BRATTLEBORO – Oct. 3, 2014: The Windham Regional Commission (WRC) and the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) invite Brattleboro businesses, employees and homeowners to attend a community forum on October 15 to learn about a project studying the Whetstone Brook and to gather community input on ways to protect business and the local economy from future floods.
The community forum is the first step in a project called the Vermont Economic Resiliency Initiative or VERI. The VERI project is designed to help Brattleboro evaluate the flood risk to business and infrastructure (roads, bridges, utilities), and identify the steps Brattleboro and the state can take to minimize rebuilding and recovery costs and ensure businesses stay open—saving jobs and protecting the economy. The project is modeled on the success of a similar project in Bennington that reduced the flood impacts of Tropical Storm Irene and saved the town and businesses millions of dollars in economic damages.
Who: Anyone who lives or works or owns a business in Brattleboro is invited
When: October 15, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Where: Marlboro College Graduate Center, Room 2E
The meeting will be facilitated by Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development Commissioner Noelle MacKay.
“The ongoing recovery from Tropical Storm Irene taught us that no one individual, business, organization, town or state agency can tackle a crisis alone—and input from the community is critical to the success of this project,” said Commissioner MacKay.
VERI is funded by the US Economic Development Administration (EDA), led by the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development, in partnership with the Regional Planning Commissions, Agencies of Natural Resources and Transportation.
For more information contact
Department of Housing and Community Development:
Noelle MacKay Noelle.MacKay@state.vt.us (802) 828-3080 or Chris Cochran Chris.Cochran@state.vt.us (802) 828-5212
Windham Regional Commission:
Jeff Nugent (jnugent@windhamregional.org) or Kim Smith (ksmith@windhamregional.org) or call (802) 257-4547
