This week at the WRC: 2/24 - 2/28
- February 24, 12:00 pm: Public Policy & Legislative Forum, WRC Conference Room
- February 27, 5:00 pm: Natural Resources Committee, WRC Conference Room
Full Meetings and Events Calendar, and Warnings | Current Newsletter | January 2020 Staff Report
From the Director, Winter 2020 Ready for a New Year and a New Decade
It's been a year of much change at the Windham Regional Commission, but we are ready for and looking forward to the new year and decade ahead. We've had transitions in the roles of Associate Director, Finance Manager, Transportation Planner, and Natural Resources Planner, and after the normal adaptation and settling in process we end 2019 on very solid footing. Thank you to the Windham Region towns, our Commissioners, our agency and foundation project partners, other stakeholders, and our staff for your unwavering commitment and engagement throughout this past year.
WRC Seeks Planner for Transportation and Energy Projects
Interested in addressing climate change by both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and planning for system adaptation and resilience? Want to use transportation and energy platforms to build community, sense of place, and economic opportunity? The Windham Regional Commission seeks a highly skilled, self-motivated, full-time Planner with a transportation and energy emphasis to work with a team of dedicated professionals, volunteer Commissioners, and municipal officials. For more information, read the job annoucement here.
Regional Broadband Project Begins; Kick-off Meeting Presentation Available
The Windham Regional Commission (WRC) held a region-wide meeting on Thursday, January 9th, 2020 to kick-off the new Windham Region Broadband Project. The presentation from that meeting, which describes the elements of this project in detail, is available here. A video of the meeting is available here.
The next meeting will be held February 6th (February 13th snow date) at 6 p.m. at the Newbrook Fire Department in Newfane and will focus on the administration of the broadband survey.
WRC Mourns Loss of Our Friend and Colleague, Mike Shaughnessy
On Thursday, July 11th we learned of the unexpected death of our friend and colleague, Mike Shaughnessy. Mike had worked at WRC as finance manager since he was 21 years old, and for more than 30 years was central to the operation of the Commission and our strong financial integrity. He was a resource for our towns and a leader among the regional planning commission financial managers.
Windham Wood Heat Projects Gain Spotlight Across State Lines
Two advanced wood heat projects in Windham County funded in part by the Windham Wood Heat Initiative have been highlighted in the four-state effort to positively message automated wood heat. The Green Street School in Brattleboro (right) and the Windham and Windsor Housing Trust development Putney Landing in Putney are both featured as "Stoked Stories" on Feel Good Heat's website.
WRC Project Showcased at the 2019 Leahy Summit at the ECHO Center
On Friday, April 5th, 2019, staff planner Emily Davis lead a panel discussion with her project partners at the 2019 Leahy Center Environmental Summit at the ECHO Center in Burlington. Hosted by the VT Clean Water Network, the Leahy Summit is a biennial clean water networking event designed to pull together clean water partners involved with community resilience, policy, funding, project development, and clean water implementation. Starting in response to the need for a more holistic approach to watershed planning following Tropical Storm Irene, each Leahy Summit has a theme. The theme for 2019 was: "The Alchemy of Arts & Science."
Windham Regional Commission Receives $300,000 Brownfields Grant
WRC was selected as one of six organizations in Vermont selected to receive a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency for environmental assessment work. The $300,000 grant will cover five site assessments, five cleanup plans and the development of an area-wide plan. This work will be targeted in the communities with the most need, Brattleboro, Bellows Falls and Wilmington, although brownfields projects throughout the region are eligible. “The Windham Regional Commission is pleased to be able to help more communities and property owners clean up and redevelop contaminated sites in Southern Vermont”, said WRC Senior Planner Susan Westa.
New Brattleboro Road Map Now Available
WRC has completed a large version of a Brattleboro road map, with every named road and street in town, public and private, on one page, with no insets. The map also includes a name index to help you locate those streets you’ve never heard of before. Lisa Donnelly of the WRC staff gets much of the credit for being the cartographic contortionist, fitting nearly 340 road names into Brattleboro’s very non-linear street network. Interested in a smaller size? WRC also has an 11x17-inch version, on two pages with insets.
PDFs of both maps are available on the WRC web site here. Anyone can take the PDFs to a commercial establishment for printing, or WRC can print out copies of the large map for a small fee. Thanks to the Brattleboro Planning Services Department for reviewing the map.
