Greetings,

Happy National Donut Day! Hope you enjoyed the preview of summer this week.

Staff continue to tie up FY23 in preparation for an exciting FY24 beginning July 1. In this issue you will find information on SRPC’s latest staff changes; the EPA's award of a brownfield grant to SRPC; several planning events of interest and funding opportunities.



Happy Planning,

Autumn & Mark

IN THIS ISSUE

SRPC Awarded Brownfield Assessment Funding

Staff Hellos, Goodbyes, and Congrats!

Data Collection Season Status Update

Farmington Fire Station RFP Now Live

Planning Events of Interest

Grant Corner

Community Happenings  

You’re invited! SRPC’s Annual Meeting & Luncheon is Thursday, June 22, 2023. It will be held at the Governor’s Inn in downtown Rochester once again. The deadline to register is June 14. The registration link is found here! 

This week, Senior Planners Colin Lentz and Blair Haney submitted the final drafts of the Transportation and Land Use chapters of Barrington's master plan. Following approval...

On Friday, May 12, SRPC staff gathered at the office in Rochester for public speaking “bootcamp,” led by Joseph Guarino from the Public Speaking Institute. Staff were joined by colleagues from the neighboring Rockingham Planning Commission team as well. Staff received guidance on adapting speaking opportunities to groups of all sizes, improving visual aids, and gave practice speeches to each other. Staff are seen to the right enjoying some rare time in the same room together!

On Thursday, May 25, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced over $300 million in brownfield clean-up and technical assistance funding, a leg of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill issued late last year. SRPC was one of over a dozen regional planning bodies in New England that were awarded funds to conduct assessments.

SRPC has received $500,000 in funding for:

• Ten Phase I assessments: A general assessment of potential contaminant sites that determines whether further action is needed.
• Six Phase II assessments: Further sampling and field work that determines what remediation is needed for a site or community, if any.
•  Six clean-up and reuse plans, including market studies and facilitating community engagement around potential redevelopment opportunities.

Within the region, target sites have been identified as the Dover Transportation Center, a former fire station, former coal storage facility, and the downtowns of Dover and Farmington, among others. Additional funds are available for sites beyond the target area and are available to all SRPC communities. Contact Senior Planner Lisa Murphy for more information.

We hope you enjoyed the long weekend! Staff and their four-legged family members sure did!

Troy Troy

On May 15, SRPC welcomed its newest staff member to the team. We are excited to introduce you all to Troy!

Troy is an incoming senior at UNH in the Community & Environmental Planning program in the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture. They joined the major at the beginning of their sophomore year, switching from psychology. They originally learned about urban planning from Youtube videos about different forms of transportation and quickly became interested in the field. Since joining the program, they have joined UNH’s Student Senate as the Campus Structure Chair, working to improve infrastructure on campus. They also did an internship in the summer of 2022 through UNH Cooperative Extension, working with a non-profit organization to increase access to outdoor recreation in the southern Lakes Region. In their spare time, Troy is making progress on hiking the New Hampshire and Maine sections of the Appalachian Trail.

Welcome Aboard!

The Somersworth Planning Office is working wit SRPC to create a new plan for housing in Somersworth. As part of the City’s Master Plan update, this work will span from June until November. The project team will be engaging the residents and businesses in Somersworth, including a survey in early summer, a community event in September, and a Planning Board workshop to finalize goals and actions in October. This work is being funded through a grant from the InvestNH Municipal Planning & Zoning Grant Program.

NH Listens Facilitator Training

Wednesday, June 7, 12pm - Zoom

"Join NH Listens for a 45-minute informative and interactive session aimed at sharing bite-sized tips and resources from our toolbox for community engagement and facilitation. This session addresses heart-racing facilitator moments and how to respond. Not every scenario has a clear-cut response, but how do we prepare for these situations?"

Register here.

Housing Toolbox Trainings: Housing in Nature

Thursday, June 8, 12pm - Zoom (and every Thursday this June)

The NH Housing Toolbox is a guide to solutions and action items for municipalities of all shapes and sizes to address the housing crisis. A number of these strategies are presented in individual information sessions presented by the Office of Planning & Development. The next training session on June 8 is about open-space subdivisions and cluster housing. Sessions will be held every Thursday at noon throughout June.

Register here.

Granite State Clean Cities: Green Your Fleet

Friday, June 9, all day – New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon

“GYF is the biggest Alternative Fuel and Electric Vehicle (EV) event hosted at the NH Motor Speedway! GYF spotlights diverse vehicle, equipment, fuel, technology, and infrastructure alternatives: biodiesel, electric, hydrogen, natural gas, and propane for commercial and municipal onroad and offroad, vehicles and equipment, as well as other fuel efficiency strategies in transportation.”

Register here.

SELT Conservation Celebration & Annual Meeting

$30 per person – Saturday, June 10, 4pm – SELT Mathey Center, Epping

SELT hosts its annual meeting with a barbecue featuring live music and presentation of several volunteer awards!

Register here.

Right to Know Law & Public Meetings Webinar

Tuesday, June 13, 12pm - Zoom

NHMA presents an orientation for RSA Chapter 91, the Granite State’s law regarding public meetings, public comment, and establishment of rules of procedure. This is a great opportunity for new and veteran community board members of your municipality.

Register here.

Housing Solutions for Communities without Public Water & Sewer

Thursday, June 15, 8am – Flag Hill Distillery, Lee

“Join the Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast for a discussion of housing solutions for cities and towns with limited or no public water or sewer infrastructure. This session will feature case studies from projects in the region that tackled this challenge and a panel discussion with experts in the field. This event is designed for municipal officials, municipal staff, the development community, and other stakeholders.”

Register here.

Asset Mapping for Sidewalk ADA Compliance

Tuesday, June 20, 12:30pm - Zoom

"Safe and well-maintained sidewalks are a basic and necessary investment for cities, especially when seeking to meet ADA requirements. Join this event to learn about technologies that allow for comprehensive and accurate mapping of sidewalks and crosswalks."

Register here.

Great Bay 2030 (Year 2) Water Quality and Quantity Focal Group Meeting

Wednesday, June 28, 1 to 3pm - In-person location TBD

"Please join us for a meeting to discuss Great Bay 2030 Year 2 funding opportunities for water quality and quantity projects including project criteria, funding proposal process, and timelines. The meeting will include a brief review of the Great Bay 2030 Initiative and its funding priorities – see website for more information about Great Bay 2030 and its vision. Prior to the meeting, we will provide additional meeting details including an agenda, supporting documents, and meeting location."

EECBG Competitive Program 

The EECBG Competitive Program will award $8.8 million in nationwide funding to cities, counties, towns, municipalities, state-recognized tribes. Funds are available for a wide variety of projects that lower energy costs, reduce carbon emissions, or improve energy efficiency. All SRPC communities except Dover and Rochester are eligible to apply. The US Department of Energy will prioritize applicants from States with populations of fewer than two million such as New Hampshire, and projects that will create meaningful impacts on local economies, engage a variety of community partners, and have a strategy to deliver on the goals of the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative. For more information about the EECBG Competitive Program, please visit the US Department of Energy’s website.

Community Development Block Grants: A How-to

The New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) will be conducting a virtual workshop for organizations interested in applying for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds or learning more about the program. The workshop is encouraged for grant administrators, grantees and any projects that intend to apply for the following programs: Housing, Public Facilities, Economic Development, Emergency or Planning. Applications for round 2 of the Housing and Public Facilities programs are due the first Monday in July

If you have any questions, please contact Mollie Kaylor, Director of Housing and Community Development, at 603-717-9112 or mkaylor@nhcdfa.org. Additional information on the Community Development Block Grant program administered by CDFA can be found on the organization’s Resource Hub.

Recreational Trails Program Grant

The Bureau of Trails at the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources has announced competitive “funding for quality public trail projects throughout New Hampshire. Limited grants are available for motorized, non-motorized and diversified trails. Eligible projects include maintenance and restoration of existing trails, purchase and lease of trail construction and maintenance equipment, construction of new trails, development and rehabilitation of trailside and trailhead facilities and trail linkages.”

Thriving Communities Program

“This planning, technical assistance, and capacity building support will enable disadvantaged and under-resourced communities to advance a pipeline of transformative infrastructure projects that will increase mobility, reduce pollution, and expand affordable transportation options, connecting communities to the essential opportunities and resources that will help them thrive.” In FY 2023, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced over $21 million of funding. Three New England applicants received “Complete Neighborhood” funding: The cities of Brockton and Providence and the “RiverCOG” MPO of Connecticut. The FY2024 Thriving Communities grant round is expected to open this summer.

Our Town Creative Placemaking Grant, National Endowment for the Arts

“Our Town is the NEA’s creative placemaking grants program. Through project-based funding, the program supports activities that integrate arts, culture, and design into local efforts that strengthen communities over the long term.” Applications are now being accepted for projects with a grant range of $25,000 to $150,000. The first application submittal is due by August 3, 2023.

Arts for Community Engagement (ACE) project grant 

This funding category supports community enrichment and public benefit by providing access to high quality arts events and activities presented by community-based organizations, Main Street programs, and municipalities. The ACE grant supports a wide range of activities across a range of disciplines and includes performances, concerts, exhibits, workshops, community arts programming, and collaborative public art projects. The goal is to engage and benefit New Hampshire residents and communities through the arts, especially people who are underserved or under-represented; encourage collaborative and cross-sector community partnerships; stimulate local economies through cultural tourism and the arts; and enhance the vibrancy of New Hampshire communities and quality of life for New Hampshire citizens.

Awards are available for up to $6,000, funding projects that occur between November 1, 2023 and October 31, 2024. 

Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT)

"The program will invest in projects to make the country’s surface transportation system – including highways, public transportation, pedestrian facilities, ports, and intercity passenger rail – more resilient to the worsening impacts of climate change, while reducing long-term costs by minimizing demands for more expensive future maintenance and rebuilding. The program prioritizes innovative and collaborative approaches to risk reduction – including approaches that harness the power of nature to protect against flood, erosion, wave damage, and heat impacts." States, MPOs, local governments, and Indian Tribes can apply directly to FHWA now through August 18.

More information is found here.

Northern Border Catalyst Program 2023

The Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) is making available up to $44 million1 in grant funds to be competitively awarded through the Catalyst Program. The Catalyst Program brings multiple investment priorities together to stimulate growth and inspire partnerships for rural economic vitality in the northern border region. These projects will be partially funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Non-infrastructure projects will have an award size ranging up to $500,000. Infrastructure projects will have an award size ranging up to $1,000,000, with consideration of awards up to $3,000,000 for projects that demonstrate their ability to meet the eligibility criteria and address priorities identified by NBRC and member states.

To be eligible for the higher maximum, projects must either include multiple infrastructure categories or serve multiple jurisdictions. Eligibility will be determined in the LOI review process conducted by both NBRC and the member States (New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine).

The deadline for the Town of Farmington’s Request for Proposals for the redevelopment of the town’s former fire station property located at 381 Main Street, Farmington, NH, 03835 is Friday, July 14, 2023 at 3pm. The Town will hold an optional pre‐submission conference for those interested in learning more about the RFP.

Proposers should inform the Director of Planning, Kyle Pimental, by email at kpimental@strafford.org no later than June 7th if they are interested in such a session. Proposers are encouraged to submit written questions to the Town in advance of the pre‐submission conference.

For those unable to attend the conference, any questions or inquiries regarding this RFP must be submitted in writing. To be considered, they must be received by the Planning and Community Development Director no later than June 14th, as referenced in the deadline for receipt questions specified in the RFP timetable. Questions and their answers will be shared with all Proposers.

For more information, visit the town's website.

NH Maker & Food Fest Saturday, June 3, 10AM - 3PM

The Fest is family friendly, and admission is a suggested $5/person donation. You can reserve tickets here online, or donate when you arrive.

Click here to learn about Dover's 400th Anniversary upcoming events.

Click here to learn about Northwood's 250th Anniversary upcoming events.

Support your local farmer at a market near you! Check out Seacoast Eat Local's page to learn more.