MARCH 2019
Strafford Regional Planning Commission Newsletter
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Planner Kyle Pimental's dog Buffett at Wagon Hill in Durham (
Photo courtesy of Kyle Pimental
)
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Happy March!
As is typical in New England, the weather hasn't been able to make up its mind lately. With temperatures in the 60s earlier this month, and wind, snow and freezing rain at the end of February, it’s hard to judge if we should prepare for a harsh March, or start unpacking our spring clothes. On a more certain note, we have more daylight to look forward to as we get ready to turn the clocks forward an hour on Mar. 10. I'm not hesitating in using those extra daylight hours to take some after work walks
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or snowshoe loops, depending on the weather!
Here at SRPC we recently submitted the final draft of the
2020-2021 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)
to the NH Department of Transportation (NHDOT), are beginning to review the preliminary report from our organizational strategic planning retreat, and are gearing up to launch our bicycle level of stress project.
In this issue you’ll read about exciting local events in our new "Community Spotlight" section, planning events of interest, our new blog series, "Get to Know Team SRPC", available grants in our "Grant Corner", our latest Commission meeting, planning entities seeking nominations, and community happenings.
Until Next Month,
Shayna Sylvia
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IN THIS ISSUE
Community Spotlight
Planning Events of Interest
SRPC's Latest Blog
Grant Corner
Staffers Present on "Behind the Scenes at SRPC"
Planning Entities Seek Nominations for Annual Awards
Community Happenings
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STAFF SNAPSHOTS - FEBRUARY
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Hearing for Senate Bill 285 - "
Establishing a coastal resilience and economic development program
" on Feb. 5. (
Photo Courtesy of Melissa Paly
)
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Mayor Karen Weston speaks during the Feb. 20, ribbon-cutting ceremony for Dover's new solar array. (
SRPC Photo
)
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Artist Sofia Self poses with her mural; painted for the Dover Rising Waters art contest. (
Photo courtesy of John Huff/Fosters)
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The
City of Dover
held a ribbon cutting last week for solar panels on the roof of the pool and New Hampshire Children's Museum. This also served as the unveiling for artist Sofia Self's mural for the
Dover Rising Waters initiative
.
In the
City of Somersworth
, the non-profit Indonesian Community Connect, Inc. will hold its
Hello 2019 Indonesian Bazaar
at Idlehurst Elementary School on Mar. 2 from 11 a.m.
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4 p.m. The event will promote the various Indonesian culture and traditions through a wide range of food vendors, merchandises, traditional dances, entertainment, raffles and educative interactions. Indonesian Community Connect hosts this annual event to introduce and share the Indonesian culture with all communities and individuals. This event is free and open to the public.
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Planning Events of Interest
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Social Science Basics for Municipals and Coastal Managers
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Mar. 14, at 8 a.m.
T
he Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) will host a
"
Social Science Basics for Municipal and Coastal Managers
" workshop on Mar. 14, beginning at 8 a.m. The workshop, which will be held at the Hugh Gregg Coastal Center in Greenland, is created to help municipal officials develop and use social science to better understand their audiences.
Coffee and Conversations: Building Lean Initiatives in the Public Sector
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Mar. 20, at 8:15 a.m.
Focusing on "Building Lean Initiatives in the Public Sector," Kate McGovern, former NH Bureau of Education and Training professor, will offer insight into
process improvement techniques for managing government like a Lean business.
Saving Special Places 2019
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Apr. 6, at 9:00 a.m.
The annual Saving Special Places conference will take place on Saturday, Apr. 6 at Prospect Mountain High School in Alton. The conference is organized by UNH Cooperative Extension with a handful of other
partners
.
Sessions will cover topics including online mapping tools, Monarch conservation, strategic land conservation, conservation easement case law, landscaping for wildlife, and much more!
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Stefanie Casella, data collection and analysis assistant during a recent trip to Scotland. (Photo courtesy of Stefanie Casella)
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SRPC's most recent blog is the first in a new series, "Getting to Know Team SRPC." Over the course of this blog series each SRPC staff member will be featured. The blogs will include insight into what each staffer does at SRPC, their favorite projects and some other fun facts about each employee.
The first blog in the series features Stefanie Casella, data collection and analysis assistant.
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New England Grassroots Environment Fund Grow Grant
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Due Mar. 15, 2019
The New
England Grassroots Environment Fund is offering Grow Grants of between $1,000 and $3,500 to groups doing environmental work in the states of CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, or VT. Applicants must be a volunteer driven group that has been established for more than a year and which has no more than 2 full-time paid staff. The group must also have an annual operating budget of under $100,000.
Projects that have been funded in the past include:
- a community garden looking to initiate a food policy council and take on food security challenges in their community;
- a local energy committee planning to implement a community-wide energy plan;
- a sustainability committee establishing a time trade effort to support local resources.
Learn more, and find application materials
online
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Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership Land Protection Transaction Grant
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Due Mar. 22
Grant applications are now available for the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership’s Winter 2019 Land Protection Transaction Grant Program. The grant round will assist with transaction costs for land protection projects within the
coastal watershed area of New Hampshire and Maine
.
Qualified nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) conservation organizations, municipalities and units of government may apply for a grant.
Learn more, and find application materials
online
.
Land & Community Heritage Investment Program Grant
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Required Workshops - Apr. 2019, Due Jun. 28
The Land & Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) will open its 2019 grant round on May 1. As explained on its website, "...LCHIP is an independent state authority that makes matching grants to NH communities and non-profits to conserve and preserve New Hampshire's most important natural, cultural and historic resources." Applications for this year will be due by noon on Friday, Jun. 28.
Grant round orientation workshops will only be required for potential applicants who have not attended one within the past five years. The natural resource workshop will be held on Tuesday, Apr. 9, in conjunction with other state funding programs. The historic resource workshop will be held on Monday, Apr. 29. Details and workshop registration forms can be found
here.
View the program schedule
here
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Strafford Economic Development Corporation - Rolling application period
The US Department of Agriculture has awarded funds to the
Strafford Economic Development Corporation
(SEDC), to lend to agricultural, small and emerging rural businesses in the region. SEDC is a non-profit lender to businesses and non-profits for job creation and retention.
Loans can be used for value-added agricultural businesses, agri-tourism, forestry support businesses, renewable energy, a
cquisition or development of land, easements, rights of way, construction, conversion, renovation of buildings, plants, machinery, equipment, utilities, pollution control and abatement, training and other related uses.
Please contact Dennis McCann at 749-2211 or Stephanie Benedetti at 749-3336 to find out more about this program.
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Staffers Present on "Behind the Scenes at SRPC"
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Shayna Sylvia, Communications and Outreach Planner, presents on CommuteSmart New Hampshire during the February Commission Meeting. (
SRPC Photo).
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The third quarter Commission meeting, held on Thursday, Feb. 28, offered a change from consecutive guest speaker presentations, allowing staffers to share their current projects with Commissioners.
The meeting opened with staff member introductions, including information regarding background, position, and project areas. Following introductions, four staffers gave presentations on current projects of their choosing.
Marica Moreno B
áez, GIS Planner, presented on "
Understanding Our Region Through Geospatial Information and Technology." While her presentation covered a variety of SRPC mapping services, she focused on the
regional natural resource co-occurence mapping effort. She explained that the update to the regional map was an outcome of work with the Town of
Barrington to update part of its
Natural Resources Inventory
.
Co-occurrence maps identify key geographic areas where multiple natural resource features are co-located or in near proximity.
James Burdin, regional economic development planner, shared project outcomes of Strafford Economic Development District's EPA Brownfields Program, which is closing out in September 2019. He shared that eight Phase I assessments and five phase II assessments were conducted throughout the three year grant cycle. Strafford EDD has applied for future funding to continue the program.
Kyle Pimental, principal regional planner, presented on three projects, all related to SRPC's coastal communities. He updated Commissioners on the
Dover Rising Waters initiative, in addition to the Durham Climate Remembrance project, and the Lee Floodplain update. He ended his presentation sharing upcoming projects for 2019, such as
updating the Science and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) report, and working with the town of Madbury to integrate data from C-RiSe vulnerability assessment in its newest hazard mitigation plan.
Shayna Sylvia, communications and outreach planner, closed out the presentation portion of the meeting by sharing information on the recent receipt of funding from the Community Technical Assistance Program and the Office of Strategic Initiatives. She explained the process through which the funding was secured and how it's being used statewide to support
CommuteSmart NH (CSNH)
. The presentation included an overview of CSNH, information on the link to
CommuteSMART Seacoast
, and an important timeline of events to be completed within the funding cycle.
One additional change to the meeting, aside from the choice to focus on staff projects, included the addition of a Commissioner Roundtable agenda item. This allowed for Commissioners to go around the room and share update from their municipalities.
The next Commission meeting will be the SRPC Annual Luncheon on Jun. 27.
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Planning Entities Seek Nominations for Annual Awards
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New Hampshire Planning Association logo
(
Photo Courtesy of NHPA)
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Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment logo
(SRPC Photo)
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NH Planners Association
The New Hampshire Planners Association (NHPA) is seeking nominations to help recognize and celebrate the best of planning around NH in 2018!
Award categories include citizen planner, professional planner, project of the year, and plan of the year. Nominations are due by Mar. 31, at 4 p.m.
Feel free to share this with anyone that may be interested! The criteria and nomination forms can be found on the top of
NHPA's website
.
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Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment
The Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment is now accepting nominations for its annual awards. They are seeking submissions for up to two visionary awards, a sustainable community award, an industry award, the Longard volunteer award, and the Susan Snow-Cotter leadership award.
Nominations are due by Friday, Apr. 5.
For more information, or to download the nomination forms, visit
gulfofmaine.org
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27th Milton Winter Carnival
Friday, Mar. 1 and
Saturday, Mar. 2
Various Times/Locations in Milton
The 27th annual Milton Winter Carnival will kick off on Friday, Mar. 1. Activities will be taking place at the Milton Moose Lodge #1298 (21+ only) and at the Emma Ramsey Center (family friendly - requires RSVP) beginning at 5:30 p.m. View the itinerary
here
.
Activities on Saturday will take place at the town beach and at the fire station, and include a pancake breakfast, face paining, a family fishing derby, a bonfire, ice harvesting, and much more!
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Piscataqua Science Cafe
Wednesday, Mar. 13
6 – 7:30 p.m.
The Portsmouth Brewery
56 Market St, Portsmouth
The Piscataqua Science Cafe series will hold its final talk for the winter/spring season on Mar. 13.
The series runs during the Gundalow Company’s off season (Oct through April) at the Portsmouth Brewer. Each night brings in experts from a variety of environmental topics together for a discussion about current science topics. The topic for this talk being, "
The Role of Emerging Fisheries in the Changing Gulf of Maine."
The event will be moderated by NHPR's Annie Ropeik and feature
Josh Carloni (NH Fish and Game) & Jason Goldstein (Wells Reserve).
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Documentary Film - Three Identical Strangers
Wednesday, Mar. 20
6 – 8 p.m.
Blaisdell Memorial Library
129 Stage Road, Nottiingham
The Blaisdell Memorial Library in Nottingham will host a screening of "Three Identical Strangers", a fascinating documentary about triplets separated at birth who by chance found one another.
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