This week at the WRC: 4/23 - 4/27
- April 23, 12:00 pm: Public Policy & Legislative Committee, WRC Conference Room
- April 24. 6:00 pm: Full Commission, Newbrook Fire Department
- April 26, 4:00 pm: Brattleboro Town Plan Review Public Hearing, WRC Conference Room
- April 26, 5:00 pm: Natural Resources Committee, WRC Conference Room
Full Meetings and Events Calendar, and Warnings | Current Newsletter | January & February Staff Report
From the Director, February 2018 - Our Regional Energy Plan's Long Journey
Staff, commissioners and committee members have been working on a regional energy plan that complies with Act 174 for nearly a year and a half. At its February meeting, the Windham Regional Commission will be voting to move the draft plan to public hearing. In addition to discussions at open meetings of the WRC, our Executive Board, and our committees, we've held forums and public meetings throughout the region and throughout the process.
WRC Hosts Public Hearings for Regional Energy Plan
The Windham Regional Commission will be hosting two public hearing on April 9th, 2018 at the Townshend Town Hall and April 12th, 2018 at the Westminster Institute both at 6:30 in the evening. The hearings are an opportunity for the public to submit comments and testimony on the draft plan amendment.
The Green River Watershed Alliance rolls out the Confluence Project
In 2017, the Green River Watershed Alliance (GRWA) was formed with the support of the WRC and through a Watershed Resilience grant from the High Meadows Fund, to be a "community-led voice for the stewardship and protection of the Green River and its surrounding landscape." It aims to bring together residents from Marlboro, Halifax, and Guilford so they may establish the importance of their river, learn about its systems, and create watershed identity and a sense of place. One of the ways it plans to do this is through the Confluence Project, a collaborative effort between the WRC, Vermont Performance Lab, and three area schools.
WRC’s Pedestrian Count Data Now Available Online
WRC has performed over 90 pedestrian counts at over 30 different locations since 2014, on sidewalks, multi-use pathways, and trails throughout the Region. We’ve now made all that data available to the public via an on-line map.
WRC Formalizes the Clean Water Advisory Committee
Since the passing of Act 64, Vermont's Clean Water Act (VCWA), in 2015, the State as a whole has effectively adopted its "all-in" approach to water quality efforts. Directly relevant to regional planning commissions, the VCWA states that, "...if funding is available, ANR shall contract with regional planning commissions to produce or assist in producing basin plans." While this assistance is mandated with the passing of this legislation, the WRC has independently enjoyed a long-standing working relationship with its respective DEC Basin Planner, Marie Caduto. In partnership with the DEC, the WRC's Natural Resources Committee has led efforts to assist in drafting the Tactical Basin Plans (or, a large watershed-scale planning document that identifies priority water quality projects in a basin), providing outreach to affected municipalities, and help prioritize projects based in part on local needs and interests. All this work related to Basin Planning, water quality outreach, and project implementation had been done through the existing Clean Water Advisory Committee (CWAC), which is an extension of the Natural Resources Committee.
WRC Offers Lidar and Ortho Viewer
Have you heard about all this new lidar data and wondered what it is and how to view it? WRC has created an on-line viewer that lets anyone explore not just lidar data, but also orthophotos (air photos) and USGS topographic maps.
New Year, New Renewable Energy Installations
The Windham Regional Commission received funding from the Clean Energy Development Fund in 2017 to run another round of the successful Windham County Renewable Grant Program. The last round yielded five projects ranging from combined heat and power units to rooftop solar arrays, experimental agriculture in solar fields, to a feasibility study for an anaerobic digester. The projects began their construction last May and have taken great strides since (project details below).
A Heated Event: The Annual Wood Energy Users Conference hosted in Windham County a Success!
Windham Wood Heat co-hosted the State Wood Energy Team’s Annual Wood Energy Users Conference in November 2017. The event was held in Brattleboro with over 60 attendees. The day consisted of an informative morning session including presentations from the BERC on the basics of modern wood heat, the Northern Forest Center on promoting wood heat, Windham Wood Heat Initiative on lessons learned and opportunities, and a panel from state program leaders.
Algiers Village Explores Living Community Challenge Master Planning
On Wednesday, August 16th , four community non-profit organizations based in Guilford hosted a community meeting at the Guilford Community Church to start a dialogue about what people envision for the future of Algiers Village. Those organizations are the Friends of Algiers Village, Community Collaborative for Guilford, Guilford Preservation, Inc, and the Guilford Community Church; and they have taken on the role of proactively planning the Village.
Notes from VCDA's Meeting on Trails and Economic Development
On May 10, WRC's GIS Planner Jeff Nugent headed north to Burke Mountain to attend the Vermont Community Development Association’s spring meeting. The topic was Blazing A Trail: The Economic Impact and Future of Vermont’s Trails & Recreation Paths. With over 100 people in attendance, the energy and excitement around this topic was plapable. For those that could not attend, here are Jeff's notes from the meeting.
WRC Planners Attend 2017 Leahy Summit with Green River Project Partners
The 2017 Leahy Summit was hosted at the ECHO Center in Burlington, on March 24-25. The intent of the meeting was to bring together project groups and partners that have a watershed resilience-related project idea that they'd like to pursue. The two-day meeting was primarily a working session, as attending project partners were facilitated through a series of exercises that encouraged the teams to reflect on their goals, identify community needs, and begin to develop an action plan for carrying out their projects and to have a plan with which they can receive funding.
RiverSmart Communities Report Available
The RiverSmart Communities program at UMass Amherst has released a report "Supporting New England Communities to Become RiverSmart: Policies and Programs That Can Help New England Towns Thrive Despite River Floods." The result of work with numerous partners in MA and VT, the report combines social and river science, institutional and policy research, and community outreach to research and address river floods in New England.
