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SWRPC |
May 2009 |
| Commission Highlights |
Vol. 15 - No. 5 |
Summit on Community Transportation for the Contoocook Valley on June 10th
The Planning Commission will host a "Summit on Community Transportation Development for the Contoocook Valley" on June 10, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Greenfield, NH. Come share your stories and learn about efforts from your peers to improve community and special needs transportation in the Eastern Monadnock Region. Guest panelists and other attendees will include users of community transportation, transportation providers, community and government leaders, social workers, town energy committee members, state and federal policymakers, private foundations and others interested in improving community transportation in the area. Advance registration is required, please call 357-0557 before June 5th if you would like to attend. For more information, please contact J.B. Mack of Commission staff.
Planning Commission's Annual Meeting set for June 23, 2009
The Planning Commission's Annual Meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at Keene State College. Our featured guest speaker will be Rhett Lamb, who is Director of Planning for the City of Keene and a member of the Governor's Task Force on Climate Change. Mr. Lamb's presentation will focus on the recently released task force plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase renewable energy use within the state. The program includes a social beginning at 6:00 p.m. with dinner served at 7:00 p.m. For additional information, please contact Becky Baldwin of Commission staff.
NH OEP 16th Spring Planning and Zoning Conference
Planning Commission staff participated in the NH Office of Energy and Planning's Annual Spring Planning and Zoning Conference in Manchester, NH on May 2, 2009. Municipal officials and citizen volunteers from Planning Boards, Zoning Boards of Adjustment, Conservation Commissions, and Energy Committees attended various sessions on renewable energy, energy efficiency, floodplain regulations, neighborhood heritage districts, heritage commissions, legislative updates, the NH Climate Action Plan, and planning and zoning board basics. For additional information, please contact Neel Patel of Commission staff.
SWRPC Brownfields Project Receives Clean-up Grant Funding
The Planning Commission is pleased to announce that the Town of Jaffrey received clean up grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for three parcels that are part of a brownfield known as the Elite Laundry site. The SWRPC Brownfield Program's funding of four Phase I environmental assessments and three hazardous materials building surveys enabled the town to apply for clean up funds from the EPA. This approximately $20,000 investment by the SWRPC Brownfields Program enabled the Town to leverage $600,000 in clean up funds as well as obtain documentation to proceed with the demolition of three buildings. For more information, please contact J.B. Mack of Commission staff.
Workforce Housing Sessions
On May 5 and 14, 2009, the Planning Commission in conjunction with its Economic Development Advisory Committee hosted two sessions on workforce housing in Bennington and Keene. There were approximately 75 participants representing 16 towns from within our Region as well as three from outside the area. Ben Frost, Esq., Director of Public Affairs at New Hampshire Housing provided information on the requirements of the state's new Workforce Housing statute and what municipalities will need to do to comply with the law. For additional information, please contact Lisa Murphy of Commission staff.
Transportation Enhancement Grant Round Opens June 1st
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation is opening a new grant round for Transportation Enhancement (TE) projects in the State on June 1, 2009. TE activities are federally funded, community-based projects that expand travel choices and enhance the transportation experience by improving the cultural, historic, aesthetic and environmental aspects of our transportation infrastructure. Projects must fall within categories such as pedestrian/bicycle travel, tourism, scenic resources, rails to trails, and historic resources related to transportation - Planning Commission staff is available to assist and provide information on the full range of categories. Applicants must submit a letter of intent for a project by July 2nd, 2009 to NH DOT and SWRPC as the first step of the application process. For more information, please contact J.B. Mack of Commission staff or visit http://www.nh.gov/dot/org/projectdevelopment/planning/tecmaq/index.htm.
Commission Assists Towns of Hinsdale and Peterborough with CDBG Applications
Commission staff recently submitted Community Development Block Grant applications on behalf of the towns of Hinsdale and Peterborough. The Hinsdale application requests $12,000 to fund a feasibility study examining the infrastructure needs in the Ash Swamp Brook Coop Mobile Home Park. The Peterborough application requests $220,000 to help finance the purchase of an industrial building on Jaffrey Road, known as the Whiton building, by a manufacturing company relocating to Peterborough. For more information, please contact Brian McMaster of Commission staff.
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Southwest Region Planning Commission
20 Central Square, 2nd Floor, Keene, NH 03431
Ph: (603) 357-0557, Fax: (603) 357-7440
General E-mail: admin@swrpc.org
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