Challenges for Change - Thank you!

Thank you to all of the Commissioners, Selectboard members, Planning Commission members, Municipal Managers and Administrators, and Municipal Planners who contacted our legislators to support regional and municipal planning recently. Your efforts were highly effective in achieving a positive outcome in the legislative process.

As one of the last acts before adjourning, the Legislature passed Challenges for Change. This law sets expectations for a new way of providing government services that strive to achieve savings by focusing on performance and outcomes.

Funding for RPCs, though reduced, will continue to be allocated based upon a fair and transparent funding rule intended to increase accountability and foster efficiency. In addition, each RPC will be required to respond to regional needs and increase coordination with other regional groups.

The beginning of this process was frustrating as directives to merge and consolidate with regional development corporations were put forth as the only answer. This was done without input from the affected agencies and their constituents, or a recognition that our statutory responsibilities are very different. RPCs were consistent in our testimony that innovation in regional planning and community/ economic development can and should happen in a more deliberate and thoughtful manner. Your voices provided the perfect harmony to this chorus.

CVRPC also appreciates the leadership and involvement of many members of our region’s House and Senate during the process. It is through their thoughtful engagement that the legislative process evolved to consider a broader approach to this Challenge.

CVRPC believes this legislation as passed is a positive outcome. We embrace the challenge to continuously improve regional planning and community development and identify specific ways to become even more efficient and effective. We hope that the new performance based contracts will be specific enough to hold us accountable, yet flexible enough to allow innovation.

We will be working through the summer and fall to address the legislative directives and look forward to reporting the results.

Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions as we move forward. Thank you again for your continuing support.
 

Sue Sinclair
Executive Director

National Park Service Technical Assistance

Want to connect your community to nature?

We can help.

Are you trying to protect your local rivers,
save an unspoiled landscape, or build trails
to help everyone in your community enjoy nature?

Applications for the next round of technical assistance
can be submitted until August 1.

Through the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program, the National Park Service provides staff who can guide communities in conserving waterways, preserving open space, and developing trails and greenways.

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their project ideas with our staff near you before submitting an application.

Visit www.nps.gov/rtca for complete information and application.

Corridors and Commons Awards Program

2010 Corridors and Commons Awards Program

This program recognizes communities that have developed creative, farsighted methods for linking existing open spaces, such as parks, town commons, ponds or reservoirs, town forests, or wetlands, with public corridors such as riparian zones along waterways, recreational trail systems or tree lined streets.
Entries are due June 15, 2010.

Sponsored by: The Vermont Urban and Community Forestry Council and VT Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects

For More Info: www.vtfpr.org/urban/CorridorsandCommons.cfm

Biomass forums

Public Forums on the
Role of Forests in Vermont’s Energy Future


More and more Vermonters are seeking homegrown solutions to meet our energy needs. A diverse collaborative of stakeholders is convening a series of public forums to add to the dialogue about how Vermont communities might harness the potential of forest biomass to help provide renewable energy on a sustainable basis. The goal of these forums is to engage Vermonters in a conversation that looks at how wood from our forests can produce efficient, renewable energy while ensuring long-term forest health and maximizing benefits to communities. These forums are intended to serve as an opportunity to hear from Vermonters about their interests, concerns, and hopes for biomass in Vermont. In addition, our goal is to elevate public awareness about important biomass energy issues including maintaining forest health, maximizing efficiency, and balancing the social, environmental and economic costs and benefits of forest biomass energy.


When and Where:
 June 2, 2010 — 6:30-8:30 p.m. — Middlebury— American Legion Hall.
 June 9, 2010 — 6:30-8:30 p.m. — Montpelier — Vermont State House (Rooms 10 and 11)
 July 8, 2010 – 6:30-8:30 p.m. – White River Jct. — Bugbee Senior Center


Sponsors:
These public forums are sponsored by the Biomass Energy Resource Center, Forest Guild, National Wildlife Federation, Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club, Vermont Natural Resources Council and Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. The Addison County Regional Planning Commission, Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission, and the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission are co-sponsoring the forums in their districts.

FY 2011 Transportation Enhancement Grants

The 2011 Transportation Enhancement grants are now available. Letters of intent are due by June 4, 2010. Completed applications are due to VTrans by August 20, 2010. These grants can fund such projects as new sidewalks, bike paths, historic preservation, environmental mitigation, and aid in the creation of a multi-modal and environmentally sustainable transportation system that encourages non-motorized use and enhances Vermont's historic landscape and development. The application document is available online at www.aot.state.vt.us/progdev/Sections/LTF/Enhancements%20Program/EnhancementsHomePage.htm or go to www.aot.state.vt and search under grants. CVRPC is here to assist you in formulating your project and can provide some assistance with the application process. Contact Steve Gladczuk at gladczuk@cvregion.com or 229-0389. These applications do require a 20% local match and require a letter of support from CVRPC. Let us know how we can help.

Vermont "Renewable Energy Atlas"

The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF), in conjunction with the Vermont Center for Geographic Information and Fountains Spatial, Inc., announced the launch of The Renewable Energy Atlas of Vermont, a state-of-the-art GIS-based web application that identifies, analyzes, and visualizes existing and promising locations for renewable energy projects.


"The Renewable Energy Atlas of Vermont will be an important tool in helping us all to consider the responsible energy options when thinking about our renewable energy future." - U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy

The Atlas is the first tool of its kind in the United States to enable users to choose their town or county and then select from a suite of renewable energy options including biomass, efficiency, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar and wind. With a click of the mouse, users can map their selection.

Existing and potential renewable energy sites, renewable energy installers and consultants will appear on the map, and an analysis panel will summarize the results. The simple to use web application can be accessed anywhere and users can save their maps and analyses as unique URLs or export them to a PDF document.

The Atlas can be viewed and used at: http://www.vsjf.org/resources/renewable-energy-atlas. The Atlas will be active as of April 22, 2010. For future reference, there will be a link on Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission's web site: www.centralvtplanning.org.

Challenges for Change -- Comments to the Legislature

Jeff Carr is looking for comments on Challenges for Change and is surprised that more Vermonters haven't spoken out. If you want to read what the Challenges for Change includes and/or want to send a comment to the Legislature and Administration, this is the link. It should take you right to the Legislative Council's page of the State's web site and in the right hand side column you will see Challenges for Change and a link to send an email.

http://www.leg.state.vt.us/