Page 51 - 2020 Annual Report

Northeastern Vermont Development Association
Northwoods Stewardship Center
To the Voters of Brighton: Dear Residents of the Town of Brighton,
For 70 years, the Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA) has been a regional advocate
for stronger communities and vibrant local economies. As the state’s only combined regional planning and On behalf of the North Woods Stewardship Center I would like to express my sincere
economic development organization, we are uniquely suited to simultaneously serve the municipalities thanks for the Town of Brighton’s ongoing support of the Center and specifically
and businesses of the Northeast Kingdom. the North Woods Conservation Corps. During such a turbulent and unprecedented
This year, we are once more requesting dues from our member communities. These funds are vital as they year the support for towns like Brighton make a meaningful impact on all of
allow our team of professionals to provide direct technical assistance to the 50+ municipalities and the North Woods’ programing. In 2020, thanks in part to support from the Town of
many businesses in our region. Municipal contributions also allow us to leverage other state and federal
funds for our region. Brighton, the North Woods Conservation Corps continued its local conservations
Local governance is increasingly complex -- and even more so during a pandemic! Since last March efforts thoughout the NEK. Two youth crews ranging in ages from 14-25 years old
NVDA staff has been swift and agile in meeting the pandemic’s unprecedented challenges. We quickly performed trail maintenance of all the trails located on the Kingdom Heritage Lands
mobilized to help local governments secure expense reimbursements due to COVID and connect so many located in Brighton and surrounding northern areas. These youth crews also were
of our businesses to the available state and federal recovery resources. Our regular services continued able to perform some needed trail Maintenance to the Brighton State Park ADA
without interruption as well. They include, but are not limited to: trail. In addition a crew was once again based at the Silvio 0. Conte National Fish
• Land use planning and regulation - town plans, zoning bylaws, and on-call technical
assistance for local officials; and Wildlife Refuge - Nulhegan Basin Division, working on trails, wildlife habitat
• Transportation studies, Infrastructure inventories, and Project planning; improvement, and invasive species control projects. Specifically this crew built 3
elevated handicap boardwalks within the Refuge, located at Lewis Pond, the Black
• Digital mapping and GIS services; Branch River and the Mollie Bettie Bog.
• Grant writing and administration for community and regional projects; North Woods offered weekly winter outdoor recreation programming for middle
• Direct business support, referral services, and lending to employers in our region; school students as well as a week-long summer school program and year-long
• Energy planning and water quality planning to help communities meet evolving after school programming where we highlight appreciation and awareness of
statutory requirements; trails, waterways, mountains and natural communities of Island Pond area. We
• Local emergency planning and hazard mitigation planning; also provided our facility at no cost as the host site for the youth hunter education
• Brownfield assessments and planning; course each spring. Access to our campus trails are offered for free for all Brighton
• Economic development planning to grow and strengthen businesses in our residents.
communities; Thank you for your continued support.
• Municipal education and training opportunities for local officials Sincerely,
How is this relevant to your community? In Brighton, NVDA provided:
• Technical assistance on zoning issues Dusty May
• Grants-in-Aid Assistance for local roads Conservation Corps Director NorthWoods Stewardship Center
• Created map for the municipal dock grant
• Created a recreation way finder map
• Business support
• Assisted with updating the Local Emergency Management P1an which was ap
proved by Vermont Emergency Management
• Provided daily COVID 19 information such as grant assistance and health
information
• Provided information to Fire Department on grants that were available to Fire De
partments
• Made and delivered maps to the Fire Department
Contact us at tqonyaw@nvda.net to receive our e-newsletter and like us on Facebook.
Sincerely,
David Snedeker
Executive Director
50 Town of Brighton, VT 2020 Annual Report 51