Link to August 2015 Board Meeting Minutes
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SeVEDS Accepting CEDS Project Proposals for 2015
For Immediate Release August 31, 2015
Contact: Jodi Clark 802-257-7731 or jclark@brattleborodevelopment.com
Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) opens project submissions period for 2015 Windham Region CEDS
SeVEDS is accepting new projects and updated projects for its second annual update to the regional CEDS. The submission period is open from August 28, 2015 through October 15, 2015. Projects seeking inclusion in the updated CEDS must provide the following:
- CEDS Project Overview: Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) is seeking new and updated project proposals for inclusion in the first annual update of its Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), as required by the United States Economic Development Administration (EDA). Information on the required component of a CEDS can be found at http://seveds.com/windham-region-comprehensive-economic-development-strategy-ceds/
- Proposal Contents: The project proposal must identify the applicant and include a detailed description of the project; establish that the applicant has the authority, capacity and the wherewithal to successfully implement the project; establish the likely outcome of the project and establish how that outcome is consistent with the goals and strategies of SeVEDS. For a complete description of submission requirements, go to http://seveds.com/ceds-projects/
- New Applicants: Any private or public entity or consortium of entities can submit a project for consideration. Applications will only be accepted from the entity(s) directly implementing the project.
- Repeat Applicants: Any entity that submitted a project for the 2014 CEDS must provide an update on their project for it to be included in the 2015 CEDS. An update form can be found at http://seveds.com/ceds-projects/
Proposals are due no later than October 15 at 5:00 pm. Proposals must be received at: SeVEDS, 76 Cotton Mill Hill, Brattleboro, VT 05301 or submitted via email to Jodi Clark at jclark@brattleborodevelopment.com. Electronic submissions in MS Word or PDF format are preferred. For paper submission, please include 5 copies.
All inquiries, questions and clarifications must be directed to Jodi Clark at 802-257-7731 or jclark@brattleborodevelopment.com
For information on SeVEDS Regional Economic Development Goals and Strategies, visit www.seveds.com.
CEDS Vital Projects from 2014-15
2015 Windham Region S.M.A.R.T. CEDS Projects
1. BFADC: Island Redevelopment
2. SeVEDS WF: Job Board for employers in Windham and Bennington Counties(connects to SVSMP)
3. Ironwood Brand, PreCraft, STIX: Build a rapid prototyping facility at existing shop for prefab high performance building envelopes and resilient mechanical systems
4. BDCC: Extend electric water and sewer to new industrial regional sites
5. BDCC: Assess existing key elements of innovation ecosystem, determine missing elements, research models for missing elements and development of metrics for evaluating success
6. BDCC/SeVEDS: Southern Vermont Sustainable Recruitment Project for employers and tourism entities
7. SEON: The Board of Directors of the Sustainable Energy Outreach Network (SEON) is looking for funding to offset two years of operational expenses and non-employee compensation in support of the current and future activities of our organization.
8. Windham Child Care Association: Build a more sustainable childcare system through innovative shared practices to increase overall program quality and earnings, workforce development for childcare workers
9. Strolling of the Heifers: Southeastern Vermont Food and Agricultural Innovation Center at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, 157 Main Street, Brattleboro
10. Storm Petral, LLC: Storm Petral released two web based software applications in the Spring of 2014. Tempest-GEMS facilitates the financial recovery of governmental agencies and key non-profits after impact from a natural disaster. It manages federally funded reconstruction and recovery grants.
11. Rich Earth Institute: Creating a sustainable, regional, urine recycling system
12. Windham Regional Commission: Windham Region Village Water and Wastewater Need Assessment and
13. DJ Engineering: Electric Bike Manufacturer
14. Windham Windsor Housing Trust: The NeighborWorks HEAT Squad addresses the challenge of successfully engaging homeowners to complete home energy efficiency projects, which generates: 1) income for contractors resulting in jobs retained and created; 2) reduction in cost of living for homeowners in addition to comfort, health and retained and created;safety, and environmental benefits; and, 3) moves Windham County and the State of Vermont closer to the goal of improving the energy fitness of 25% of the state’s housing stock by 2020.
15. Marlboro College: Marlboro College proposes an entrepreneurial training initiative dedicated to improving the innovation ecosystem of Windham County. Offer support via scholarships for affected VY and supply chain employees interested in uptraining or retraining via our degree options and continuing education offerings.
16. Vermont Distillers: Feasibility study to determine if adequate facilities exist for expansion of Vermont Maple Cream Liqueur manufacturing facility
17. SeVEDS WF: SE Vermont Machine apprenticeship program
18. Mount Snow: The Carinthia Ski Lodge Project at Mount Snow consists of the construction of a three?story 36,000?square?foot ski lodge at the Carinthia Base Area of Mount Snow.
19. Windham Region Redevelopment Group: Define regional organization structure, conduct market study, conduct regional inventory of vacant commercial and industrial sites
20. Wilmington Works: Legal creation of Wilmington Downtown Commercial Redevelopment Project whose purpose is to purchase 10 vacant buildings in downtown and renovate
21. Mount Snow: The West Lake Project at Mount Snow consists of the construction of a 120?million?gallon snow-making pond and associated components such as pump houses, withdrawal and intake structure, pipelines, snow-making upgrades, a new lift and infrastructure improvements.
22. SEON: Integrated workforce development system for the sustainable building and design sector in Windham
23. Mount Snow: The Carinthia Residential Units Project at Mount Snow consists of the construction of a up to 150 residential units at the Carinthia Base Area.
24. New England Youth Theater: Downtown arts campus – environmental cleanup of two contaminated buildings, construction of a second theater, conference center and outdoor amphitheater, low income housing, gap year professional theater training
25. Sustainable Valley Group: Green Island Project
26. SeVEDS: Performs analysis on viability of green building products and services cluster dev.
27. Putney Historical Society: Next Stage Arts Project renovation of 15 Kimball Hill
28. Latchis Arts: In Repair and Restoration of Façade and Replacement of Windows
29. BDCC: Leveraging broadband inc demand for last mile investments – increase utilization, market high capacity,
30. Landmark College: Landmark College is in the process of formally creating an online learning division within the College, specifically aimed at meeting the needs of students with LD and educators/professionals struggling to best serve students with LD.
31. Gathering Place: The Deerfield Valley (DV) region of Windham County (WC) plans to create a Livable Community for All Ages. DV will adopt a phased approach, conducting a feasibility study to establish parameters and timelines, and the development of a foundational Adult Day program.
32. Stratton Mountain Resort: Upgrade the Inn at Stratton Mountain
33. SEVCA/WWIB/SeVEDS WF: Job Readiness Program
34. Stratton Mountain Resort: Upgrade 3 base lodges
35. Town of Wilmington: Wilmington Water District Merger /Acquisition and Expand Wilmington Wastewater
36. BDCC: Biz network Route 30/West River Valley
37. Stratton Mountain Resort: Additional cell tower
38. Southern Vermont Natural History Museum: Feasibility study to determine on logistics and opportunities in
SoVT to relocate to accommodate significant growth
39. Stratton Mountain Resort: Add 66 units of employee housing
40. Arts Council of Windham County and Primetime Concepts: Regional Marketing of the HeART & Culture of Southern Vermont, Official Artisan Center of Southern Vermont facility to promote tourism, Development of SoVT Artisan Trail
41. Stratton Mountain Resort: Upgrade Snowbowl lift to high speed quad
42. Town of Wilmington: Twin Valley High School Building Feasibility Project phase 2; implement findings of phase 1 feasibility study to repurpose 52,000 sf school building
43. Readsboro Hometown Redevelopment, Inc. : Continued restoration of Bullock building as multi use community center in downtown Readsboro
Brooks and Yost to Lead Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) Board in 2016
Brooks and Yost to Lead Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies (SeVEDS) Board in 2016
Schwenk and Stafford elected to regional board
The Southeastern Vermont Economic Development Strategies Group (SeVEDS, an organization driving the regional economic development dialogue for the Windham Region) has announced several new additions to its board of directors. At the Board’s Annual Meeting in July, the following members were elected officers for FY2016: Ariel Brooks of Marlboro College will serve as Chair of the board for a second year. Peter Yost of Building Green will serve as Vice Chair. Jill James of Chroma Technologies will continue in her role serving as Board Treasurer. Meg Streeter of Meg Streeter Real Estate in Wilmington will join the leadership team as Secretary. Meg was elected to the board this spring.
The following new members were voted onto the Board of Directors: Avery Schwenk of Hermit Thrush Brewery, Brattleboro and Luke Stafford of Mondo Mediaworks. Avery is a manager and founding member of Hermit Thrush Brewery in Brattleboro. His has a wide array of skills relating to medicine and creative problem solving. He recently moved to Southern Vermont and previously worked as a paramedic and Mentor Program Coordinator for the Delaware County Memorial Hospital Paramedic Department in Media, Pennsylvania. He has volunteered for over a decade with the international creative problem solving organization Destination Imagination and is a former International Challenge Master, Instant Challenge Writer and consultant. Luke is the owner of Mondo Mediaworks, a marketing agency based in Brattleboro. He is also a member of the Newfane School Board and the Vermont Media Alliance Board. He lives in Williamsville with his wife, an elementary school art teacher, and two daughters.
The remaining composition of the SeVEDS Board is as follows: Ann Andreosatos of New Chapter, Martin Langeveld of Strolling of the Heifers, Bill Colvin with the Bennington County Regional Commission, Drew Richards of The Richards Group, Patrick Moreland with the Town of Brattleboro, Susan McMahon of Windham Regional Commission, Bob Stevens of Stevens and Associates, Francis “Dutch” Walsh with the Town of Rockingham, Adam Grinold of the BDCC, and Konstantin Von Krusenstiern with the Brattleboro Retreat.
SeVEDS is an affiliate of the BDCC that grew from a 2008 grassroots effort, initiated by BDCC, to reverse the economic decline of the Windham Region. In 2014, after multiple years of regional input, education and data gathering, SeVEDS submitted the Windham Region’s federally recognized Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. For more information on the CEDS or SeVEDS visit www.seveds.com or contact Jodi Clark, SeVEDS Project Manager at jclark@brattleborodevelopment.com They will be releasing the next request for project proposals, both new and updated for CEDS (Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies) 2016 implementation work in the coming weeks.
Healthcare Cluster Meeting Notes 8/6/15
SeVEDS July 2015 Annual Board Meeting Minutes
SeVEDS Board Meeting Minutes June 2015
Windham County Economic Development Program Re-Launched
For Immediate Release:
July 21, 2015
Contacts:
Patricia Moulton Adam Grinold
Secretary, Agency of Commerce Executive Director
and Community Development Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation
Pat.Moulton@state.vt.us agrinold@brattleborodevelopment.com
(802) 828-5204 (802) 257-7731
Windham County Economic Development Program Re-Launched
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – The Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and the Windham County Advisory Council announced today that the new and improved Windham County Economic Development Program (WCEDP) is up and running.
Following the announcement of the first round of grants last December, Governor Shumlin called for ACCD to work with regional and local partners to redesign the program to ensure more regional input and participation and a more efficient program that ensures job creation and economic transformation in the region.
ACCD has worked closely for several months with regional partners including the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC), SeVEDS, Windham Regional Commission (WRC), several municipal representatives, and the Vermont SBDC and VEDA to redesign the program.
“This redesign is responsive to suggestions from the region, said Pat Moulton, Secretary of ACCD. “The new process enables funding to work at the speed of business and be targeted at transformative investments in the local economy.”
“Our region has invested in understanding our local economy and has built the road map to direct our limited resources toward objectives that will allow for sustained, incremental growth,” said Adam Grinold, Executive Director of BDCC. “We are excited to have been given the opportunity to work with ACCD to explore ways to help improve the WCEDP for the upcoming reboot. We are pleased with and proud of the recent regional collaboration that has gone into this reboot.”
Program funds will now be made available for projects that advance the regional comprehensive economic development strategy through:
- Direct loans to businesses, offering special rates and terms, underwritten and administered by VEDA. Loan applications will be submitted directly to VEDA on a continual basis and will require only approval by ACCD based on the underwriting recommendation by VEDA.
- Competitive grants to organizations responding to an annual Request for Proposals that will define eligible applicants and the types of projects to be funded each year. These grants will be scored on a competitive basis, prioritized by VEPC, with final approval by the Governor.
- Incentives, in the form of grants or loans, which are part of “rapid response” incentive packages offered by the state, region, and municipalities for the retention and creation of jobs by regional employers or new employers.
- Non-competitive grants by ACCD to partners that will market and help administer the program.
ACCD has granted program funds to BDCC and SBDC to provide better regional marketing of the program, ensure coordination and collaboration among applicants, ensure applicants are aware of and leverage other funds, to provide local technical assistance including workshops for potential applicants, and provide local post-award grants management and monitoring.
Loan and competitive grant applicants are required to file a Letter of Intent to Apply which must be approved before a full application is submitted. Mandatory Letter of Intent to Apply and Application workshops, plus one-on-one technical assistance will be offered in the region to ensure applicants understand the program intent and requirements. The schedule of workshops and contact information for technical assistance is available on the program website: GoWndham.Vermont.gov.
Loans available to businesses offer very competitive rates at 2% fixed for the term of the loan, with 60% of the project eligible for financing (90% if the project meets the definition for projects eligible under VEDA’s Entrepreneurial Loan Fund), and minimal fees. Maximum loan amount is $350,000.
Key to the redesign was the local creation of the Windham County Advisory Council consisting of BDCC, SeVEDS, ACCD, SBDC, WRC, and towns with downtown designations – Brattleboro, Wilmington, and Rockingham – plus Vernon. The Council provides local and regional input and advice to ACCD on program development, reviews Letters of Intent to Apply, and provides annual program review to suggest ways to improve and redirect the program, including appropriate projects in the annual RFP for competitive grants.
The purpose of the WCEDP is to promote economic development in Windham County by providing funds to stimulate job creation through business start-up, expansion, or relocation, encourage entrepreneurial activity, and strengthen the economic development infrastructure to ensure a strong foundation for transformational economic activity. The primary focus is private sector job creation and retention, and direct support of entrepreneurial activities, followed by support of economic development systems and activities that encourage an entrepreneurial, innovation and business start-up environment and culture.
The program funds were made available through the settlement that Gov. Shumlin and his team negotiated in 2013 regarding the closure of the Entergy VY plant in Vernon, which included, among other considerations, that Entergy would provide $10 million over five years to the State of Vermont “to promote economic development in Windham County.” The funds are administered by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) in cooperation with the Windham County Advisory Council.
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