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ECVEDD
Housing Workshop
You are cordially invited to a Housing Workshop hosted by the East Central Vermont Economic Development District (ECVEDD): "Housing and Economic Development, the Symbiotic Relationship".
  • Thursday, June 15, 2017
  • Refreshments served from 5:30 - 6:15 pm.   Program to begin 6:15 pm
  • Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction
  • RSVP To Mark at GMEDC, 802-295-3710
The workshop will feature a panel of speakers who will discuss the current housing needs in Vermont and why the subject is so critical to a sustainable economy. They will offer their thoughts on the opportunities and challenges for development from both the private and public perspectives.
Water Quality
Municipal Roads Grants-in-Aid Pilot Project
Vermont's regional planning commissions and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are pleased to invite municipalities to sign up for a new Municipal Roads Grants-in-Aid Pilot Project. DEC's Clean Water Initiative Program is offering approximately $2.1 million to support this pilot project. The funding will help Vermont achieve its water quality goals by aiding municipalities in implementing best management practices on municipal roads. This additional support will help municipalities get a jump start on meeting the forthcoming DEC Municipal Roads General Permit requirements .
 
The Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission will be contacting municipalities inviting them to participate in this pilot project. The program is voluntary, but in order to participate, municipalities must sign up by July 5, 2017.  Contact Tom Kennedy for more information.
Energy
Enhanced Regional Energy Plan
Act 174 (of 2016) enables municipal and regional plans to carry greater weight (i.e. "substantial deference") in the Section 248 siting process for renewable energy projects.   With this in mind, the SWCRPC is in the process of developing a new regional energy plan with the intent of meeting the new enhanced energy planning standards in order to get "substantial deference".  Click here to read more about what this will entail.  Contact Jason Rasmussen for more information.
Photos Needed
New State Advertising Campaign
The Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing is working to promote all 251 Vermont towns as a tourism destination and highlight the unique communities. The ad campaign starts this summer and will run all the way through summer of 2018. They are looking for good high resolution photos, unique locations, events and attractions from all towns throughout the state. The information will also be used to populate the towns and regions section in the  251 Vermont towns section of VermontVacation.com . Information can be submitted through this link. 
Regional Plan
Regional Land Use Advisory Committee
The SWCRPC hired Place Sense to assist with preparing updates to the land use chapter of the Regional Plan.  Our advisory committee, which was established by the Board of Commissioners a few months ago, is meeting monthly to help guide the ongoing update process.  The committee is made up of local planning commission and conservation commission members.  A draft document and the corresponding maps should be ready to be released for public review within a couple months.  Please contact Jason Rasmussen if you would like more information about this project.
Transportation News
Operation Safety Corridor
VTrans is establishing interstate Safety Corridors throughout Vermont where a combination of high traffic volume, high speeds and a high rate of crashes demands an increased level of enforcement. These areas are where Vermont drivers are most at risk.  The focus is to reduce speeding, distracted, aggressive and impaired driving, and to increase seat belt use. The hope is to reduce the number of crashes and tickets issued through an increased police presence.

Operation Safety Corridor involves the efforts of the Vermont State Police, Department of Motor Vehicles, and local law enforcement agencies.  It will focus on four high-traffic corridors: I-91 between Exits 1 and 3, the Hartford I-89/I-91 interchange area, I-89 between Exits 7 and 10, and I-89 between Exits 12 and 17. Click here for more information and maps of the focus areas.

Transportation Construction Projects
Construction season is in full swing around our region, with many transportation projects being completed by towns and VTrans.  For the VTrans projects, weekly updates are available via email or project websites were created to provide up to date information.  Please let Katharine Otto know if there are any projects which you would like to receive weekly updates about, and she will get you added to the lists.
 
Some of the larger projects this year include:
  • The Walker Bridge project on VT Route 103 in the Village of Ludlow will involve a 35 day road closure.  Click here for more information.
  • Repaving of US-5 in Rockingham and Springfield will be occurring through August 2017  
Contact Katharine Otto or click here for a more complete list of upcoming projects this year and in future years.
Emergency Management
DPS Homeland Security Reorganization
The Vermont Department of Public Safety has reorganized the Homeland Security Section of the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS). Effective July 1, a new Homeland Security Unit will be created within the Vermont State Police Field Force Division, and DEMHS will be renamed as Vermont Emergency Management . This realignment focuses the competencies of the Divisions of Emergency Management and State Police, and leverages the strengths of each to enhance State of Vermont capabilities across the mission areas of prevention, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation. Overview of Position Changes: The Homeland Security Chief and Homeland Security Program Manager are transferred to VSP under the Field Force Commander to form Homeland Security Unit. VEM retains the Exercise Administrator and Training Administrator positions to be incorporated into newly created Engagement Section. Three Regional Coordinator positions currently in the Planning Section transfer to the Engagement Section. The Emergency Management Coordinator position in the Operations and Logistics Section transfers to the Planning Section. The Engagement Section will present on their role at the next LEPC meeting. For more information contact Allison Hopkins.
Grant Opportunites
Please refer to our Grants Website for up to date information about existing grants relevant for our towns and region. 
Welcome Van!
In May, the SWCRPC hired a new temporary employee, Van Purcell.  He retired from GMP/CVPS three years ago, and is excited to work with new people on new projects.  Van will be primarily focusing on transportation-related fieldwork this summer, such as road erosion inventories, traffic counts, and bridge and culvert inventories.  Welcome Van!
Southern Windsor Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District 
The recent household hazardous waste collections were a success! In Springfield, 165 people combed through their barns, garages, and basements and brought in all manner of materials - mostly paint. A week later in Ludlow, we had a record number of participants - 90 people drove through and dropped off quite a volume of hazardous materials, including a five-pound container of liquid mercury! Thanks for doing your part to clean up the environment, everyone. The next collections will be on September 9 in Springfield and September 16 in Windsor.
Stay Connected
Don't forget about us! 
When there are personnel changes on your boards or in the office, please help us by sending your updates to us promptly.  We use your contact information for a variety of purposes including:   grant opportunities;  upcoming road construction projects (including road and bridge closures);  trainings and events  and many other things! If you have any updates for town staff or volunteers, please send them to Chris Titus .
Are you on Front Porch Forum?
The towns of Cavendish, Reading, Weathersfield, West Windsor, and Windsor have all joined. The mission of Front Porch Forum is to help neighbors connect and build community. It does that by hosting regional networks of online neighborhood forums. Common sense and a growing body of research tell us that well-connected neighborhoods are friendlier places to live, with less crime, healthier residents, higher property values, and better service from local government and public utilities.
S outhern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission 
PO Box 320
38 Ascutney Park Road
Ascutney, VT 05030
Telephone: 802-674-9201
Fax: 802-674-5711
General Email: info@swcrpc.org