What does it look like when governments cooperate? That question is the premise for the 6th annual Municipal Day. The popular training, sponsored by the Agency of Natural Resources, is designed to empower and inform Vermont’s local government officials and volunteers. Participants, who range from planning and zoning commissioners to town managers and selectboard members, walk away with practical skills and information that they’ll be able to immediately apply to their day-to-day work in local government.
“As a new Selectboard member, I found [the Municipal Day training] particularly helpful in getting to know some of the environmental issues we need to address on the Town level and the resources that are there to help us,” reflected one Montpelier participant after the 2017 event.
Workshop topics include grant opportunities, using mapping tools for environmental planning, river corridor protection, automated wood heat for towns, recycling regulations, and much more.
This year, to better serve more Vermont towns, Municipal Day is expanded to include a mix of two full-day and two half-day trainings at four locations around Vermont. One participant at last year’s pilot regional session in Rutland wrote, “The networking and relationship building with the state employees who work with our local towns is invaluable. We need to do this more often!”
Half-day sessions cost just $10 and include refreshments, a single-track agenda, and an opportunity to stay for a brown-bag lunch workshop. Half-day trainings take place in Springfield on Thursday, October 25 and in Essex Junction on Friday, November 2.
Full-day sessions are $25 with morning coffee and lunch provided. The Montpelier training on Friday, October 26 features a morning plenary session with a timely presentation on Preparing Your Community for the Impacts of Emerald Ash Borer, followed by 17 different workshop sessions to choose from. The Rutland training on Thursday, November 1 offers a packed single-track agenda with a variety of topics to explore.
“Municipal Day is at the heart of what we as an Agency do every day: helping Vermonters navigate important environmental regulations,” says ANR Deputy Secretary Peter Walke. “We welcome the opportunity to hear directly from town officials, and I invite you to join us and share your town’s experiences.”
Find agendas, workshop descriptions and printable brochures to share with your colleagues on ANR’s website: http://anr.vermont.gov/about_us/special-topics/municipal-day
Space is limited, and pre-registration is required. Interested? Register online today!