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Request for Proposals – Construction Inspection Services – Windsor Streetscapes Project
The Town of Windsor and SWCRPC invite individuals and or firms to submit proposals for construction inspection services for work along Depot and River Streets. The project entails the construction of concrete sidewalks, granite curbing, lighting and full width overlay of Depot Avenue. Proposals are due on July 12, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. The full Request for Proposal can be found here. Please call SWCRPC at (802) 674-9201 if you have any questions.
Bicycling and Pedestrian Grant just announced
VTrans has just announced this year’s round of the Bicycling and Pedestrian Program grant. Applications are due July 26, 2013. For more information see our Grants page.
Scenic Route 100 Byway Extension approved
Two years after the Scenic Route 100 Byway was established, the effort to expand the Byway north and south along Route 100 to include an additional 14 towns has been completed. On April 18, 2013, the Vermont Transportation Board formally approved the Scenic Route 100 Byway expansion to now encompass 20 towns to make it Vermont’s second largest Byway at 138 miles, behind the Connecticut River Byway. For more information about the Byway see our Byways page.
Springfield Brownfield project receives national attention!
The RPC’s Brownfields Program recently received some national attention! One of our projects, the 100 River Street site in Springfield, was the focus of an article in Planning, the American Planning Association’s magazine. Please click here to read the full article.
ECV Consortium Outreach Plan
SWCRPC is joining efforts with the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC) to develop a regional plan that will guide decision-making and investments aimed at maintaining the place we call home. Several of the towns in our region have already signed up as Consortium members and, as this is a public process, we are attempting to put out the word that involvement is desired. Please visit www.ecvermont.org or contact Dan Potter at dpotter@swcrpc.org for more information.
The transportation working group is would like to know what your vision is for a transportation future?
- More bike lanes? Train service to Boston? Houses closer to the workplace? Or do you like things just the way they are?
- If you live or work in east central Vermont (Orange and Windsor counties) and have ten minutes to spare, please tell us your vision for the future of transportation and how the state and towns should go about paying for it. Vital Communities is helping to gather public input for the East Central Vermont regional sustainability plan, led by the TRORC and SWCRPC.
Final Broadband Plan
Throughout 2011 and 2012, Regional Planning Commissions across Vermont collaborated with local partners to identify current broadband opportunities and gaps. Regional Planning Commission staff developed Regional Technology Teams comprised of interested stakeholders including education, business, town government, and health care. These teams collaborated to develop an action plan of strategies for greater broadband implementation throughout the state and across economic sectors.
SWCRPC staff met with representatives from seven different economic sectors to complete a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Challenges analysis for broadband adoption. The sectors included: business, education, energy/utilities, healthcare, human service, libraries, media, municipal government/emergency services, and non-profit/service. These meetings not only identified current successes and gaps in broadband adoption, but also allowed for cross-sector partnerships to be formed.
The Vermont Association of Planning and Development Organizations statewide report on broadband can be found at:
West Windsor’s Local Resources and Businesses
A new poster of West Windsor’s local resources and Businesses has recently been completed by SWCRPC with the Ottauquechee Natural Resources Conservation District. Posters are available for purchase at the Brownsville General Store with proceeds going to the West Windsor Conservation Fund.
Updated Vermont Planning Information Center online
VAPDA and ACCD have just announced the new and improved Vermont Planning Information Center (VPIC) website www.vpic.info . The website for Vermont’s volunteer and professional land use decision-makers consolidates access to the resources you need including:
- All planning and zoning publications produced by Land Use Education and Training Collaborative
- Links to key websites and documents
- An improved calendar of training events (trainers can post events directly)
Vermont Complete Streets Guidebook
The new Vermont Complete Streets Guidebook is now available online. Check it out at http://healthvermont.gov/family/fit/target.aspx#streets. For more information about the Complete Streets Act which took effect on July 1, 2011, check out our Vermont’s Complete Streets Law Technical Bulletin.
The 2013 Vermont Home Energy Challenge – Sign Up Today!
Help your neighbors reduce their energy bills by participating in the 2013 Vermont Home Energy Challenge. Efficiency Vermont, in partnership with the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network, is seeking local organizations to champion the Challenge in their communities and to sign up to participate. Under the Challenge, local organizations will foster public awareness about energy saving opportunities in the home and will set a target of weatherizing 3% of the homes in their community over the course of a year. Towns will then be able to measure their progress toward their goals along with that of other communities in their region and across the state. At the end of the year, towns will be recognized and awarded for the effectiveness of their efforts to encourage participation in their communities. Be sure your town participates! Sign-up is easy. Go to www.efficiencyvermont.com/homeenergychallenge for details. For more information, contact Paul Markowitz, Community Energy Program Manager, Efficiency Vermont at 802 540 7608 or pmarkowitz@veic.org
North Springfield Sustainable Energy Project: Documents and Testimony
Proposed Location of the North Springfield Biomass Plant
“The North Springfield Sustainable Energy Project, proposed to be built on 20 acres about a half-mile from Main Street, would generate electricity for more than 25,000 homes in the area by burning wood chips purchased locally, according to developers Winstanley Enterprises, of Concord, Mass., and Weston Solutions Inc., of Concord, N.H.
The plant would also provide heat to other buildings in the park through a hot-water “thermal loop” that uses excess energy from the plant. Lead developer Adam Winstanley called the resulting below-market heating rates a “major economic incentive” to assist the park’s current businesses — and entice new ones“.
-From the Valley News 1/8/2012
To read documents and testimony related to the case click here. A Citizen’s Guide to the Application Process can be found here. Answers to frequently asked questions can be read by clicking here.
