Hello Circuit Coalition Members,

 

We would like to inform you about some recent Circuit Coalition news, including several funding opportunities, the continuation of our Circuit Commitment Campaign, and the addition of two new members to the Circuit Coalition.

 

Funding Opportunities

·      American Trails is also holding a webinar on trail fundraising on January 30, 2014 at 1pm Eastern.

·      Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission announced that PA's Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) will be opened from February 3, 2014 until April 3, 2014. TAP grants may be used for bicycle and pedestrian facilities, conversion of abandoned railway corridors to trails, and stormwater management projects. A TAP information session will be held at Upper Merion Township Building in Freedom Hall on January 30th, starting at 3 pm. More information regarding the TAP and the corresponding information session is available in our blog post.

·      DNCR's Bureau of Recreation and Conservation has announced that the Community Conservation Partnerships Program 2014 Open Grant Application Period will be running from January 15th, 2014 to April 16th, 2014. A free workshop for this grant will be held on February 6th, 2014 from 9:30 AM to 12 Noon at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Campus: Fire Academy. For information regarding registering and attending the workshop, please see our corresponding blog post.

 

Circuit Commitment Campaign Update

Over the past several months, members of the Circuit Coalition have been meeting with county commissioners and freeholders to gage support for replenishing the Regional Trail Fund with $10 Million over a three year period.  We hope that in the next few weeks that we can report on the outcome of those meetings and what kind of proposal will be considered by the DVRPC Board.  In the meantime, we need to continue to build up support from our constituents.

As part of the Circuit Commitment Campaign, I am happy to report that we have received copies of the following municipal resolutions in support of DVRPC funding a dedicated trail fund:

o   Jenkintown & Cheltenham (Montco)

o   East Bradford & Phoenixville (Chesco)

o   Radnor & Haverford (Delco)

o   Wenonah & Pitman (Gloucester)

·      At this time, we need more letters of support flowing into County Commissioners and Freeholders.  Have you sent in a letter from your own organization yet?  Templates for letters of support for each county are available here.  Please email me a copy of your letter of support.  If you have already done this on behalf of your organization, thank you!

·      The postcard and petition campaign has generated over 2000 names.  We would like to continue to increase that list by adding signatures to the Connect theCircuit Petition. Please continue to circulate the petition among your members and networks. 

·      Attached is the latest version of the one-pager that we are using to explain the Circuit Commitment campaign.  Feel free to share it with your networks.

Newest Members of the Circuit Coalition

We would like to welcome our newest member organizations, D&R Greenway Land Trust and the Friends of the Chester Valley Trail.  D&R Greenway Land Trust is central New Jersey's nonprofit land preservation organization, tasked with permanently preserve watershed lands and large-scale landscapes, thereby preventing the loss of open space development over 1500 square miles in Mercer, Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex, Burlington, and Monmouth counties.  FCVT assists the Chester County Parks and Recreation Department to promote trail activities, plan for future programs, facilities and improvements, alert staff to trail conditions, assist in reducing maintenance costs, and provide other assistance to the public as may be requested.

Semi-Annual Meetings 2014

Lastly, the dates for our 2014 semi-annual meetings have been set. The Spring meeting will take place on May 15th, and the Fall meeting will take place on November 20th at DVRPC's offices.  Exact time to come, but please pencil these dates on your calendars.

 

For those of you who are interested, I am also attaching a list of all organizations who are members of the Circuit.  

 

Thank you,

Sarah