Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) has awarded almost $850,000 for TRORC to offer a second round of grant money to small businesses financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Caledonia, Chittenden (including Burlington), Grand Isle, Essex, Franklin, Orange, Orleans, and Windsor counties. Qualifying sole proprietors who seek funding will be able to apply from April 5th through May 26th of 2021.
A webinar training to explain the online application process was offered on April 1st, and the webinar recording will be available afterward. To access the Webinar and learn more about the program breakdown, full eligibility requirements, application materials and timelines, contacts for language translation services, and to view technical assistance recorded trainings, visit the program web site: https://www.vermont-cdbg-cv.com.
A first round of grant money was distributed between August 2020 and March 2021; TRORC awarded $577,500 in funds to 64 small businesses, including 12 in the TRORC region. “We know this money will help many more businesses but will come nowhere near the total need that is out there. We are encouraged that state legislators are currently considering adding significant state dollars to these modest federal funds in order to support small and medium sized businesses across the state,” said Peter Gregory, Executive Director of TRORC.
In order to qualify for the second round of funding, applicants must be from a low-to-moderate income household; be the sole proprietor of a for-profit business with a pre-pandemic or current gross annual revenue of over $24,450; have established their business prior to March 15, 2020; and have a physical establishment within the State of Vermont. This program is funded by the United States Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program
TRORC Sends out Energy Progress Report Cards to Municipalities
To meet the State of Vermont’s Energy Goals of 90% renewable with a 35% reduction in energy use by the year 2050, municipalities and regional planning commissions were tasked with planning for and implementing action items to work towards these goals.
Since the 2016 Comprehensive Energy Plan (CEP) was published by the Department of Public Service (DPS), TRORC has worked with municipalities in the Region to draft, adopt, and implement Town Plans that strive to meet these State energy goals. The CEP set up intermediary goals in 2025 and 2035 as a way to track progress towards the final end goal in 2050. By 2025, electric vehicles should make up 10% of vehicles in the State, 30% of residential buildings should be fully weatherized, and 67% of electrical power should be sourced from renewable energy generation facilities.
Since we are four years away from our first goals in 2025, TRORC developed report cards for each municipality and the Region as a whole to measure progress towards this first goal line. Staff persons Geoff Martin, Tory Littlefield, and Jake Palant developed these report cards which were subsequently sent out energy stakeholders in each community.
As you can see in the graphic below, the TRORC Region received a grade of C- for overall progress towards the State energy goals, with individual grades for each sector: thermal energy use, electric energy use, transportation energy use, and renewable energy generation. These grades indicate that the Region as a whole still has a lot of work to do!
These grades were generated using data from DPS, Efficiency Vermont, and the U.S. Census Bureau. If you would like to receive your community’s report card, please contact Tory Littlefield at [email protected]. Tory or Geoff are also happy to answer any questions you may have.
The TRO Region Progress Grades
Energy and Land Use: Using Land Use Tools to Meet Energy Goals
On Thursday, April 15, 2021 at 6:30 p.m., join TRORC Senior Planner Kevin Geiger and Regional Energy Coordinator Geoff Martin for a training session on how the tools of local land use planning and regulation can be brought to bear on meeting energy goals.
This lightning Zoom training will go over what actionable steps towns can take to meet their energy and climate goals. The training will offer tools for decarbonization and lowering energy usage at various scales, from zoning districts down to the building level. Topics will include:
- Promoting denser development while preserving forests or fields
- Requiring solar- and electric vehicle-ready development
- Discouraging or preventing investment in fuels and technologies that will need to be phased-out in order to address climate change
- Encouraging compliance with the Residential Building Energy Standards (RBES) and above-code construction
This will be especially useful for planning commissions and energy committees, but DRBs, ZBAs and Conservation Commissions may also be interested.
This is an open and free training, but we request that you send an RSVP to Kimberly Gilbert at [email protected] if you plan to attend.
Reminder! Local Emergency Management Plans are due May 1st!
Local Emergency Management Plans (LEMP) must be submitted by May 1, 2021, to Tory Littlefield at [email protected], as required by Vermont Emergency Management.This annual emergency plan is critical for response efforts during natural disasters and is an incentive for communities to increase the state share of federally declared disasters through the Emergency Relief and Assistance Fund (ERAF). Last year was the first year that the new LEMP format was implemented. This year, if there are no changes to the main body of the LEMP, the legislative body will only need to adopt and resubmit the adoption form. This form, as well as templates of the plan, can be found at https://vem.vermont.gov/plans/lemp.
Tory has reached out to all 30-member communities through email and snail mail reminding each town to update and submit the LEMP to her by May 1. Thank you to the Towns of Randolph, Fairlee, Barnard, Topsham, and Plymouth for already adopting and submitting your LEMP!
If you would like assistance in filling out the LEMP (short or long form) or any appendices, please contact Tory to set up a meeting. If you need a refresher on how to fill out the LEMP, view the webinar that was given in 2020 on our YouTube channel!
Congratulations to three TRORC Municipalities on their State Historic Preservation Grants!
The Towns of Brookfield, Granville, and Randolph were recently awarded funds under the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and the Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation through the 2021 State Historic Preservation Grant program. These funds require a 50% match.
- Brookfield received $11,035 to conduct work on the Marvin Newton House owned by the Brookfield Historical Society.
- Granville received $20,000 to improve and preserve the Granville Town Hall.
- Randolph was awarded $20,000 to support traditional plaster restoration of the main auditorium at the Chandler Center for the Arts.
Established in 1986, the State-funded Historic Preservation Grant Program awards matching grants for building improvement projects that promote Vermont’s architectural heritage. Since its inception, the program has granted over $5 million in support of 550 historic building projects. To qualify, buildings must be listed in, or are eligible for listing in, the National Register of Historic Places and work completed must conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. The program is highly competitive. In 2020, the Advisory Council reviewed 37 project applications, requesting over $460,000 in funding.
More information about this grant program can be found at https://accd.vermont.gov/historic-preservation/funding/historic-preservation-grants.
The Granville Town Offices (background) was one of the projects awarded. | Source: John Knox
Chateauguay Forest Project Receives over $2 million through USDA
The United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service announced this past March that $218 million will go to fund Great American Outdoors Act projects across the nation to conserve critical forest and wetland habitat, support rural economic recovery, and increase public access to national forests and grasslands.
Leveraging the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) provided by Congress, this investment will improve public access by funding strategic land acquisitions. Funds will also support work with state agencies to encourage private forest landowners to protect their land through conservation easements or land purchases.
Out of 28 total projects that were awarded nationwide, two are in Vermont. The Chateauguay Forest Project was awarded $2,410,000 for land acquisitions in Stockbridge, Bridgewater and Killington.
Also known as the Chateauguay No Town (CNT) Conservation Project, this large forest block that straddles parts of Barnard, Bridgewater, Stockbridge, and Killington is 60,000 acres of relatively untouched forestland. These towns work together to assist landowners in keeping this area the way it is today by emphasizing voluntary landowner participation and land acquisition for conservation. TRORC assists these four communities to facilitate the projects process and to offer administrative technical assistance.
For more information on this project, go to https://www.trorc.org/projects/ or contact Pete Fellows at [email protected].
Map of Chateauguay NoTown Conservation Area
Congratulations to the Town of Bethel on their Better Connections Grant!
The Town of Bethel was one of three communities recently awarded funds through the Better Connections Grant Program, administered by the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD). With these funds, Bethel will create an action plan to improve accessibility and safety in the village, strengthen connections to their recreational assets, and leverage economic opportunities to revitalize their village center.
TRORC assisted the Town with their application to this highly competitive grant program. If your community wants to know more about the Better Connections program, go to https://vtrans.vermont.gov/planning/projects-programs/better-connections or contact Rita Seto at [email protected].
TRORC Receives Water Quality Grant for Pinney Hollow Brook in Plymouth
TRORC was recently awarded $24,108 in funding from the 2019 Design Implementation Block Grant through the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s Clean Water Initiative Program (CWIP). These funds will be used for floodplain and streambed restoration for Pinney Hollow Brook in Plymouth and Bridgewater. This project will allow a final floodplain restoration design for a former motel buyout site in Plymouth. Another DIBG grant was issued to the Connecticut River Conservancy for an initial design for another floodplain restoration project just below the motel site on this tributary. TRORC also received a Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department Watershed Grant to investigate the feasibility of removing or repairing a dam on Lake Amherst In Plymouth and its impact on the ecology of Black River, the lake shore, and the landowners.
For more information about this project and other water related projects in the Region, contact Pete Fellows at [email protected].
Several Towns Awarded VTrans Bicycle and Pedestrian Grants
Congratulations to the Towns of Bradford, Chelsea, and Thetford for their grant awards under the 2021 Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) Small-scale Bicycle & Pedestrian Program. This one-time grant program awarded $750,000 in state funds to several municipalities across the state. TRORC assisted all three towns on their grant applications.
- Bradford was awarded $48,200 to reconstruct sidewalks on South Main Street from Cobblestone Alley to South Pleasant Street.
- Chelsea received $28,200 to reconstruct the sidewalk in front of the Chelsea Firehouse to adhere to ADA standards.
- Thetford was awarded $5,250 to install shared lane markings for bicyclists and pedestrians on Tucker Hill Road, Academy Road, and VT Route 132.
If your municipality was unable to apply to this program, there are several other state transportation grant programs to apply to. Contact Rita Seto at [email protected] with your transportation project ideas and she will be happy to link you to the appropriate grant program!