Municipal Planning Grants--Apps Due 9/30/09

Funding is available through the Municipal Planning Grants (MPG) for September 2009. The total funding for MPGs was reduced from $800,000 available in previous years to $408,700 for fiscal year 2010 (September 2009).

Key Dates are:

Applications due: September 30, 2009
RPC Confirmation of Municipal Planning Process: September 30, 2009
Award Decision: November, 2009
Project Completion Date: May 9, 2011
Online Application Training Dates: September 1, 3-5 pm and
September 19, 12-2 pm

Please note that all outreach about the MPGs will be by email and all applications must be submitted on-line.

Municipal Planning Grant Program Details
Municipalities may apply for up to $15,000 for single applications or up to $25,000 for multi-town (consortia) applications. No local match is required at this time, but only one application per municipality may be submitted. Municipal Planning grant applications will only be accepted online and are due on September 30, 2009.

Access to the online application will be available in August, but you are encouraged to start planning your projects now and begin the application process by taking the following steps:

1. Review the Program Description to determine the eligibility of your town and project. Pay special attention to the competitive criteria and statewide priorities in determining if you have a project that is a good candidate for funding through this program.

2. Meet with your local planning commission, selectboard and other entities to discuss and agree on a project. Municipal organizations other than the planning commission (e.g. conservation commission) may apply, but must have approval from both the planning commission and selectboard.

3. Review the sample application and develop a work plan and budget for your project with input from your regional planning commission (RPC) and/or a private consultant.

4. Write any “essay” responses to the application questions in a word processing document that can later be pasted into the online application.

5. If you or your town has not yet used the online grants management system, review the Roles and determine who will fill those roles from your municipality.

6. Create a new user account on the system following the instructions provided on Grants Management Log-in page.

7. New Municipal/Authorizing Official(s) will need to create a new user account on that site and obtain the necessary validation by calling 802-828-5249 during business hours.

8. If you need coaching, sign up for one of the optional online application trainings.

Anyone who has created a user account in the online grants management system (this year or last), will receive email notification when the online application is ready for use, sometime in August.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the MPG program administrator, Wendy Tudor at 802-828-5249 (direct line), 800-622-4553 (toll free) or email wendy.tudor@state.vt.us, or CVRPC at cvrpc@cvregion.com or 802/229-0389.