Tunbridge | Source: John Knox

IN THIS ISSUE OF NEWS & NOTES

TRORC's Continuing Response to COVID-19 | COVID Strategies for Winter Maintenance | Bridgewater, Fairlee, and Hartland Mitigation Plans Approved | Staff Person Tory Littlefield Receives EMD Certification | Norwich Receives State Village Designation | Hartland and Royalton Receives VTrans Pedestrian and Bicycle Grant! | CreateVT - Vermont Creative Network Planning Process Continues | The Green Peak Alliance and TRORC Launch New Resources: Health Policy Clearinghouse | Former Tip Top Tire Site in Wilder Transitioning to Affordable Housing | Regional Wonder: Wassail 2020 - Woodstock, Vermont

TRORC's Continuing Response to COVID-19

TRORC staff are working from home to comply with the latest governor's order. Staff can be best reached by email at this time. 

TRORC has created a COVID-19 information page on our website to compile resources and provide examples of what other communities are doing to respond to this pandemic. 

We will continue to make updates to this page as more information and resources come out. Please let us know if you have any resources that should be on this page, or if something is missing. Email Pete Fellows at pfellows@trorc.org.

If your community or organization wants assistance developing plans and procedures for the upcoming winter,  please reach out to Tory Littlefield at vlittlefield@trorc.org. 

As the pandemic continues, we are all more dependent on computers. Be extra mindful of email and internet security and only visit trusted sites. You may receive many offers of help from real or fake companies, but the best resources we can find will be on our website.

Thank you, and continue to stay safe!

COVID Strategies for Winter Maintenance

As COVID-19 cases surge across Vermont and the rest of the country, it has left many communities uncertain of winter maintenance in a time of social distancing and quarantining. To quell these uncertainties, there are a couple of strategies to undertake through mutual aid agreements and Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP).

Mutual Aid Agreement

While some towns have unofficial mutual aid agreements with other town road crews, having a formally adopted agreement is important for several reasons. If your Town has a smaller road crew, and for some reason they all come down with COVID, you will need to have an agreement with surrounding towns to assist with winter maintenance such as sanding/salting and plowing. It’s a bit scary to think that you may lose some or all of your road crew with upcoming winter storms. Most importantly, having a formal agreement will assist with FEMA reimbursements. Hiring out another towns road crew because of COVID is a reimbursable expense. Having that formal policy in place will make this reimbursement easier for your town. As always, track costs if you end up bringing in another road crew. This template is intended as a starting point, it always good to have town attorney check it.

It is important to note that if one or more crew members contract COVID-19, that it does not mean the entire road crew has to quarantine. Road crew are deemed essential employees by the federal government. If one member has COVID-19, the rest of the crew does not have to quarantine for two weeks. It is always best to follow safe work guidelines set forth by the State of Vermont.

COOP

You may have heard of COOP earlier in the pandemic from me. This is not only good to fill out for your road crew, but also for your town employees/representatives that are critical to keeping the town going. The form is relatively simple, and is intended as a guide, feel free to edit as you wish to what works for you. For example, if your town finance person comes down with COVID or another illness, who is second or third in line to keep town finances going? If your Town Manager becomes ill, who can continue the operation of the town? And so on and so forth. Staff person Tory Littlefield is available to assist communities in developing a COOP plan. 

Bridgewater, Fairlee, and Hartland Mitigation Plans Approved

The Towns of Bridgewater, Fairlee, and Hartland Local Hazard Mitigation Plans (LHMP) have received their Approval Pending Adoption (APA) from Vermont Emergency Management (VEM). This means that the LHMP has met all of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requirements for a mitigation plan. These plans were adopted by each Selectboard, which is then sent back to FEMA for formal approval to execute the plan. TRORC was hired to work with these towns to update the LHMP. These plans expire every five years and are a great financial incentive for towns in Vermont during federally declared disasters as they are part of the Emergency Relief and Assistance Fund (ERAF). If a community has certain adopted documents, such as VTrans road and bridge standards, an annually adopted Local Emergency Management Plan, a LHMP, and participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, then the State will pay a percentage of the required 25% local match for federally declared disasters. Want to know your ERAF status? Go to floodready.vermont.gov, and click on community rating profile.

Currently, TRORC is also working with the towns of Norwich, Randolph, Royalton, and Pittsfield on their LHMPs. If your community is interested in contracting with TRORC for your LHMP project, please reach out to Tory Littlefield at vlittlefield@trorc.org.

Kevin Geiger leads a hazard ranking exercise for the Hartford Mitigation Plan this past March 2020

Staff Person Tory Littlefield Receives EMD Certification

This past November, Staff Person Tory Littlefield has received her Emergency Management Director (EMD) Certification from Vermont Emergency Management! The certification program was developed to provide local emergency management organizations with the basic knowledge to effectively manage local disasters. Tory has completed over 70 hours of blended learning to include online courses, in person courses, and local and state exercises. Tory aims to use her newfound knowledge to assist the Region in planning for emergencies.

Norwich Receives State Village Designation

The Town of Norwich recently received state approval for a Village Center Designation. The town sought this designation in order to encourage economic development and support existing and potential businesses within the village. This designation was approved by the Downtown Development Board through the Village Center Designation Program. The program supports village revitalization efforts through technical assistance and state funding that is designed to attract business and promote vitality.

The village designation includes, but is not limited to, village center tax credits, priority consideration for state grants such as Municipal Planning Grants, and priority consideration by the State Building and General Services (BGS) when leasing and constructing new buildings. Village center designations are valid for eight years and municipalities can renew the designation in order to have continued access to assistance and funding.

TRORC provides application assistance to municipalities pursuing or renewing village center designations. If your town is interested in application assistance, please contact Sarah Wraight at swraight@trorc.org.

The approved Village Designation Map for Nowrich

Hartland and Royalton Receive VTrans Bicycle and Pedestrian Grants!

Congratulations to the towns of Hartland and Royalton on their recently awarded VTrans Bike Ped construction grants. TRORC staff assisted the town of Hartland on requesting an additional $100,000 in construction funds towards their Hartland 3 Corners sidewalk project which is in conjunction with the VT12/US5/Quechee Rd intersection reconfiguration to a 4 way stop.

TRORC staff also assisted the town of Royalton for a $905,000 construction grant for the ADA reconstruction of the Chelsea Business Block in the village of South Royalton. The project includes reconstruction of existing sidewalk to a new elevated sidewalk to access business entrances, new access ramps from new sidewalk on lower level by parking spots to shop entrances, new curb ramps and detectable warnings at crosswalks, and relocating horse trough to become a part of a pedestrian crossing refuge at one of the crosswalks. This will be a significant transformation to the village in terms of improving safety, aesthetics and the local economy.

For more information about either project or the VTrans Bike Ped program, please contact Rita Seto rseto@trorc.org.

A mockup of a possible sidewalk construction design in South Royalton | Source: Greenman-Pedersen, Inc.

CreateVT - Vermont Creative Network Planning Process Continues

As part of a strategic planning process, the Vermont Creative Network has hosted a series of “jam sessions” -- fun, informal zoom meet-ups with other Vermont creatives, to connect, network, and share ideas. Attendees shared their visions and held conversations about the future of Vermont’s creative sector and participated in a series of chats about how to strengthen Vermont’s creative zones and disciplines. See the emerging vision here. The planning process closes out with a Zoom meet-up to share results, plan actions, swap skills, and build connections on December 15. You can register for the event here. Contact Kimberly Gilbert at kgilbert@trorc.org for any questions. 

The Green Peak Alliance and TRORC Launch New Resource: Health Policy Clearinghouse

TRORC will facilitate an introduction to the Health Policy Clearinghouse a collection of resources for municipal policy makers seeking examples and information to form policies that support healthy communities. Learn more about the documents housed in the clearinghouse, search functionality, and other resources on the site. This 30-minute workshop will be hosted online on December 10 at 12:30PM. Designed for town managers, select board members, and planning commission members. Register here or contact Kimberly Gilbert at kgilbert@trorc.org.

Former Tip Top Tire Site in Wilder Transitioning to Affordable Housing

The former Tip Top Tire site in Wilder has been in TRORC's brownfield program for years, having been assessed with EPA funding from TRORC's brownfield program, but lacking a needed reuse. The third of an acre site fronts onto a transit stop and languished due to surface contamination from a fire and previous use. Now with a little more TRORC help and Twin Pines Housing Trust stepping up to both clean and develop the site, the site is actively becoming four units of affordable housing in an excellent location.

The former Tip Top Tire parcel in Wilder is now under going construction to become affordable housing.

Regional Wonder

Wassail 2020 - Woodstock, Vermont

While COVID-19 has seen the cancellation of several events, it has not stopped the annual Wassail Weekend events in Woodstock.  Filled with twinkling lights, historic decorated homes and unique local shops filled with wonderful gifts for everyone on your list. Woodstock transforms into the holiday wonderland of your dreams, complete with holiday decorations at Billings Farm that harken back to historic 19th century charm. There's something for all ages throughout this festive holiday weekend.

Several events will occupy December 11-13 in Woodstock to include a virtual Wassail Parade, a scavenger hunt, celebration dinner, and much more! To see the whole itinerary, go to: https://www.woodstockvt.com/the-town/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-wassail-weekend-2020. 

A preview of the Wassail Parade from past years | Source: Woodstock Chamber of Commerce

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