SELT staffers and stakeholders during a discussion at the Sept. 18 planning retreat
Source: SRPC

Planning
Kyle Pimental, principal regional planner, attended the strategic planning retreat of the Southeast Land Trust's stewardship committee on Tuesday, Sept 18. The session was hosted by committee and board member Linda McGivern at her beautifully refurbished barn on Roberts Road in Rollinsford. It was facilitated by an outside consulting firm that led the land stewardship team in a series of exercises beginning with a discussion to help team members get to know each other and why natural resources are important to them.
 
Information packets given to team members before the retreat included the results of two surveys completed by Southeast Land Trust (SELT) members, SELT's 2014 strategic plan, and a SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. Sessions were conducted in such a way that members could react to those materials, ask clarifying questions, and provide additional feedback and input. Subsequent sessions allowed for goal development and next steps.
 
SELT will use the outcomes from the retreat to inform future activities of the land stewardship and management departments.
 
For more information on SELT, visit the organization’s website.
Pieces of Interest

Transportation

Data staffers Rachel Dewey and Monique Duchesne set traffic counts in Barrington this week using a method entirely new to Strafford MPO. After a few failed attempts at setting radar traffic counters on a uniquely rural road, they deployed a trail camera and a normal PICO traffic counter. The camera, typically used for hunting and trail monitoring, takes photos triggered by motion. This setup will enable Rachel and Monique to count how many cars pass by the camera over the course of a week, then check their results against the data collected by the PICO counter.

The setup of the count can be viewed here .

Pieces of Interest

Economic Development
The Strafford Economic Development District will hold its quarterly joint meeting with SRPC on Thursday, Sept. 27, from 4 – 5:30 p.m. at the Rochester Performance & Arts Center, 32 North Main St., Rochester. Guest speakers Sarah Wrightsman (Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast [WHC]), Chris Parker (City of Dover), and George Reagan (NH Housing and Finance Authority) will give an informative presentation about housing affordability in the region and state, and its connection to the economy.
 
Sarah will introduce the WHC and its advocacy surrounding affordable and workforce housing. Chris will talk about what Dover is doing to implement workforce housing including zoning ordinance updates. And George will present current research coming out of the New Hampshire Housing and Finance Authority related to affordability and housing’s economic impact.
 
Please RSVP by Tuesday, Sept. 25, to Shayna Sylvia , SRPC communications and outreach specialist.
 
The agenda and meeting materials are available on the SRPC website .

Pieces of Interest

Strafford Regional Planning Commission | 603-994-3500 | srpc@strafford.org | www.strafford.org
September 21, 2018