BURKE AREA NEWS
What's Going On In the Burke Area
One Burke Receives Grants to Fund West Burke Revitalization Project
announced March 31, 2020
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One Burke, an all volunteer organization based in Burke, Vermont, has recently received good news all around regarding several grants applied for in late 2019. All the grant applications were approved for funding including:
• $22,500 - Municipal Planning Grant awarded by the Vermont Department of Housing & Community Development
• $5,000 - Vermont Community Foundation NEK Fund grant
• $2,000 - Kingdom Trail Association Mini Grant
• $10,000 - Rural Business Development Technical Assistance Grant through Northern Community Investment Corporation (NCIC) from USDA Rural Development
In addition, One Burke received a Grass Roots Grant in the amount of $1,125 to assist with the purchase of supplies and community outreach. The Town of Burke has agreed to provide additional funding of up to $4,500 if needed. The Burke Area Chamber of Commerce is also providing support and administrative assistance to One Burke.
Aside from the Grass Roots Grant, the funds received are all for the West Burke Revitalization Project which is focused on economic growth for the community. The grant funds will assist One Burke to create an economic development plan and host a visioning session to understand the community's hopes & expectations for development in West Burke. A goal of this development is to attract and develop businesses in the area that support positive, community wide growth. Fairweather Consulting has recently been hired to facilitate the visioning session and assist with the project. All community members will be invited to attend the visioning session and share their ideas, hopes and goals for West Burke. The information gathered will be used to establish priorities for One Burke & paint the vision for residents, local businesses, funders & developers. The project has been delayed slightly due to the current conditions, however, stay tuned for information on the 1st community meeting, which will take place as soon as practical following the easing of stay in place restrictions. Please email burkechamber@burkevermont.com if you are interested in being a part of the steering committee for the West Burke Village Revitalization Project.
Des Hertz and Linda Lotti have both been actively engaged in One Burke and the Village Revitalization Task Force since its inception in 2017. “We are really excited about moving forward with the visioning and discussion sessions to re-vitalize West Burke and listen to the community about what they would like to see in West Burke village. We are grateful for all of the funding support to assist our community in making positive change in a guided manner. West Burke has the opportunity to come together and steer West Burke village toward a common vision,” said Lotti.
"During our original community visits with the Vermont Council on Rural Development, participants chose as a priority the revitalization of West Burke village,” said Hertz. “This task force has been actively pursuing this goal for over two years. We look forward to our continued collaboration with the Burke selectboard and to hearing from as many voices of community members as possible in this exciting visioning project."
One Burke is an all volunteer organization that was formed in 2017 as a result of community visits organized by the Vermont Council on Rural Development. The visits provided idea gathering sessions so that residents of Burke could voice their thoughts on a vision for the community. Two task forces are currently active under the One Burke umbrella and both are actively seeking more involvement from the community. The Village Revitalization Task Force meets the 1st Wednesday of each month at 5:30pm. The Trails and Transportation Task Force meets the last Monday of each month at 5:30pm. (April meetings may be postponed due to current conditions). Meetings take place at the Burke Community Building, 212 School St., West Burke, VT. Anyone with an interest in the community of Burke is welcome to attend meetings to learn more about current task force projects and get involved. Meeting dates, project updates and other news is also regularly posted on facebook.com/OneBurkeVT.
