Participants at the US Small Business Administration Federal Resource Roundtable on Feb. 19. ( SPRC Photo)
Planning

Kyle Pimental, principal regional planner, facilitated the third meeting with the Newmarket master plan steering committee to help update the town’s existing water resources chapter on Thursday, Feb. 20. Strafford Regional Planning Commission is providing the town with consultation services to update this chapter with funding provided by the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Source Water Protection program.  

The chapter, last updated in 2009, will help the town to, “... protect all water resources in Newmarket from threats that include but are not limited to contamination, depletion, alteration, and degradation through appropriate policies, regulations, and action .”1 
At this meeting, Kyle reviewed past revisions and feedback on sections to the draft chapter submitted by the steering committee. Sections currently under review include surface and groundwater resources, wetlands, and floodplains. Drinking water supplies and riparian habitat are additional sections of the chapter that will be reviewed next. 
This chapter is the fifth that SRPC has written for the Town in the last few years.  
For more information on the Newmarket Water Resource chapter, or to learn about SRPC master plan consultation services contact  Kyle Pimental  at 603-994-3500.  

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1 Vision from the 2009 Water Resources Master Plan Chapter

Pieces of Interest

Transportation
On Wednesday, Feb. 20, Colin Lentz, senior transportation planner, and Stefanie Casella, regional planner, attended the kick-off Bike Walk to Work meeting at Grille 28 at Pease. Others in attendance included representatives from Seacoast Area Bike Riders (SABR), Rockingham Planning Commission, CommuteSMART Seacoast, and local volunteers. The meeting allowed for initial discussions centered on Bike Walk to Work Month, which occurs in May of each year. 

Group members discussed events that will take place during the month of May encouraging citizens in the Seacoast to ride their bikes in lieu of traveling along in a car. Traditional events such as the kick-off celebration at Portsmouth Brewery and the commuter breakfast event on Bike Walk to Work Day (May 22) will again be on the schedule for this year, with new events being planned by the group.  

Those involved will continue to meet over the next few months to coordinate and plan this month-long event.  To view the listing of events from 2019r visit  SABR’s website . This listing will be updated for the 2020 event closer to May.  
Contact  Stefanie Casella  at 603-994-3500 for more information.  
 
Pieces of Interest

Economic Development
The City of Rochester recently hosted a Federal Resource Roundtable on Feb. 19. The event was organized by the New Hampshire office of the US Small Business Administration and provided an opportunity for community members to meet and speak with representatives of a variety of federal programs and learn more about available resources. Other attendees included regional program staff from the General Services Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Economic Development Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Northern Borders Regional Commission.  

Dr. Brien Walton of Acadia Capital Management and Husson University in Bangor Maine delivered the keynote presentation on the federal Opportunity Zone program. While opportunity zones were originally created as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, final regulations for the program were recently released in December 2019. The SRPC region contains 5 of the 27 opportunity zones designated by Governor Sununu in 2018.
  
Executive Director Jen Czysz and planners Nancy O’Connor and James Burdin attended to learn more about funding sources available to our communities. SRPC is also accepting project suggestions for our regional transportation and economic development plans. If you have a project to suggest or need help putting together an application we’d love to hear from you! 

Contact James Burdin at 603-994-3500 for more information.

Pieces of Interest

Strafford Regional Planning Commission | 603-994-3500 | srpc@strafford.org | www.strafford.org
February 21, 2020