By Patrick Adrian
[email protected]
ROCKINGHAM, Vt. — Rockingham community members will have the opportunity to share ideas with invested stakeholders to shape a collaborative plan for the town and villages of Bellows Falls and Saxtons River.
On Wednesday, Dec. 4, the town and the Vermont Council on Rural Development will kick off Let’s Take Action, a three-part community process to set the future direction of the town and villages. The process, facilitated by the Vermont Council on Rural Development, engages residents in discussing challenges and opportunities facing the community, identifying top priorities and goals and developing action plans.
This upcoming event, the first of three, will be to brainstorm community ideas. Residents may choose to join any of nine forums, each with a different focus topic. Chosen by a town committee composed of diverse community members, the topics consist of: Tourism and Lodging; Transportation; Attracting and Supporting Young People; Education: From Early Childhood to Workforce; Building Redevelopment; Arts and Entertainment; Economic Revitalization and Infrastructure; Housing; and Recreation.
Rockingham Town Manager Wendy Harrison said that it is important for as many people as possible to attend. Bringing residents to community discussions not only encourages people to share their ideas but listen and learn from others. These forums are also an excellent way to meet other people in the community.
“Many people have moved into the community,” Harrison told the Eagle Times. “There may be people here who are new who residents haven’t met.”
The kickoff event will run from 2:30 p.m. to 8:30 pm. Each forum will run for 90 minutes. The times and locations of the forums are staggered for flexibility with people’s schedules. Three forums will run from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., three will run from 4:15 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., and the last three from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The forums will take place between three locations: the American Legion, located at 42 Rockingham St.; Rockingham Free Public Library, located at 65 Westminster St.; and the Moose Family Center, located at 59 Westminster St.
The town will provide a free community dinner from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Moose Family Center.
The event will also provide childcare at the library during the forums, as well as door-to-door transportation to and from the forums by request.
After Dec. 4, there will be a second session in January 2020 and a third in February.
In the January session, the community will review the ideas generated from December to target the community’s priorities. Once those priorities are identified, residents will be invited to join a task force pertaining to a priority of interest.
In the February session, each task force will develop an action plan based on its priority area.
In addition to facilitating these meetings, the Vermont Council on Rural Development connects the task groups with technical and financial resources that will facilitate in executing their action plans.
The Vermont Council on Rural Development facilitated a similar program in Bellows Falls several years ago. Communication and Policy Manager Jenna Koloski said that their process has evolved since then.
Today the organization has a network of community partners and resources to share with communities that it lacked years ago. Partnering organizations include USDA Rural Development, the Northern Borders Regional Commission, Vermont Community Foundation and Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
The Vermont Council on Rural Development is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the advancement of Vermont communities. In the past 20 years, they have worked with over 70 communities throughout Vermont to bring residents together through their facilitated and structured process to share ideas and move toward common solutions.
Community members in need of transportation to the forums can call 888-869-6287 by Dec. 2 to reserve a ride.
For more information about the forums, visit www.vtrural.org, contact VCRD at 802-225-6091 or [email protected].
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