Calendar
Annual Meeting
Click here for the agenda pdf
Two Rivers-Ottauquechee RPC Transportation Advisory Committee Meeting
Thursday March 14, 2019 Hartford Town Hall, Rm 312, 171 Bridge St, WRJ, 9:30AM – 11:00AM
Agenda
1. Introductions.
2. Approval of November 8 minutes
3. FY2021 Project Prioritization / Pre-Candidate Bridges presentation/discussion and TAC final ranking – Rita
4. Review and Comment on draft Town Road and Bridge Standards 2019 (incorporated with MRGP standards) – Rita
5. Better Road awards / upcoming field season
6. Other business
Future meeting topics? Next meeting on Thursday May 9, 2019
Emerald ash borer (EAB) is a destructive and invasive forest pest that feeds on and eventually kills all species of ash trees. EAB is now confirmed in Orange, Washington, Caledonia, Grand Isle, and Bennington Counties and communities statewide are encouraged to prepare for the impacts of the pest.
This training, led by staff from the Vermont Urban & Community Forestry Program, is intended to teach participants about EAB, introduce planning and management strategies, and to give an overview of the resources available to help towns assess risk and establish a plan.
This event is free but registration is required. Space is limited; sign up here by April 9th. To read more about the event, visit here.
Are you a new Selectboard member? A town manager or Administrative Assistant?
The staff at your regional planning commission, TRORC, provides a wide variety of services for your town. Come meet us, hear about your roles and our assistance with roads, regulations, emergencies, water quality, conservation, mapping and more.
This free event includes a full catered breakfast and refreshments!
RSVPs are highly encouraged, so please register by 4/11/19.
Agenda
1. Introductions.
2. Approval of Mar. 14 minutes
3. Emerald Ash Borer: Impacts to Ash Trees and to Municipalities – Mike Parisio, Forest Health Specialist, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation
Dead and dying ash trees along the public right-of-way and in public places, such as parks and schools, pose a significant risk to public safety. Municipalities will bear the responsibility and costs of removing and/or treating public ash trees, as well as any replanting efforts. Mike will present on signs & symptoms and information on how to identify these, municipal planning for EAB and some management options for municipalities, with some info on budgeting and infested wood disposal and some case studies of communities already working on or implementing response plans here in VT.
4. Emergency Relief Assistance Funds refresher/Federal Aid Secondary Roads – Rita
5. Other business
• Better Road awards (anticipate announcement early May hopefully)
• Municipal Roads Grants in Aid Year 3 & Equipment Grants
• VTrans Bike Ped Grant
• VTrans Municipal Highway & Stormwater Mitigation Grant
Future meeting topics? Next meeting on Thursday July 11, 2019
Municipal Bridge Maintenance & Management
o A town’s legal management responsibilities
o An explanation of the state’s inspection program, process and reports. vtculverts.org
o Safety related to bridge maintenance, working over water, dust, lead, and paint
o Routine maintenance practices, cleaning, deck and structure
o Weight limits, posting, enforcement, signage
View the official pdf agenda here
*This event was originally May 9th and has been rescheduled to May 23rd*
A mediator guides difficult discussions, encouraging people to find a satisfactory outcome. Mediation can help resolve disputes among co-workers, neighbors, landlords and tenants, business partners, or business owners and clients.
All Town Officials are invited to join Julian Portilla from Champlain College to learn and practice skills in:
-Identifying and framing issues
-Listening for interests
-Controlling the process
-Helping disputants solve problems
-Finalizing agreements
-Handling special problems in mediation
This free event includes dinner catered by Hotel Coolidge! Dinner will begin being served at 5:30
RSVPs are required, and space is limited, so please register soon at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/regional-mediation-workshop-tickets-58650789089
Do you have trouble finding volunteers to serve on boards or assist with projects? Do you suffer from a lack of quorum? Are the same two people showing up to public hearings? You are not alone. Join Rebecca Sanborn Stone of Community Workshop to learn about creative ways to increase more diverse and meaningful public engagement. All Chairs, Commissioners, and Town Officials are invited. Topics include:
-Focusing your available time more effectively to expand feedback.
-Using gathering locations and social networks to magnify your time.
-Telling stories to frame messages that are meaningful to your audience.
-Thinking differently about what success means.
Come share your triumphs and challenges, exchange ideas, and launch your work.
This free event will include light refreshments. Space is limited, so RSVPs are required. Please register by 6/10/19 at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-engagement-training-tickets-58655143112
Agenda
1. Introductions.
2. Annual Chair / Vice Chair appointments
3. Review/adoption of TRORC TAC Bylaws
4. Approval of May. 9 minutes
5. Municipal Bridge Maintenance & Management – Pam Thurber, VTrans Structures
• A town’s legal management responsibilities
• An explanation of the state’s inspection program, process and reports. vtculverts.org
• Safety related to bridge maintenance, working over water, dust, lead, and paint
• Routine maintenance practices, cleaning, deck and structure
6. Other business
• EAB follow up on how Detroit/NY is doing
• Better Road awards summary
• VTrans Bike Ped Grant project application summary
o Barnard Village Scoping
o Bradford Goshen Road Scoping
o Hartland 3 Corners Pedestrian Construction
o Norwich Beaver Meadow Road Scoping
o Royalton Chelsea Street Block Construction
Future meeting topics? Next meeting on Thursday September 12, 2019
View the official PDF agenda here
View TAC Bylaws here
How do your local responders work with Emergency Directors, Selectboards, and Treasurers on managing incidents?
GO 191 Incident Command System/Emergency Operations Center Interface
August 14, 08:30-15:30, Norwich Police Department
Technical description
This course will enable the participants to develop an effective interface between the Incident Command and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) by applying Incident Command System (ICS) principles. This 1 day course will introduce you to the roles of the Incident Command System (ICS) and Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) during emergency operations, and discuss ways to develop an ICS/EOC interface implementation strategy or action plan for your community. The target audience includes personnel associated with on-scene Incident Command, and EOCs and Multiagency Coordination (MAC) System entities.
Registrations must be done through the state’s Learning Management System website: https://vermont.csod.com
If you need assistance with that system, please contact Brittany Marquette at [email protected]
Efficiency Vermont has provided grant funding to Regional Planning Commissions to support local energy committees and municipalities and to connect regional and local energy plan implementation efforts to Efficiency Vermont and Comprehensive Energy Plan goals. The funding will allow RPCs to provide technical assistance in the formation and development of local energy committees and to support the work of established local energy committees in specified areas tied to objectives for promoting energy efficiency and driving action. Supported activities of this grant funding include:
- Working to encourage the formation of new energy committees and enhancing the impact of existing energy committees
- Facilitating regional meetings and roundtables of energy committees
- Coordinating local Button Up and other events to promote thermal efficiency
- Use data resources such as the EAN Dashboard, and provide training to local energy groups
- Organize residential weatherization and home heating workshops
- Develop and distribute model zoning and subdivision regulations to support energy efficient building and design
- Organize regional workshops on electrical efficiency programs for commercial applications
- Distribute information on energy efficiency incentives
TRORC has scheduled the first regional energy committee meeting for
Thursday, September 5th at 6:30 pm at the Bethel Town Hall, 318 Main Street
TRORC will outline the new Efficiency Vermont grant, opportunities, projects and schedule. Please come with your calendars and ideas about how TRORC can help implement your town’s energy efficiency and conservation projects.
Light refreshments will be provided.
Please RSVP and direct questions to Dee Gish at [email protected] or 802-457-3188
This double-header training will first review (5:30-6:30) how local land use bodies (DRBs, Planning Commissions, ZBAs) should be making decisions, and then will follow up (6:45-7:45) with a review of the powers of subdivision bylaws and the useful concepts of density and conservation subdivisions.
For many rural areas with little development, the subdividing of land is much more of a land use issue than types of uses. Creation of roads, house placement, strange lot lines and shapes, and protection of natural areas can all better be addressed in subdivision bylaws than usually under zoning.
Light refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP here by 10/11