BENNINGTON -- The next step in the Vermont Council on Rural Development's Community Visit to Bennington is scheduled for this Wednesday.
In a letter to local interested participants, VCRD Executive Director Paul Costello said the upcoming meeting would bring a new team of facilitators to Bennington to interact with community members involved in the process. This week will also mark the formation of task forces dedicated to working toward goals previously selected by residents.
BENNINGTON — The last public meeting hosted by the Vermont Council on Rural Development as part of the “Community Visit” program is set for May 16 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Mount Anthony Union High School.
The “Resource Meeting” will bring a new team of facilitators to help a task force of community members build a concrete list of action steps and identify the resources, both human and financial, available to support their efforts.
Although the prioritization work of the Community Visit Program requires a town to decide what is most important as it moves forward with Task Forces, nothing is lost in the process from the long list of concerns and ideas expressed in early community focus sessions. Many interesting and diverse thoughts are represented in the notes, and are presented as a reminder of issues explored, and a possible foundation for future projects.
At the first Select Board meeting in April, the board reorganized electing Joe Krawczyk Jr., chairman, and Sharyn Brush, vice chairwoman.
This meeting featured a presentation by Trevor Mance seeking to create a compost facility, on a small scale, for organic food waste generated at the larger institutions. He was seeking permission from the town to use a site behind the town’s former landfill on Houghton Lane. This year, the Vermont Legislature is considering a bill that will eventually mandate the removal of such waste from the municipal waste stream.
It is too bad the community planning initiative Bennington is undertaking with help from the Vermont Council on Rural Development, and the many state officials and experts the process will bring to town, couldn't pursue all of the excellent ideas generated in recent forums. Four were selected Thursday for addressing by smaller citizen groups, including:
BENNINGTON -- Residents winnowed more than 20 potential action statements down to four Thursday evening with the help of the Vermont Council on Rural Development as part of that group's ongoing Community Visit Program. The group held nine community meetings last month on various topics and culled the ideas and concerns raised by Bennington residents into 22 action items that the Bennington community could focus on and pare down.
BENNINGTON -- A follow up to the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s community visit in March is scheduled for this Thursday, April 12.
Attendees will decide on action items as the VCRD’s community visit program moves forward. The process is a collaborative way for towns to engage residents and set a common goal and direction for the community. Since 1996, the council has conducted more than 20 community visits, usually working in two communities a year. The program visited Pownal in 2006.
BENNINGTON, 4/3/12 ~ If groups soon to be formed with the help of the Vermont Council on Rural Development's community planning process in Bennington need a template for success they should look first to the Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Services.
The local organization is celebrating milestones for two of its major initiatives -- fighting hunger and providing health care for those lacking insurance -- and it can be proud of an older program that provides heat for low-income Vermonters every winter.
On Thursday, April 12th, all members of the Bennington community are invited to participate in the 2nd day of our Community Visit process. The session will be held from 6:30-9pm at the Bennington Fire House.
BENNINGTON ~ I have heard the voice of Bennington, and there is reason for hope. The Vermont Council on Rural Development paid us a visit recently. They held forums to stimulate a discussion on how to improve our community. What was said there was compelling, and inspiring.
Many topics interested me, particularly those on the economy, our image, and the young people of our community. But I didn’t expect to be moved by what was said, even though many of the ideas were not new and even though no one ever tried to implement them before.
On Thursday, April 12th, all members of the Bennington community are invited to participate in the 2nd day of our Community Visit process. The session will be held from 6:30-9pm at the Bennington Fire House.