Upcoming Grant Opportunities

DAM Safety for Towns! Hear it Here!

Regional Towns Secure Additional Planning Grants

BF Island Project to Receive EPA Technical Assistance

LEMP's: The Why & How

WRC Votes to Commence with Regional Plan Update

VTrans Bike Ped Grant Opportunities

TrailFinder Can Help You Plan Your Next Hike

USDA Rural Development 

For additional information about grant possibilities for your projects please contact Susan Westa.

WRC will be hosting a webinar in June for towns to learn about Act 161, the new VT Dam Safety Rule, and its implications for town owned dams. Phase 2 of the Rule will pass this year, setting in place the technical standards for the Rule requirements. Act 161 covers all requirements related to dam ownership, so it’s important that towns with public dams have a full understanding. This presentation will be an opportunity for town officials to learn and ask questions directly of Ben Green, Dam Safety Engineer with the VT DEC Dam Safety Program. More information coming soon on this virtual event!

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently notified the Town of Rockingham and the Windham Regional Commission that they will provide technical assistance to further redevelopment on the Bellows Falls Island. WRC previously funded the development of a Brownfields Areawide Plan with an EPA Assessment grant. The Areawide Plan, being developed by Stevens and Associates, will be completed this month. The Plan looks at brownfields and other environmental issues, as well as community needs and economic development opportunities on the Island, as well as “Under the Hill”.  Through an extensive community engagement process potential uses were identified including light industrial development, new mixed use development with residential uses above commercial, an island trail system and enhancing the canal with lighting to make it a community attraction.

This new technical assistance opportunity is an important next step and will provide much needed redevelopment assistance. “Through small, annual investments of expert technical assistance, EPA helps communities identify practical reuse approaches that support local goals. The program shares the results of these projects with other communities through a toolkit and other documents.” WRC is excited to continue to support the Town of Rockingham and play a role in the revitalization of this important community asset.

The trees are budding, the daffodils are blooming and your town’s Emergency Management Director (EMD) is likely thinking about the required annual update of the Local Emergency Management Plan (LEMP). The LEMP is due to WRC annually by May 1^st. This deadline established by the state ensures that these important emergency planning resources are kept updated for each town. It also ensures that WRC and Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) are aware of the most current facility designations and town emergency contacts.

The LEMP is a reference tool for use by EMDs and other town officials before, during and after hazard events. It ensures that resource lists, designations, response plans and contact information are available and together in one place for easy reference. Ideally, towns complete the base plan and all relevant appendices, and keep a few binders with different key officials in town. This way there are backups in different locations.

If you require assistance with the LEMP, please reach out to Alyssa Sabetto.

The Windham Regional Commission voted to move ahead with a proposed schedule and strategy for completing the Windham Regional Plan update at their Full Commission meeting on March 29, 2022. The Regional Plan update will focus on three critical and inter-connected themes for our region: (1) how to support compact development in our village centers and downtown areas, (2) how to make settlements more climate adaptive and resilient, and (3) how to maintain and improve habitat connectivity and forest blocks. In the schedule presented by staff, the update process will take approximately two years with a goal of adopting a final plan in Spring 2024.

A major goal is for the Regional Plan to be entirely web-based. The purpose behind this to provide communities with a plan that is a more useful and accessible planning tool and source of information. While the plan will be web-based, it would be designed to allow users to download sections or the whole plan in PDF format. WRC is in the process of hiring a consultant to assist with the design and development of the web-based plan in collaboration with Commission members and staff.

Staff is currently completing an inventory of existing conditions in the region in preparation for public meetings and other types of outreach events (in-person and online) that will be scheduled during the fall months in 2022. These events will help the WRC identify the issues impacting residents and build consensus around common goals and priorities. We encourage you to check the Windham Regional Commission’s website later in the summer for more information on upcoming public events and to find out how you can get involved in the process. Please contact Matt Bachler at mbachler@windhamregional.org or 802-257-4547, ext. 112 if you have any questions about the Regional Plan update.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation has announced a grant funding opportunity for towns to improve or create infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrians. The 2022 Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant Program provides funding for the scoping, planning, design and construction of a variety of projects intended to improve mobility for bicyclists and pedestrians, including but not limited to bicycle lanes, expanded shoulders, new or improved sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and shared-used bicycle and pedestrian paths. This is an excellent opportunity to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety in your town and encourage residents and visitors to walk or bike to and from your village, downtown, local school or other important local destinations. And remember: many of your friends and neighbors don't drive. Those under age 16 and many over age 65 don't drive because they're not able, or they choose not to.

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant Program is split into two separate application categories depending on funding source and project scope. Small scale grants are aimed at addressing simple but critical improvements in bicycle or pedestrian infrastructure in the near term. These projects are funded with a 50/50 State and Local match, allowing shovel ready projects to be completed more quickly than they otherwise would be with Federal funds. If your town has a small gap in sidewalk infrastructure between your elementary school and village center or an important crosswalk that needs a pedestrian island, a small-scale Bicycle and Pedestrian grant can address that need. Small Scale grants are capped at $75,000 in state funds, for a total project cost of $150,000, and the minimum award is $5,000.

Bicycle and Pedestrian grants provide funding for scoping studies for bike ped infrastructure projects, as well as design and construction of larger scale projects once scoping has been completed. Completing a scoping study is an important step in the infrastructure improvement project process, and it is recommended that all communities with a project idea complete a scoping study before applying for construction funding. Once a scoping study has been completed, your town will have a shovel ready project with a clearly defined scope of work and cost estimate. The scoping report can then be used to pursue construction funds from a variety of State and Federal grant programs, including but not limited to the Bicycle and Pedestrian grant program. Scoping studies generally cost between $40,000-$60,000 and are to be completed within two years of the award date. All Federal grants have an 80/20 federal/local match requirement. Examples of past Federal Bike-Ped grant awards include the recently-completed Weston study, the recently started Newfane Village Sidewalk Scoping Study, and the Depot Street Sidewalk project in Chester.

The deadline for applications is Wednesday June 8th by 1 pm. All applications must be submitted electronically to VTrans Project Manager Peter Pochop by email at peter.pochop@vermont.gov. If your town has an idea for a project and would like assistance completing an application, or have other questions about the Bicycle and Pedestrian program, we encourage you to reach out to the Windham Regional Commission Transportation Planning Program Coordinator, Colin Bratton, by email at cbratton@windhamregional.org or by phone at 802-257-4547 ext. 109.

The Windham Region is blessed with many hard-working organizations that build and maintain non-motorized trails. With so many organizations though, it means you have so many different places to look when you want information about local trails. Enter TrailFinder, which can serve as a one-stop portal for trail information.

TrailFinder, located at https://www.trailfinder.info/, contains information on many trails in both Vermont and New Hampshire. It has been adopted by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation as the primary source for trail information here in the Green Mountain State. Windham Regional Commission has been working with many organizations in the region to get their trails into TrailFinder.

While TrailFinder doesn’t contain every trail in the region (we’re working on that!), it does have one big advantage over other online trail sites. TrailFinder information is supplied by the very organizations who manage and maintain the trails, meaning the content comes from a trusted source. Also, most trail entries contain information and links relating back to those managing organizations. This not only means you have a place to go to find answers to questions you might have, but it also helps build recognition and support for those hard-working organizations on whose efforts we depend.

Consider giving TrailFinder a try. You don’t need an account to access the information, but a free account lets you post comments which fellow hikers may find helpful when planning a trip.