Recreation Economy for Rural Communities
Late last year, the Town of Johnson was awarded a Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) grant. The RERC is a technical assistance grant meaning no money is granted to the Town. Rather, the U.S. EPA provides a team of federal employees from various outdoor recreation related agencies, and a few professional consultants to assist the Town with a community workshop and writing an action plan. The purpose of this planning process and resulting action plan is to bolster Johnson's outdoor recreation economy and help revitalize the downtown area.
Last December, the Selectboard appointed eight residents to the steering committee for the RERC planning process. Since January, the steering committee has been working with the federal planning assistance team (PAT) to prepare for the key event, a community workshop starting the evening of Thursday, August 27 and running through the day, Friday, August 28. All Johnson residents and businesses are welcome to attend and participate. Non-residents with an interest and/or information to share also are welcome. Attendance during the full workshop is ideal but is not required. Everyone who attends and registers will be eligible to review and comment on drafts of the action plan that the PAT will write.
The workshop will be held in Sterns Performance Space at 337 College Hill Road on the campus of VTSU-Johnson. The first session on Thursday, August 27 starts at 6:00 pm; doors open at 5:30. On Friday the 28th the workshop resumes at 9:00 am with doors opening at 8:30 am. Below is a link to the workshop flyer. A link to the pre-registration form is available on the flyer.