New Hires
Eric Steltzer was recently hired to fill the Energy Policy Analyst position. Most recently Eric had been working at the Rockingham Planning Commission in Exeter as a Regional Planner and developed a Regional Energy Master Plan to guide local community energy efforts. Eric received his Masters from University of New Hampshire and his Bachelors from Colorado State University. His studies have focused on renewable energy development, environmental policy, and natural resource management.
Farzana Alamgir was recently hired to staff the State Data Center and provide additional support for Municipal and Regional Technical Assistance. Farzana has an undergraduate degree in Architecture, with a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Ohio State University. She recently moved from Columbus, Ohio, where her previous job was with DeJONG Inc., in Dublin, Ohio, a firm that provides educational facilities planning. Farzana will be working in the State Data Center in preparation of the 2010 census and SmartGrowth initiatives. Her interests are environmental planning and SmartGrowth are her fields of interest.
Model Small Wind Energy Systems Technical Bulletin
As a result of HB310, an act allowing municipalities to regulate small wind energy systems, OEP will be developing a technical bulletin relative to model municipal ordinances for the construction of small wind energy systems which should be available in September.
New Digs!
Planning Consultant Bruce Mayberry announced that he has moved to the office campus at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine. His new email address is bcmplanning@securespeed.us and the telephone number is (207) 688-8433. The business address is 49 Pineland Drive, Suite 202B, New Gloucester, ME 04260.
Other News from NH Planners
Jeff Gowan reports that Pelham is working with the DOT on a Town Center traffic project that entails 2 roundabouts. The DOT has employed their Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) approach, which Jeff says is a wonderful change in process. The project is bumping up against the usual local political quagmires but it is still alive and moving forward.
Ross Moldoff, Planning Director for Salem will be celebrating 25 years as the PD in December! According to Ross, that’s second to Dave Holden in Portsmouth for current longevity in a single town. Congrats, Ross!
Ross also reported that the Salem Planning Board is currently reviewing site plans for new CVS pharmacies at 3 separate locations in Salem!
Planning Director, Rhett Lamb, reports that the City of Keene, NH is wrapping up its six-month community visioning process. Keene’s process was inspired by Portsmouth’s use of study circles to engage residents in small-group discussions about the community’s future. Keene’s version took on a different focus and we called our study circles “Visioning Conversations”; and they were a huge success! Two rounds of visioning conversations were held and approximately 1,200 people participated in the process in total, ranging in age from 12 to over 70! We had 42 facilitators trained to help run the Visioning Conversations and in the end, over 40 small-group discussions occurred. The aspect we’re most proud of: the community drove this process and very little was done in terms of traditional marketing and outreach to draw in participants. A majority of it was done word-of-mouth by the Steering Committee, interested citizens, volunteers, and our community facilitators. The vision and core community values statements are in the drafting phase and we hope to have it endorsed by the community and approved by Council in September/October. The Next Step: an RFP will be issued in the fall for incorporating the vision and core community values into a comprehensive master planning process, tentatively scheduled to begin in late November.