Brownfields Assessment and Cleanup Funding Available
The Northwest Regional Planning Commission is accepting applications for brownfields site assessments and brownfields cleanup low interest loans and grants.
A brownfield is a vacant or underused property where redevelopment may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The risks and costs associated with real or perceived contamination from historic uses can often contribute to blight, stagnation of property values, underuse and general disinvestment in an area. This funding is available to prospective purchasers and property owners of brownfields sites as a redevelopment incentive. The program manages and funds 100% of the cost of Phase 1 and Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessments, which are a necessary part of the risk analysis completed prior to a brownfields property acquisition or property transfer. Funding can also pay for redevelopment planning and corrective action plans.
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NRPC Supports Maiden Lane Housing
The NRPC Brownfields Program has just loaned $298,000 and sub-granted $100,000 to St. Albans City to
wards contaminated soil management at the Maiden Lane Housing development. This project is a public-private partnership between the City of St. Albans, Champlain Housing Trust and Housing Vermont. It will add 93 units of housing in downtown St. Albans, 30 of which are affordable and another 63 of which are workforce units.
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Rendering of the Maiden Lane Housing Project
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Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail Marketing and Wayfinding Project Continues!
New logo developed from Rail Trail Roundup feedback, draft Wayfinding Plan and Marketing Strategies under review and Trail Friendly Business Program moving forward
The
MVRT Marketing and Wayfinding Project is moving forward. After an outstanding Rail Trail Roundup at the beginning of June, project consultants have translated the public input and information they gleaned from riding the trail and staying in trail communities into draft plans presented to the MVRT Council at their September 16 meeting. Please visit the project website
for more information, direct links to draft deliverables and how you can get involved. The MVRT Council will be discussing the draft plans at their next Council meeting on November 18. The next presentation from project consultants will be at a public meeting in early winter, stay tuned.
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New MVRT Logo |
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| New MVRT Pictoral Mark |
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New Trailhead Kiosk in Enosburg Falls
. A new trailhead kiosk was just installed in Enosburg Falls on the west side of Main Street (using a Vermont Quick Build for Health and RiseVT Amplify grant). The kiosk panel makes use of the new logo and color palette and can be adapted for
other locations along the trail as recommended in the wayfinding plan developed through this project. Check it out!
Trail Friendly Business Program
: The goal of this program is to fully realize the potential economic benefits of the MVRT in the neighboring communities along the trail. Being "trail friendly" means they welcome traffic from the trail as well as offer products and services for trail users. NRPC staff and consultants will reach out to business associations and businesses in the winter/spring to provide more detail and sign up businesses. The benefit to businesses is increased visibility in trail marketing material; they will be listed on the official MVRT trail website and interactive map, at trail kiosks and mentioned in itineraries and media pitches. Businesses will be given a window cling to display at the business welcoming trail users.
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NRPC Welcomes AmeriCorps Staff Member
NRPC welcomes Kate Longfield as the ECO AmeriCorp for NRPC this year! Kate Longfield grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She graduated from the University of Vermont in 2019 with a degree in Environmental Studies, and an interest in city planning. While at UVM she interned with Toxics Action Center, a nonprofit that provides community organizing strategies and legal expertise to neighborhoods facing toxic threats across New England. Following that internship, she received a research grant to study Vermont's land use law, Act 250, and how it could better address climate change and social equity in the state. Kate also worked as a Transportation Planning Intern for both the City of Burlington, Vermont and the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. She is currently living in Burlington and serving with ECO AmeriCorps at the Northwest Regional Planning Commission in Saint Albans, where she is the
Assistant Water Quality Program Coordinator. Kate's focus at NRPC will be in assisting municipalities in developing green stormwater infrastructure projects, conducting inventories, creating outreach and education materials, and writing grants.
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Basin Planning in Northern Lake Champlain; Community Meetings
The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation and NRPC are hosting several meetings for the Northern Lake Champlain Basin Plan update. These meetings provide an opportunity to learn about current water quality issues, strategies to protect and improve local waterways, and how it affects you.
Meeting Dates:
Northern Grand Isle County
October 21st, Monday - 6:30 pm
North Hero Town Office, 6441 US-2, North Hero
Co-hosts: NRPC & North Hero Selectboard
Franklin County
October 29th, Tuesday - 6:30 pm
Fire Station, 4134 Ethan Allen Hwy, Georgia
Co-hosts: NRPC & Friends of Northern Lake Champlain
Southern Grand Isle County
November 6th, Wednesday - 7:00 pm
South Hero Library, Community Ln, South Hero
Co-hosts: NRPC & South Hero Planning Commission
If you cannot attend a meeting, contact DEC Basin Planner, Karen Bates, at Karen.Bates@vermont.gov or (802) 490-6144 to ask questions or provide input. For more information click here.
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State Government Municipal Day
Register now for the 2019 workshops
taking place in 5 locations around Vermont!
When Governments Cooperate is sponsored by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. This annual training includes a wide variety of workshops and gives you the opportunity to network and engage with State and municipal colleagues. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. New this year, flexible registration is offered at several locations so those who aren't able to attend for a full day still have an opportunity to participate.
For more information or to register click
here.
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2019 Regional Plan Indicator Report Released
NRPC has released the 2019 Regional Plan Indicator Report for 2019. The report highlights changes in key indicators for all areas of the Regional Plan. The Regional Plan Indicator Report can be found
here.
The report shows promising trends for the region's economic development. Median household income has continued to rise in both Franklin
and Grand Isle Counties while the percentage of residents experiencing poverty has continued to decrease. This suggests that the region's residents are earning higher wages. Given that monthly housing costs have continued to remain relatively stable, this may mean that more Franklin and Grand Isle County residents have additional discretionary income.
Another important factor is the living wage, a calculation of the minimum hourly wage required to afford a minimum standard of living in any given community. Consistent with the overall trend of increasing income and decreasing poverty, the median hourly earnings are equal to or greater than the living wage for adults without children and households with two working parents. However, the median hourly wage is significantly lower than the living wage for households with children that have only one working parent. This suggests that while poverty is decreasing overall, the benefits of a strong economy are not shared with all regional residents. Families with one working parent and those in low wage occupations may continue to experience poverty at higher rates.
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North Hero Walk Audit
NRPC staff
lead a walking audit of the North Hero village center as part of the September Planning Commission meeting. Attendees included representatives from the North Hero Planning Commission, North Hero Selectboard, law enforcement, the Vermont Department of Health, and village residents.
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Small Grants for Smart Growth Available
Is your community seeking more money for smart growth work?
If you're ready to...
undertake creative, inclusive outreach about your future land use, pilot a wastewater solution, intervene in a development proposal in a sprawl location, organize local residents in favor of smart growth housing, hold a community meeting about whether and how to undertake interim zoning, develop a planning process for a public park or reuse of a historic building, develop a guide to help residents successfully implement your smart growth zoning,or other smart growth project that works for your community
...you should apply! Grants are typically between $500 and $1,500. There is no deadline; grants are awarded on a rolling basis. Learn more
here. If you would NRPC to assist you with your application please contact Greta Brunswick or Taylor Newton at
524-5958.
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Community Engagement Training
NRPC is hosting a community engagement training on
Thursday November 21st from 6 to 8 PM at the Northwestern Medical Center Green Mountain Conference Room. Community engagement specialist Rebecca Sanborn Stone will cover innovative methods of community engagement and placemaking in this two-hour training open to all interested participants. For more information and to RSVP to this event please contact Emily Klofft at
eklofft@nrpcvt.com.
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Swanton Elementary School Stormwater Mitigation Project
In the spring of 2018, Swanton Elementary School and NRPC received a grant from the VT Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to investigate reoccurring drainage problems on the school property. All of the buildings, parking lots, and surrounding hardscape on
the school campus create large amounts of stormwater runoff when it rains. Currently this stormwater enters storm drains, flows directly into a neighboring wetland and eventually drains into the Missisquoi River.
NRPC hired Watershed Consulting Associates, LLC to identify site-specific infrastructure changes such as a gravel wetland, stone swales, and bioretention beds that would filter roof and parking lot runoff. The combination of practices aims to improve water quality as they slow the flow of water and allow for moderate infiltration given the seasonally high water table.
This project is listed as a priority in the 2013 Swanton Stormwater Master Plan due to identified drainage issues. Since this project was initiated, the DEC has released a new stormwater operational permit that requires all properties with three or more acres of impervious surfaces
 (that either do not have an existing permit or coverage prior to 2002) to install stormwater treatment. The Swanton Elementary School has over 5 acres of impervious surfaces and will need to come into compliance with this permit by 2023.
The finished product is a set of preliminary design plans that identify where and how the school can to address stormwater treatment. Representatives for the school
will be working with NRPC and DEC to obtain additional funding to finalize designs and ready the project for construction.
If you would like more information about this project please contact Amanda Holland at
aholland@nrpcvt.com.
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VTrans Better Roads Grant Program FY21 Funding Available
The Vermont Department of Transportation has announced new grant funding for 2021 SFY Better Roads Grant Program. The goal of this grant program is to promote the use of Best Management Practices for erosion control and maintenance techniques along municipal roads that save money while protecting and enhancing Vermont's lakes and streams. Grant applications will be accepted until November 22, 2019. For more information and the full grant application click here. If you have additional questions contact Joel Perrigo at the VTrans Municipal Assistance Bureau. If you would like assistance with your grant application please contact Bethany Remmers, Bethany@nrpcvt.com or 524-5958.
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