Upcoming Events

What's Next Roxbury?

Roxbury community members are invited to join a FREE community dinner and discussion groups on local topics on Tuesday, Feb. 18 from 4:30-8:30pm at the Roxbury Village School. You can share your ideas about connection, Town pride, seniors and youth, community spaces, and more. All are welcome to join the “What’s Next Roxbury?” 3-step process: residents, students, families, and anyone who works in town, owns a business, or cares about Roxbury. We will offer childcare, and you can find help getting a ride or other accessibility needs on the flier or the website. 

Steps 2 and 3 of “What’s Next Roxbury?” will be held at the Village School on March 24 and April 28 to decide top priorities and build action plans. These events are hosted by the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), an independent nonprofit that has worked with more than 90 towns in Vermont. Contact Alyssa at alyssa@vtrural.org or 802-222-6896 to learn more.

Rural Caucus Public Forum: Listening to Concerns of Rural Vermonters

February 19 | 5:30-7 PM | In-Person & Virtual

The Rural Caucus of the Vermont legislature wants to hear from you! The public is invited to share their top issues affecting rural Vermont. Whether you are concerned about education reform, health care, climate change resiliency, affordable housing, or another topic, let your voices be heard to guide the work of the Rural Caucus in the upcoming legislative session and beyond. Participants will have 2 minutes each to share concrete policy recommendations that address rural challenges. Sign Up to participate >>

Community News

Resilience Review Results

In October, University of Pennsylvania graduate students visited Barre, Plainfield, and Montpelier to tour flood affected areas as part of their studies examining adaptation and resilience efforts. The team from the Weitzman School of Design is now sharing the results of their work:

• Barre Flood Adaptation Plan
• Montpelier Strategic Plan: A Vision for Growth, Preservation, and Resilience
• Planning for Resilience in Plainfield
• Central Vermont Adaptation Plans Final Presentation (a complication of the three above)

PATH for Vermont Resource Page

There is a new web page on the ACCD website so you can learn more about the Scott Administration’s plan to bring more housing online in Vermont. The PATH for Vermont Resource Page contains a link to a virtual Town Hall explaining the proposal, slides from that Town Hall event, and a two-page high-level break down of PATH for Vermont. You will also find data on housing targets and a new dashboard that contains a map showing where housing has been recently built, and where Vermont needs to add more.

Vermont Planning Manual Seeking Input

NVDA wants to know about your experiences using the Vermont Planning Manual, volume 1. 

Have you either worked with or served on a planning commission that was completely new to the process? If so, did you consult with this document? How was it helpful to you? Have you consulted the manual when updating your municipal plan? Or have you used other towns' plans as a template.

They are in the process of updating this document, so ANY feedback positive or negative would be helpful! Send comments to: alow@nvda.net

RFPs & Grant Information

Wastewater Grants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making available technical assistance grants to rural communities with inadequate, non-existent, or failing wastewater infrastructure via the Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Initiative Expansion program.

Participating communities will be matched with an EPA technical assistance provider who has expertise specific to that community’s septic and wastewater management issues. That provider will also help communities identify and pursue federal funding to address their needs.

Interested communities can request assistance by filling out this form.