Proctor's Town Hall was constructed in 1836.

In Saturday’s Rutland Herald, Stephanie M. Peters wrote about the Commission’s Public Building Energy Program. Using funds from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Vermont Department of Public Service, the RRPC is organizing comprehensive energy audits for one public building in every town around the region.

The article pictures a laptop-controlled blower door in action at Proctor Town Hall.  Read the article, or learn more about the RRPC’s energy programs.

The beauty of Vermont Route 30 as it winds through the Taconic Mountains is unmatched: in Rupert and Pawlet, the road bisects flat valley farms extending to the edges of steep forested hillsides; through Wells the road follows the eastern shore of Lake St. Catherine before reaching Poultney’s classic Main Street. All along the route, small villages compliment the working landscape.

Despite the corridor’s pastoral nature, its sights unseen—buried by time and soil—that lend their name to the new Stone Valley Byway. The nation’s finest marble and slate quarries sent thousands of tons of ancient rock beyond Vermont to build grand edifices—including the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress’ Jefferson Building—and to roof millions of homes.

Prominent legacies remain. Premium slate is still quarried for roofing and flooring needs, and colored slates create intricate designs on the roofs of many old barns. Descendants of the skilled Welsh, Polish, and Italian immigrants employed to extract, handle, and detail marble and slate contribute greatly to the region’s contemporary cultural diversity.

In March 2010, signs recognizing the Stone Valley Byway were installed in Manchester, Dorset, Rupert, Pawlet, Wells, and Poultney. The town of Castleton is considering joining the byway designation. The route is one of six designated scenic byways drawing tourists to Vermont’s finest travel corridors.

Learn more about the Stone Valley Byway

The Downtown Partnership wrapped up another successful season of the Friday Night Live Series. Here are some photos of the action (courtesy of Don Wickman).

The Rutland Area Farm and Food Link (RAFFL) is a non-profit operating in the Rutland Region of Vermont. RAFFL’s vision for our Region is for Rutland County to have a diverse and thriving agricultural industry supported by residents and communities throughout the area. Their mission is:

• To connect an economically viable and diverse agricultural industry with local communities and consumers,
• To promote a diverse agricultural industry which supports dynamic communities, and
• To connect all people in Rutland county area to local agriculture resulting in viable farms and communities.

RAFFL’s two major project are characterized by big vision and an inclusive, regional outlook. The Locally Grown Guide is a popular annual publication listing farms, farmstands, farmers markets, value-added processors and restaurants / grocers selling local food.

RAFFL is also working to assess and identify needed processing and storage facilities to serve the region’s farmers. These facilities will allow for year-round access to local food, additional value-added marketing options and improved ability to serve the volume needs of institutional cafeterias.

To better understand the need of processing infrastructure in our region, RAFFL has partnered with the City of Rutland on a Vermont Community Devemopment Program planning grant that will allow them to determine the market feasibility of a processing facility. This work will enable them to plan for an economically sustainable facility that would serve the needs of the region’s farmers, specialty food processors and institutional kitchens such as schools and the hospitals.

You can find out more about RAFFL and their working by visiting www.rutlandfarmandfood.org or by sending an email to rutlandfarmandfood@gmail.com.

We often say at the planning commission that a town plan should represent the community’s vision for the future. At our public forums we try to establish a common vision for the future of our towns and region. So what might a vision statment like this look like? I pulled out a few examples of vision statements adopted by towns around our Region.

As you read over these vision statements, consider your overall impression of the towns that adopted them - do you feel they are living up to their vision statements? What can planning commissioners do to shape their town’s future?

Tinmouth

“Tinmouth residents hope to:

• Maintain the rural aspects of the town including active, productive farms, open meadows, substantial forests, and scenic mountain vistas.
• Balance the needs of residents for housing, safe roads, good schools, public services, and recreational opportunities with clean waters, mixed wildlife habitat, and undeveloped land.
• Promote a small-town, neighborly atmosphere by continuing to improve the village center and support civic activities and efforts.”

Tinmouth Village

Brandon

“VISION

Brandon is an intimate, warm and walkable small town with a strong sense of place and significant community and historic assets, including a compact and full-service downtown. Brandon’s designated downtown is unusual in that it still provides the essential goods and services that have moved to the outskirts of many Vermont towns. Our town provides the local populace and residents of surrounding towns with jobs, retail goods and services, and the social and civic benefits of an active and diverse community. This plan will guide future growth to promote the health and welfare of Brandon’s residents and protect the things that make Brandon special: our natural resources, our historic streetscape and our community character. This vision is articulated in the goals, objectives and recommendations contained within each section of the Plan. The recommendations represent items of priority, but they are not meant to address all questions and actions related to the Plan and therefore should not be considered to be all-inclusive.”

Brandon Village