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Happy August!
With the majority of the summer behind us, now is the time to fit in as many beach, grilling, and outdoor activities as possible. Sadly, the endless summer is not a reality for us here in New England. While this season seems to pass the quickest, we are lucky we've had limited rain, and plenty of sunshine and blue skies. Here's to the last 50 days of summer!
Here at SRPC, staffers have been preparing to work with the Tri-City Homelessness Coalition, creating a plan for executing the travel demand model, and drafting the FY2018 Annual Report and Commissioner's Handbook.
In this issue you'll meet our new GIS planner/analyst, Marcia Moreno Báez, and learn about SPRC's latest [guest] blog,
a "Save the Dates" for the Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast's Rochester Housing Workshop, planning events of interest,
SRPC's featured articles in NHMA's Town and City publication,
grant
funding opportunities,
and and community happenings.
Until next month,
Shayna Sylvia
Communications and Outreach Specialist
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SRPC Welcomes Marcia Moreno-Báez, GIS Planner
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Marcia Moreno-Báez started in her new position as GIS planner/analyst on July 31. She is primarily responsible for providing technical assistance to SRPC communities through GIS mapping efforts.
Marcia graduated from the University of Arizona with a major in Natural Resources Management and a minor in Spatial Analysis and Remote Sensing. She received her Bachelors in Architecture from Tec de Monterrey, Campus Sonora Norte, Mexico.
Before joining SRPC, Marcia was working as an independent contractor. One of her recent projects, "An Index of Blue Economy Capacity: Social Equity, Environmental Sustainability, and Economic Growth," was a collaboration with the University of British Columbia. It aims to develop a global Blue Economy Capacity Index considering current natural capital for ocean renewable energy, blue carbon, fisheries, mariculture, and ecotourism.
Marcia is also a research associate at the University of New England in the Department of Environmental Science.
When Marcia isn't at work, she enjoys playing sports or doing any outdoors activities. Please join us in welcoming Marcia to Strafford Regional Planning Commission.
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SRPC's Latest [Guest] Blog Post
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Dave Carpenter accepting Dover's Award
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SRPC's most recent blog post is a guest blog on the NH Coastal Adaptation Workgroup (NHCAW) website. The blog recognizes the City of Dover, which received the NH Planner's Association (NHPA) 2018 Plan of the Year award at the NHPA spring conference.
The blog begins: "At this year's spring conference, members of the New Hampshire Planners Association (NHPA) presented the City of Dover with the 2018 Plan of the Year award for the city's recently adopted climate adaptation chapter of its master plan. This accomplishment follows on the heels of the 2017 Climate in the Seacoast (C-RiSe) vulnerability assessment, which identified inland coastal portions of the city that were most susceptible to flooding from future sea level rise. The master plan chapter is the first of its kind in New Hampshire, and the award is the second NHPA Plan of the Year award Dover has received in the past three years; the 2016 Downtown Pedestrian and Vehicular Access Study was the first."
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Rochester and Workforce Housing Coalition Partner to Hold Downtown Housing Workshop
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The
City of Rochester
is partnering with the
Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast
to host a workforce housing workshop on Sept. 26 and 28. On the first day, participants will take a guided walking tour of the site, 13-15 Hanson Street in downtown Rochester, and participate in two listening sessions where they can share their ideas and concerns about possible housing development plans for the area. Light refreshments will be provided.
Two days later, a team of volunteer housing professionals with design, planning, and development backgrounds will analyze the public input and draft plans and present the finished design concepts to the public that evening. Following the public presentation, a workshop booklet including the organized design concepts will be produced and made available to the city staff and members of the general public for use in future housing development projects.
For more information, visit:
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Planning Events of Interest
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NHMA Webinar: The ABCs of RPCs
The webinar will be hosted by Nathan Miller, AICP, deputy executive director of the Southern New Hampshire RPC, and attorney Stephen C. Buckley, NHMA's legal services counsel and chair of the New Hampshire Association of RPCs (NHARPC). Together, they will outline the strategic partnerships and current program of work of the RPCs on behalf of their member communities, and by extension, all cities and towns across New Hampshire.
This webinar is open to NHMA members and is of interest to all municipal officials and employees and members of NHARPC.
NHCAW Workshop: Building a Flood Smart Seacoast - Ways to Protect Your Property From Coastal Flooding
Join the NH Coastal Adaptation Workgroup (CAW) for the third and final workshop in its summer 2018 workshop series focused on building a flood-smart seacoast. This workshop is geared towards Seacoast New Hampshire property owners and tenants; municipal officials and staffs; interested community groups; and other organizations.
The event will take place at Saint James Masonic Lodge No. 102, 77 Tide Mill Rd. in Hampton, on Tuesday, Aug. 21, from 6-8 p.m. The workshop will identify natural and structural approaches to stabilizing shorelines. Participants will also learn how to determine whether shoreline stabilization is right for them and, if it is, what factors they should keep in mind when planning a shoreline stabilization project.
View the workshop flyer at:
Register for the workshop at:
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SRPC Offers Trail Planning Advice in NH Municipal Association's Magazine Town and City
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Over the past year, NHMA has partnered with the NH Association of Regional Planning Commissions (NHARPC) to produce the section, which offers RPC planners throughout the state an opportunity to write about various planning issues. The article on trail planning is the fourth written or co-written by an SRPC staffer to appear in the publication. The others are:
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Grant Corner
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Coastal and Waterway Community Recycling Grant Program
The Recycling Partnership, a national nonprofit organization that works to advance recycling and support public recycling programs, recently announced the availability of grant funding through its Coastal and Waterway Community Recycling Grant Program. This program focuses support on communities with jurisdictional boundaries along oceans, coastal bays, intercoastal waterways, or major river systems. In addition to offering funding for curbside recycling, this new grant program offers funding for coastal clean-up activities and for public recycling receptacles.
Interested local governments should visit these web sites for more information:
Coastal Grant Web Page with FAQs:
Coastal Grant RFP Download:
Coastal Grant Application Form Download:
The Recycling Partnership also operates grant programs that provide funding for communities seeking to invest in curbside recycling. Communities interested in implementing new curbside recycling programs or in using collection carts instead of bins in current curbside recycling programs can learn more here.
TD Charitable Foundation Housing for Everyone Grant Competition
The annual TD Charitable Foundation Housing for Everyone Grant Competition, provides funds to support affordable housing. The competition for 2018 focuses on the Expansion of Access to Affordable Housing.
This funding is available to 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations and state or local government entities. In New Hampshire, housing units or properties to be improved must be located in Belknap, Carroll, Cheshire, Grafton, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, Strafford, or Sullivan county.
The deadline for applications is
Friday, Aug. 31.
Learn more at:
View the winners from 2017
here.
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Community Happenings
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Cruise for a Clean Ocean, M/V Thomas Leighton in Portsmouth, Tuesday, Aug. 7, from 7 to 9:30 p.m.
Board the M/V Thomas Leighton in Portsmouth and join the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation for its annual "Cruise for a Clean Ocean." This fundraising event includes tropical tunes, dancing, appetizers, dessert, a silent auction, and a raffle. Cruise is 21+. The event will happen rain or shine, and the cruise will take place if seas are calm. Learn more at:
Woods, Water, & Wildlife Festival, Branch Hill Farm in Milton, Saturday, Aug. 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Moose Mountains Regional Greenways (MMRG) will hold its 16th annual WW&W Festival on Saturday, Aug. 11, at Branch Hill Farm (307 Applebee Rd., Milton Mills). This family-friendly celebration of the natural world features fun and educational outdoor activities. New events this year include a visit from the Seacoast Area Mobile Market (SAMM) van, an interactive tree identification display, and Native American tales from storyteller Anne Jennison. The event costs $5/person, $10/family, and is free to kids 12 and under and to MMRG members. Learn more at
http://www.mmrg.info/mmrg-in-action/festival/.
Walking Tour~Cemetery Tour, Pine Hill Cemetery in Dover, Aug. 25, from 10:30 a.m. to noon
As part of its summer walking tour series, the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce will offer a cemetery walking tour on Saturday, Aug. 25. The Cemetery Tour will begin at the Pine Hill Cemetery Chapel and will include a history of Dover's burial grounds and anecdotes as walkers visit the graves of people who were part of Dover's history.
The tour will depart from Ricker Chapel at 131 Central Avenue, Dover, at 10:30 a.m. The cost is $10/person or $25/family. Walking shoes and water bottles are recommended for the tour, which generally lasts an hour and a half. For more information or to make reservations over the phone, please contact the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce at 603-742-2218 or by email at
info@dovernh.org.
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Sincerely,
SRPC Staff
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