Broadband Public Forum 

A Public Forum on Broadband Access and Affordability in Southwest New Hampshire will be held from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. on April 13, 2007 at The Pub Restaurant in Keene.  The Forum is sponsored by Planning Commission’s Economic Development Advisory Committee as part of the ongoing program for the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for Southwest New Hampshire.  Forum panelists include: Veronica Francis, Technology Consultant and Founder of TechLink NH and Wicked WIFI; Barbara Neylan, member of the Pinnacle Mountain Rural Wireless Project; and Carlotta Pini, Rindge Town Administrator and member of the Rindge Broadband Committee.  To register for the Forum, please contact Becky Baldwin of Commission staff by Friday, April 6, 2007.  The admission price of $10 includes lunch.  For further information, please contact Amy Owens of Commission staff.

Safe Routes to School Underway in New Hampshire

Encouraging children to walk or ride bicycles to school is the goal of the Safe Routes to School program (SRTS).  SRTS is an initiative of the NH Department of Transportation, required and funded by federal transportation legislation.  SRTS is concerned with students “K through 8” who live within two miles of school.  The SRTS approach begins with a local Task Force comprised of parents, police, school staff, and town government working to identify 1) barriers to safe walking and biking, and 2) measures to overcome those barriers.  NH SRTS Coordinator, John Corrigan, is contacting schools, municipalities, regional planning commissions, and advocacy organizations across the State.  SRTS will make small grants available for local planning and projects such as sidewalks and traffic control.  For more information please contact Nicolas Bosonetto of Commission staff. 

Infrastructure Improvements in Peterborough 

The Planning Commission has been working with the Town of Peterborough and Monadnock Community Hospital in the development of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application.  This $500,000 request to support infrastructure improvements along with the creation of 38 new jobs at the hospital has been approved by the NH Community Development Finance Authority’s CDBG Advisory Committee.  Once approved through the Governor and Executive Council process, the Town will utilize this grant along with a municipal bond to construct a road directly connecting Route 202 to Old Street Road for improved access to the Hospital.  Construction of this connector road is a priority recommendation within the Town’s 2003 Master Plan.  This project is cited as a way to remedy capacity deficiencies and safety concerns at the Route 202/Route 136 intersection.  For more information, please contact Matthew Suchodolski of Commission staff.   

Conservation Biology in Land Use Planning 

The Environmental Law Institute of Washington, D.C. asked 38 academics and practitioners in conservation biology and land use planning to craft strategies to overcome the challenges of how to 1) make the broad and complex goals of conservation biology relevant to elected government and voters, and 2) reconcile the mismatch between ecologically meaningful geographic scales and the geographies of towns, counties and states.  Jeff Porter of Commission staff was invited to participate in the three-day conference, hosted by the Johnson Foundation of Racine, WI March 21-23.  The conference emphasized the value of the perspective afforded by regional planning organizations across the country.  The conference proceedings also made it apparent that the Southwest Region is well served by regional conservation science and planning initiatives, such as the “Southwest Region Natural Resources Inventory,” the “Land Conservation Plan for the Ashuelot River Watershed,” and the Quabbin to Cardigan Collaborative.  For further information please contact Jeff Porter of Commission staff. 

Protecting Rural Landscapes and Ways of Life: Farm Transfer Planning

The loss of farms concerns communities across the Monadnock Region and throughout New England.  Communities may not recognize the important opportunity to work with farm owners at one of the most vulnerable points in the life of farms: farm succession between generations or owners.  If farm families are not able to successfully transfer their business and land to the next generation or new owner, both the farm and the land are often lost forever.  Municipal governments, public agencies and non-profit organizations can be active partners or advisers before and during transfers.  Land for Good, the New England Small Farm Institute and UNH Cooperative Extension, are conducting three workshops in New England on the subject of farm transfer planning.  The Planning Commission is co-sponsoring one of these workshops in the Monadnock Region, which is being organized for mid-May.  For more information on farm transfer planning visit www.farmtransfernewengland.org.  For further information on the upcoming workshop, please contact Jeff Porter of Commission staff.   

 First Annual New Hampshire Water Conference

The first annual New Hampshire Water Conference will be held on April 9^th at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord, NH (adjacent to the Courtyard Marriott).  The theme of this year’s conference is Sustainability of New Hampshire’s Water Resources in a Developing Landscape. Conference sessions will examine the current knowledge of the quality, quantity and use of waters, and outline future issues facing the state.  Topics include New Hampshire in 2030, Effects of Climate Change on NH’s Water Resources, Water Infrastructure Needs in NH and others.  The conference will end with a panel discussion on the outlook of sustainability of NH’s water resources.  For more information, please contact Sarah Patriquin of Commission staff or visit the NH Water Conference website at www.plymouth.edu/cfe/conferences/nhwc.html.