E-Newsletter Volume 11, Issue 12 / December 2021 |
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The Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission staff would like to wish you all a safe and happy holiday season! Please note that our office will be closed on the following days: |
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- Thursday, December 23, 2021
- Friday, December 24, 2021
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- Friday, December 31, 2021
- Monday, January 3, 2022
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Welcome to our Newest Commissioner! |
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We are pleased to introduce our newest Commissioner, City of Sheboygan Mayor Ryan Sorenson!
Ryan Sorenson is the 59th Mayor of the City of Sheboygan. He is the youngest serving mayor in the city’s history, and he is currently the youngest serving mayor in Wisconsin. Prior to being elected mayor, Sorenson served on the City Council and was the Council President. Mayor Sorenson was born and raised in Sheboygan. He graduated from South High School.
Sorenson graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and History. While at UW-Milwaukee, Sorenson served as the student body president, and was in the political science honor society.
The Mayor is the CEO of the City, and is the head of government. The Mayor is also responsible for managing external relations for the city.
Mayor Sorenson also serves on the Board for the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Cities Initiative, and is on the Executive Committee for the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation.
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2022 Technical Assistance Grant Now Open! |
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We are once again offering our Technical Assistance Grant Program to our member communities. This program offers limited free professional planning assistance on small-scale plans or projects. Eligible projects must fit within the Commission’s work program and fall under the categories of community planning, economic development, mapping/visualization, environmental, or transportation.
Up to three projects from throughout the Bay-Lake region will be selected to be carried out by Commission staff at no cost. Projects will be limited to a maximum of 40 hours of staff time. Larger projects are also eligible as a means to get a project underway. Project must begin and end in 2022.
Please visit our Technical Assistance Grant Program webpage for more details. Applications are due by Monday, January 31, 2022.
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WI-Sea Grant - Flood Resilience Scorecard |
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Cities and villages in the Bay-Lake region are invited to participate in the Flood Resilience Scorecard – a community self-assessment of flood risk – with officials from Wisconsin Sea Grant and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Municipal officials will have access to a Certified Floodplain Manager at no cost to complete the multiple-choice self-assessment and receive an analysis of flood risk and vulnerabilities across environmental, institutional, and sociodemographic fields, including suggested recommendations and resources. The assessment also includes access to the Flood Resilience Scorecard Data Companion – a collection of 31 flood indicators specific to your municipality, including the percentage of land area in a floodplain, demographic vulnerabilities, detailed data from the National Flood Insurance Program, and more.
Cities and villages interested in participating should contact Jackson Parr at jackson.parr@dhs.wisconsin.gov before December 31 to schedule a time to complete the Flood Resilience Scorecard.
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National Coastal Resiliency Fund Webinar |
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Upcoming webinar to highlight National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF) opportunities in Northeast Wisconsin (Register Here)
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's (NFWF) National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF) restores, increases, and strengthens natural infrastructure to protect coastal communities while also enhancing habitats for fish and wildlife. Established in 2018, the NCRF invests in conservation projects that restore or expand natural features such as coastal marshes and wetlands, dune and beach systems, oyster and coral reefs, forests, coastal rivers and floodplains, and barrier islands that minimize the impacts of storms and other naturally occurring events on nearby communities. Click here to view the 2021 NCRF grant slate, which awarded $39.5M to projects in 28 states and territories across the country.
On January 5, the Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission is pleased to host “Funding Basics for Northeast Wisconsin Communities: Crafting Competitive Proposals for the National Coastal Resilience Fund and Beyond.” The webinar will highlight tips for putting together competitive grant proposals and apply those tips directly to the NCRF funding opportunity. NCRF’s team of Field Liaisons, Throwe Environmental, will be available to help you understand how communities can take advantage of the NCRF funding source. Participants are invited to bring project-focused questions for a Q&A following the presentation. Click here to learn more about the webinar and to register.
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Main Street Bounceback Grant Program Update |
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Bay-Lake RPC is continuing to accept grant applications for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Main Street Bounceback Grant program. Since the program began, we have received over 450 Intents to Apply and funded 170 applications! Grant eligibility includes:
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New purchaser or tenant with a 12 month or longer signed lease of a vacant commercial space or a business that expanded its existing footprint into additional vacant commercial space. Lease or sales contract must be dated on or before January 1, 2021. Some exceptions may apply.
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Zoning Map Update Assistance |
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The Commission has the staff and resources available to assist communities in updating zoning maps. Updated zoning maps are important in relaying the most updated information to municipal staff and members of the public.
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The Sheboygan Metropolitan Planning Area Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): Calendar Years 2022 – 2025 has been posted to the Commission website, and can be found here.
Commission staff spent the past several weeks taking block-level population, household and housing unit data from the 2020 Census and compiling it at the traffic analysis zone (TAZ) level. An equivalency table between the adjusted TAZs and the 2020 census blocks created by Commission GIS staff was used to assist with this work. The Commission collected the data as part of an effort to update base year socioeconomic data for the travel demand forecast model.
Commission staff started work on the annual transportation system performance indicators report. Due to the late timing in receiving some of the data that go into the report, the report will be presented at a joint meeting of the Sheboygan MPO Technical and Policy Advisory Committees in late January of 2022.
Commission staff has participated in several meetings of Sheboygan County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Transportation Taskforce (via teleconference) in recent weeks.
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City of Marinette Comprehensive Plan Update
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Village of Cedar Grove Comprehensive Plan Update
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Want to help make an impact in our region? Below are links to the public input activities and surveys that are currently open. |
Luxemburg-Casco Safe Routes to School Online Community Engagement |
The Luxemburg-Casco School District is partnering with Bay-Lake RPC to develop a Safe Routes to School plan. This plan aims to improve the health and well-being of students by identifying and addressing barriers to safely walking or biking to school.
Bay-Lake staff have created two online opportunities for community engagement, including an online survey that asks how students get to and from school and an online crowdsourcing tool that allows community members to report concerns and/or issues related to this topic. These input opportunities can be found on the project website.
Any questions related to the online input opportunities or about the Luxemburg-Casco Safe Routes to School project can be directed to Chris Garcia.
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Upcoming Events & Meetings |
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Bay-Lake RPC Full Commission Meeting
Friday, December 10, 10:00am
Bay-Lake RPC Office
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Check with the Bay-Lake RPC COVID-19 Response and Recovery Portal for new and upcoming events/workshops.
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- January 5, 2022 -
National Coastal Resiliency
Fund Webinar
1:00pm
Virtual Webinar
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- January 27, 2022 -
Sheboygan MPO Technical and Policy Advisory Committees Joint Meeting
1:00pm
Sheboygan City Hall, Sheboygan
and a Virtual Option
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- January 28, 2022 -
Bay-Lake RPC Executive
Committee Meeting
10:00am
Bay-Lake RPC Office
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Funding and Grant Opportunities |
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December and January Grant Deadlines
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- T-Mobile Hometown Grants Program (December 31)
- WisNRF Go Outside Fund (December 31)
- WDT Ready, Set, Go! (RSG) Grant Program (January 1)
- WDT Tourist Information Center (TIC) Grant Program (January 1)
- EDA Good Jobs Challenge (January 26)
- FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) (January 28)
- FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Program (January 28)
- FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) (January 28)
- Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) (January 28)
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Do you want to know more about planning services or grants available? |
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The staff of the Bay-Lake RPC are happy to speak to your boards/councils, committees, organization, or community groups about what is happening in our region. We are also available to assist communities and counties with meeting facilitation.
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