City of Montpelier, Vermont: Community & Economic Development

Department of
Planning &
Community
Development

•	Community Development
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Community Development - Main Page

Statement of Mission
National & State Community Development Objectives
Who Does Community Development
Contacts

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STATEMENT OF MISSION.

The mission of the Department of Planning & Community Development is to improve the economic and physical environment and to enhance the quality of life in the City of Montpelier. Of particular importance are activities which benefit people with lower incomes.

In community development, community benefits take precedence over private profit. Projects should be designed to maximize long term community benefits. Public support for private projects should be limited to projects which provide a clear and cost-effective return to the community.

The Community Development Program works to:

strengthen economic vitality;
increase employment opportunities;
expand, preserve, and upgrade housing;
strengthen the availability, effectiveness and quality of social services, cultural activities, and recreational opportunities;
improve public infrastructure, public services, and community facilities;
promote equal access to housing;
promote economic opportunity for lower income people, the elderly, and single heads of households, the handicapped, and other under served populations.

The Department of Planning & Community Development accomplishes this through planning, financial packaging, grantsmanship, and administration of projects and programs in cooperation with public agencies and private businesses.

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THE NATIONAL AND STATE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES:

The United States Congress has established three national objectives for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. At least one of these objectives must be met by any project funded from that source.

The national objectives are:

to benefit low and moderate income persons;
to eliminate slums and blight;
to meet community development needs of particular urgency.

The Legislature of the state of Vermont has also established objectives for The Vermont Community Development Program. Successful grant applications must meet at least one of the State's objectives as well as at least one of the national objectives.

Objectives for The Vermont Community Development Program:

to conserve, expand, and improve housing;
to create and retain employment;
to improve public facilities in support of housing or economic development activities, or where there is a threat to public health and safety.

The monies available from these grant programs are the major source of funding available to the Montpelier Community Development Agency. Because of this, the state and national objectives are vitally important to us.

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WHO DOES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT?

Although the Montpelier Community Development Agency is specifically charged with responsibility for the City's community development activities, it does not operate alone. City government, private enterprise, and non-profit organizations are involved.

When the Department of Public Works rebuilds a street, that is community development. When the Police Department improves their services, that is community development. It happens when the Planning Commission rezones an area to protect affordable housing or to encourage commercial development. It's happening when the City Council approves a plan to upgrade the water supply system or to finance parking improvements downtown. When the merchants participate in cooperative promotions, when parents raise funds for improving a school playground, when a non-profit organization promotes business development, all of those activities are community development.

The Montpelier Community Development Plan considers community development in this broad sense. It recognizes that there are many people doing many things that are all involved with improving our community and improving the opportunities available to its people. These activities are a direct reflection of Montpelier’s strong commitment to self-improvement.

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Contacts

City of Montpelier

planning@montpelier-vt.org

Planning & Community Development Staff:

Gwendolyn Hallsmith, Director, ext 31, ghallsmith@montpelier-vt.org
Nina Thompson, Community Development Specialist, ext 32, njthompson@montpelier-vt.org
Audra Brown, Planning & Zoning Assistant, ext 35, abrown@montpelier-vt.org
Clancy DeSmet, Planning & Zoning Administrator, ext 33, cdesmet@montpelier-vt.org
Eric Scharnberg, Web/GIS Specialist, ext 36, escharny@montpelier-vt.org

Updated January 7, 2007