December 4, 2020
Strafford Regional Planning Commission Newsletter
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SRPC staffers Shayna & Kyle took Kyle's dog Buffett for a lunch break walk on the newly paved portion of the Dover Community trail! (SRPC photo)
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Greetings,
With only 28 days until 2021, I'm sure the usual reflections that come with the new year are looking quite different than in the past. We all deserve, at the least, a huge pat on the back for dealing with a global pandemic, and adapting to the now overused, "new normal". While the holidays may look different, hopefully we can all feel some of the holiday magic and find creative ways to celebrate with family and friends.
Here at SRPC we held our quarterly Commission meeting this week with some great presentations from SRPC staff, are planning outreach activities for our Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), and our new Economic Recovery Coordinator Natalie is diving into her role providing technical assistance to businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this issue you will find information on the King Tide photo contest winners, SRPC’s Latest YouTube videos, planning events of interest, the upcoming CommuteSMART Seacoast Conquer the Cold challenge, funding available in our “grant corner”, SRPC’s latest reports, opportunities for public input, and community happenings.
Until Next Month,
Shayna Sylvia
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IN THIS ISSUE
2020 King Tide Photo Contest Winners
SRPC's Latest YouTube Videos
Planning Events of Interest
Save the Date: Conquer the Cold Commuter Challenge
Grant Corner
SRPC's Latest Reports
Opportunities for Public Input
Community Happenings
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STAFF SNAPSHOTS - NOVEMBER |
Snip from the SRPC Hosted "Electric Vehicle Charging Station (EVSE) Installations" webinar. (SRPC Photo)
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Communications and Outreach Planner Shayna attended the CommuteSmart NH meeting on Nov. 18. (SRPC photo)
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2020 King Tide Photo Contest Announces Winners |
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Atlantic Category Winner - High Tide Nov. 16 on the Marsh Side of Hampton Beach by Marie Sapienza |
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This year's King Tide Photo Contest saw over 90 eligible entries submitted for consideration in three categories, Atlantic, Great Bay, and Creative. Awards were given to the photos that best showcased the vulnerability or resilience of people, places, and things impacted by the high tide flooding in New Hampshire’s Atlantic communities.
This contest, which has become an annual event, aims to enhance public awareness of the effects of sea-level rise and help communities visualize and plan for future coastal flooding impact
The winning photo in the Atlantic category is pictured above. To view the other winners visit the NH Coastal Adaptation Workgroup's website.
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SRPC's Latest YouTube Videos |
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Permit Streamlining Training Webinar for Electric Vehicle Charging Station (EVSE) Installations |
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The recording from the Electric Vehicle Charing Stations Permit Streamlining Training webinar that SRPC hosted on Friday, Nov. 13, 2020 is now available for on-demand streaming on SRPC's YouTube page.
The webinar was centered on several questions:
- Is your community welcoming Electric Vehicles (EV) and charging stations?
- Is your community ready to issue permits for charging stations?
- Are your Code Enforcement Officers up to speed on the basics of EVs including the different types of charging?
- Is your town making it as simple and low cost as possible for homeowners and businesses to install charging stations?
Jessica Wilcox, Granite State Clean Cities Coordinator at the NH Department of Environmental Services, James Penfold, Co-founder of EV LaunchPad, and Sean Tully, Eversource Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) Program Project Lead walked attendees through practical planning and permitting best practices to help position their towns or cities for EV infrastructure investments!
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SRPCs ArcGIS Online Mapping Tutorial |
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On November 23, GIS Planner Jackson Rand hosted a webinar to demonstrate SRPC's new ArcOnline mapping tools. Starting with a review of SRPC's ArcOnline homepage, Jackson explained how to use the new online and interactive Standard Maps, Open Data Portal, and Tax Parcel Viewer (the replacement for SRPC's prior MapGeo platform). He then led participants through an exercise to create their own floodplain map for the regional community of their choosing using SRPC's ArcOnline tools.
This recording has now been posted for on-demand viewing.
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Planning Events of Interest |
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Effective Strategies for Community Preservation Projects - Tuesday, Dec. 8 at Noon
Join N.H. Preservation Alliance (NHPA) staff and leaders of recently-funded preservation projects to gather practical tactics and a dose of inspiration. The training will allow NHPA to unpack ingredients of successful projects including organizational capacity needs, fundraising and communications strategies, and predevelopment planning for rescue, repair and rehabilitation projects. This informal session will offer opportunities for you to ask questions and share your ideas
To register, send an email to field service representative Nicole Flynn at nf@nhpreservation.org with “Dec 8” in the subject line and you will receive confirmation and Zoom link.
2021 Legislative Preview: Get Ready to Advocate Webinar - Tuesday, Jan. 6 at Noon
The NH Municipal Association will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, Jan 6 with Executive Director Margaret Byrnes, Government Affairs Counsel Cordell Johnston, Government Finance Advisor Becky Benvenuti, and Municipal Services Counsel Natch Greyes. They will present an overview of what the 2021 legislative session has in store for cities and towns, while also reminding municipal officials and employees about the importance of connecting with legislators to educate them on issues of importance to you and your municipality.
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Save the Date: CommuteSMART Seacoast's Conquer the Cold |
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CommuteSMART Seacoast's annual Conquer the Cold challenge will take place during the month of January, a modification to the normal challenge dates of Nov. 1 - Jan. 31. The CommuteSMART Seacoast Advisory Board decided on January, as its the perfect month to align with challenger's new year's resolutions! Why not try adding sustainable commuting to your list??
This individual commuter competition challenges seacoast residents and employees to do more biking, walking, or taking the bus to work this winter. Participants will receive prizes AND save money while protecting the environment.
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Environmental Opportunity Grant - Due Wednesday, Dec. 9
The Environmental Opportunity Grant Program is a one-time program providing small grants to organizations in New Hampshire doing work at the intersection of community and the environment. Specifically, NH Charitable Foundation is seeking proposals for work in three areas: 1) Renewable energy and energy efficiency, either policy or practice; 2) Community action and education on priority issues determined by the local community, such as pollution, solid waste disposal, and food access; 3) Strategic land and fresh water conservation that provides equitable public access and/or advances public health goals.
For more information, visit the grant home page here.
Community Resilience Grant Opportunity - Due Wednesday, Dec. 23
The National League of Cities has opened it 2021 Leadership in Community Resilience (LCR) grant program. Commonly funded project proposals focus on disaster preparedness, hazard mitigation, equitable plans/programs, climate migration, renewable energy, nature-based solution, or emission reduction strategies.
The grant is open to municipalities with populations larger than 5000, which would be the primary applicant. Non-profits or local organizations may apply in partnership with a town or city.
Successful awardees will receive $10,000, as well as support and training, to pursue climate resilience efforts.
For more information, visit the grant home page here.
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SRPC FY 2020 Annual Report*
At their Sept. 24 meeting, Commissioners accepted the SRPC FY 2020 Annual Report with a slight revision, the addition of testimonials.
These have now been added to the annual report, and the updated document can be viewed on the SRPC website.
This year's report is more concise, an approach SRPC is now taking to many of its documents to ensure information in presented in the most useful way.
2020 Public Participation Plan*
The 2020 Public Participation Plan was approved by the Strafford Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Policy Committee on Nov. 20.
This plan documents the actions to be carried out by Strafford MPO to ensure that opportunities exist for the public to be involved in transportation planning activities,
It can now be found on the SRPC website.
*These documents are best viewed in two-page spread.
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Opportunities for Public Input |
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Business Survey for Communities in the Moose Mountains Region
SRPC has partnered with Explore Moose Mountains and Wentworth Economic Development Corporation to launch a business survey for the Moose Mountains region - Brookfield, Farmington, Middleton, Milton, New Durham, Wakefield and Wolfeboro.
This survey is intended to determine businesses', non-profits’ and organizations’ technical assistance needs including support, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Explore Moose Mountains is looking to gauge familiarity with its services and regional presence.
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SRPC Launches Winter Recreation Survey for its Promoting Outdoor Play! Project
To complement the summer-based recreation survey SRPC launched for our Promoting Outdoor Play! project, a winter-based recreation survey is now live!
SRPC staff want to know what your favorite winter recreation site is in the Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC) region!
Winter recreation sites can include sledding hills, skating rinks, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing or any other place you go in the winter for recreation purposes.
View the survey, which includes more information, online.
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Holiday Stop and Shop
Dec. 3-6, various hours
The Moose, NH, which promotes the WONDERFUL in Brookfield, Farmington, Middleton, Milton, New Durham, Wakefield and Wolfeboro, will hold its Holiday Stop & Shop event from Dec. 3-6.
This three-day event encourages residents and visitors to stop by each of the 15 participating small businesses and shop local this holiday season. Each business has their own hours for the event and each offers a unique experience.
For every purchase made during the event, patrons will receive a raffle ticket for a prize basket including a gift from each participating business - their thanks for coming out and supporting local!
This event is proudly sponsored by Explore Moose Mountains and the Greater Wakefield Chamber of Commerce
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Country Christmas Festival
Friday, Dec. 11, 4 - 10 p.m.
Join American Dream Stables in Nottingham, NH for a traditional Christmas Experience harkening to the days of Christmas’s past.
Wander the farm decorated with thousands of feet of lights and garland, skate on the lighted rink, warm by the fire pit, stroll through festival of trees and live nativity, meet Santa, take a picture, and drop a letter off for him, watch a Christmas movie while grabbing dinner from the food truck.
Events including:
⁃ ice skating
⁃ Festival of trees
⁃ Christmas Movie’s on the outdoor screen
⁃ Food truck provided by Sausage Express
⁃ Live music
⁃ Santa every weekend
Pre purchasing tickets is required, limited tickets available for each slot.
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