August 7, 2020
Strafford Regional Planning Commission Newsletter
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New kayak/canoe launch on the Cocheco River at Hanson Pines . (Photo Credit: Foster's/Kyle Stucker)
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Greetings,
Can we believe it's already August!? Where is the summer going? In trying to maintain positivity alongside the pandemic, I can say we have really lucked out with some beautiful weather this summer. I hope everyone has been able to enjoy some of those gorgeous days, while also staying safe and healthy!
Here at SRPC we are launching multiple new projects like Promoting Outdoor Play! (POP!) and Creating Age Friendly Communities, updating our Public Participation Plan and Title VI program, and recently completed a turning movement count on Route 125 for one of our municipalities.
In this issue you will find an SRPC call for volunteers, planning events of interest, SRPC’s latest blog in our “Get to Know Team SRPC” series featuring Jack Aponas, an update on the 2020 Census, staff news, funding opportunities under our “Grant Corner”, SRPC Publishes Annual Building Permit Report“In Case You Missed It” news about transportation legislation and NNECAPA nominations for annual awards, and community happenings.
Until Next Month,
Shayna Sylvia
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IN THIS ISSUE
SRPC Seeks Volunteers for Data Collection
Planning Events of Interest
SRPC's Latest Blog - Get To Know Jack Aponas
Census 2020 Update
Staff News
Grant Corner
SRPC Publishes Annual Building Permit Report
In Case You Missed It
Community Happenings
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New public art in Dover, NH. (SRPC photo)
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Leo Landroche Playground in Newmarket where data was collected for the POP! project (SRPC photo)
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Post turning movement count selfie. (SRPC photo)
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SRPC Seeks Volunteers for Outdoor Data Collection Efforts |
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Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC) is currently seeking data collection volunteers for two projects:
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Promoting Outdoor Play! - SRPC is looking for volunteers to visit recreational sites in each of the region's 18 communities. Information collected will be used to create a dynamic, forward-facing mobile map that will connect families to the many recreation resources available in our region. Volunteers will receive instructions about the process, and then simply need a data-enabled device with a camera to visit an assigned site and record information on site conditions. Those interested should contact Jackson Rand at jrand@stafford.org.
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Dover Street Trees Inventory- SRPC is looking for volunteers to assess trees along major routes and roads in Dover’s downtown. Volunteers record observations about tree conditions and species, and take photos. A mobile device is preferred for data collection effort, but there are paper forms available. Those interested should contact Liz Durfee, contract planner for SRPC, at efd.planning@gmail.com.
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Planning Events of Interest |
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Trails for People and Wildlife: A Guide to Planning Trails that Allow People to Enjoy Nature and Wildlife to Thrive - Thursday, Aug. 8, 3 p.m. via Zoom
UNH Cooperative Extension is holding a webinar on a new mapping tool and guide called “Trails for People and Wildlife” that aims to encourage people to get outside and enjoy nature while allowing wildlife to thrive. The tool was funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and produced by the NH Fish and Game Department and Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Hosted by Jim Oehler from NH Fish and Game, the webinar is intended for landowners, conservation groups, and natural resource professionals, the objective of “Trails for People and Wildlife” is to help facilitate the placement of thoughtfully located networks of well-maintained trails.
Learn more, and register online.
Racial Disparities & COVID-19 - Tuesday, Aug. 11, noon - 1:30 p.m.
The Greater Portland Council of Governments is hosting a “Municipal Dialogue on Racial Equity,” a webinar series for municipal leaders on racial equity with content provided by national-level presenters and local experts. NNECAPA is a sponsor of the series.
The next racial equity webinar is taking place on Tuesday, Aug. 11 from noon to 1:30 PM, and will be a discussion on racial disparities and COVID-19 in Maine.
Plan NH Webinar Series: Housing, Transportation, and the Link Between the Two - Thursday, Aug. 13 from noon to 1:15 p.m.
Plan NH's last training in its three-part webinar series will feature a virtual roundtable with experts in planning, community and economic development, architecture, engineering, and construction sharing what they've learned during the crisis, and what we should think about as we acclimate to this new normal.
Join George Reagan of New Hampshire Housing, Scott Bogle, Transportation Planner at Rockingham Planning Commission, and Sylvia Von Aulock, Executive Director of the Southern NH Planning Commission, as they weigh in with their respective views on how the pandemic has revealed the importance of housing and transportation.
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SRPC's most recent blog is the fifth in the "Getting to Know Team SRPC" series. Each SRPC staff member will be featured over the course of this blog series. The blogs include insight into what each staffer does at SRPC, their favorite projects and some other fun facts about each employee.
The most recent in the series features Jack Aponas, data & analysis assistant.
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Census 2020 Launches Door to Door Data Collection Efforts |
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Beginning the week of Jul 28, employees of the US Census Bureau kicked off door to door data collection for the 2020 Census. Due to the COVID-19 this approach to working towards a complete count for the 2020 Census was delayed by several months.
Prior to door to door data collection. citizens throughout the U.S. were given time and encouraged to fill out their census. Beginning in April, Strafford Regional Planning Commission began tracking regional self-response rates on a regular basis. The change from week to week can be seen on our blog site. The above map shows self-response rates as of Jul. 24. The communities outline in yellow have exceeded their self-response rate from 2000.
If you have not taken your Census you can still do so online. Visit www.my2020census.gov for more information.
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SRPC Promotes Alaina Rogers
Strafford Regional Planning Commission is proud to announce the promotion of Alaina Rogers to Environmental Planner, following her internship's end on Sept. 7.
Alaina was hired in May as a seasonal data & analysis assistant to help with the Strafford Metropolitan Planning Organization's (MPO) traffic count program.
During the past few month Alana has also assisted principal planner Kyle Pimental with a series of projects including taking the lead on the submission of a Coastal Resilience Municipal Planning Grant proposal to the NH Coastal Program. The project, “Building Coastal Resilience by Building Equity in Dover”, seeks to diversify community input by engaging Dover’s socially vulnerable populations in climate change planning conversations.
Alaina will finish up data collection for the summer season and then will transition to working more in the environmental planning arena.
Please join us in congratulating Alaina!
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Request for Qualifications for Technical Services in Development of Sunrise Lake Watershed Management Plan - Due Aug. 14
Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC) was awarded a 604(b) Water Quality Planning Grant from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) during their FY2019 competition.
SRPC is soliciting proposals from Qualified Environmental Professionals (QEPs) with proven expertise performing watershed planning to provide guidance for selected tasks related to the development of a watershed management plan for Sunrise Lake. The consultant will work under the direction of the SRPC staff and will work in collaboration with the Sunrise Lake Watershed Management Advisory Committee and its partners to provide technical advice or services to complete the selected tasks.
New Hampshire Children's Health Foundation - Due Aug. 15
The New Hampshire Children’s Health Foundation's latest grant round opened Aug. 1. Funding supports programming and projects that prevent childhood obesity, promote oral health and reduce food insecurity. This grant round supports single year project of up to $20,000 and multi-year projects up to $60,000. Letters of inquiry are due August 15.
Equitable Parks and Green Spaces in Small and Midsize Cities: Planning Grant - Due Sept. 9
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has funding available for an organization, or a collaboration of up to three organizations, to develop an initiative that will increase equitable access to parks and green spaces through influencing policy and systems change, particularly in small and midsize cities.
Up to $400,000 is available for this planning grant with the expectation that the recipients will apply for a larger implementation grant
Preference will be given to applicants that are either public entities or nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and are not private foundations or Type III supporting organizations.
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The Annual Building Permit Inventory provides a look at new development and growth in the Strafford Region. Through contractual agreement with the NHDOT, building permit information from each municipality is collected and analyzed. This data is used to update the Strafford Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation and Land Use Model and for municipal development planning purposes.
This year, Stefanie Casella, regional planner, coordinated the building permit data collection with the NH Office of Strategic Initiatives (NHOSI), which collects data on dwelling units. Instead of contacting each community in the region separately, SRPC and NHOSI sent their data requests in a single packet to make the process of responding more efficient for the communities.
The most recent permit inventory includes new construction from January 1 to December 31, 2018. This report contains a summary analysis of activity within the region, a table of permit totals for 2018 by municipality, a chart illustrating permit allocation, line graphs showing changes in residential and commercial construction since 2008, and a map of new building locations in the region.
The report can be viewed on the Strafford Regional Planning Commission website.
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Gov. Chris Sununu signed HB 1182, the state’s 10-year transportation plan, into law with students from Alvirne’s Career Technical Education Program. (Photo Courtesy of Gov. Sununu's Twitter)
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10 Year Highway Plan Signed into Law
On Friday, Jul 24 Governor Chris Sununu signed a bill into law allocating $4.1 billion for the State's 10-year Transportation Plan.
The Ten Year Plan was passed as part of a large group of related bills (called an “omnibus bill”) so the legislature could be efficient with time that was lost due to the Pandemic shutdown. In addition to the Ten Year Plan, the omnibus bill included legislation that allows changes to commercial driving statues, enables state agencies to share crash data with each other and with regional planning commissions (only data that is not personally-identifying information), allows "roadable aircraft" to be registered and use state roads (not for takeoff and landing!), suspends the gas tax for betterment planning and increases the amount received by municipalities, and authorizes $35 million in bonding for municipal bridges.
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NNECAPA Awards Nomination Period Open Through Aug. 14
The Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) is continuing their yearly tradition of honoring a plan, planner citizen, and project, although in a different format. Normally awarded at the annual conference, which was postponed, the NNECAPA awards will be presented differently this year.
Awards are presented for:
- Plan of the Year
- Project of the Year
- Professional Planner of the Year
- Citizen Planner of the Year
- Planner Emeritus- New Awards Category!
The Awards Committee will accepts nominations until Aug. 14. Eligibility requirement can be reviewed here. The application form and criteria are here. For more information, contact the Awards Committee. |
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Cochecho Arts Festival Plein Air Event - Aug. 16 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
The Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce, the Cochecho Arts Festival and SEH Studios will hold an art event at Henry Law Park on Aug. 16 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Attendees and artists are encouraged to paint or shop this en plein air event. Artists may paint anywhere in Dover, Aug. 14, 15, or 16, and then exhibit and sell their art on Sunday at 10 am.
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An online webinar for Astronomy and Harry Potter fans! - Aug. 24 from 1- 2 p.m.
The UNH Observatory will host “An online webinar for Astronomy and Harry Potter fans!” on Mon. August 24. This event will take place from 1 – 2 p.m., and will allow attendees to learn about some of the important contributions of astronomers of the past including Galileo, Brahe, and Kepler. The webinar will also explore how Astronomy has been woven into the wonderful and creative fabric of Harry Potter!
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The Portsmouth Path of President Washington - Aug. 8 from 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
On Saturday, Aug. 8 from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. Discover Portsmouth will lead a walking tour following the route of President and Mrs. Washington on their visit to Portsmouth for four days in the fall of 1789. This visit was part of the President’s tour of the northern states six months after his inauguration.
Face masks required. You can use provided sanitized ear pieces,
purchase them from the Museum Store, or bring your own. Those interested are encouraged to reserve a spot at Portsmouthhistory.org. The cost is $12 for members, and $15 for nonmembers.
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