for the money they couldn't afford to spend on her wedding then. That said, your folks should consider giving your sister a generous gift in conjunction with your big day. While they don't owe it to Penny to rewrite history, it wouldn't hurt if they acknowledged that, compared with you, there's quite a bit she missed out on.

Question: My daughter suffered a fractured wrist when she was hit by a bicyclist. Should I pay her $2,700 medical bill, should the bicyclist pay it, or should he and I split it (my family's health insurance deductible hasn't been met)? The accident occurred in a park on a path designated for both pedestrians and bicyclists.

Answer: In terms of fairness, who should pay depends on the answers to two questions: Did Abigail step in front of a bicycle that was where it was supposed to be? And was the bicyclist reckless in some way (e.g., going too fast for a path shared with pedestrians, distracted by his phone or riding on the wrong side of the path himself)? If the answer to the first question is "yes," you should pay. If the answer to the second question is "yes," the bicyclist should pay. If the answer to both questions is "yes," you and the cyclist should split the bill. But if the answer to both questions is "no," the bill is all yours (accidents happen).

Please email your questions about money and relationships to Questions@MoneyManners.net.