About North Country Council, Inc.
Staff | Board | Region | Governance | Membership
It is the mission of North Country Council to encourage effective community and regional planning for the development of economic opportunity and the conservation of natural, cultural and economic resources. This will be accomplished by providing information, regional advocacy, technical assistance, community education, and direct service to the region, its organizations, and political subdivisions.
History
Founded in 1973, North Country Council (NCC) is a nonprofit-planning agency serving 51 communities and 24 unincorporated places in the northern third of New Hampshire. During our over 30-year history, NCC has always been a flexible organization, working with communities on a variety of issues and community concerns as needs have arisen. In its function of service to the region, NCC initiates or provides essential support for planning and economic development services as listed below.
Community and Regional Planning Activities
NCC provides planning assistance to our member towns by providing technical assistance to planning boards and advice on updating master plans, zoning ordinances, subdivision and site plan regulations. NCC has also developed the community outreach program for member planning boards, designed to empower planning board members to make smart land use decisions and plan adequately for their town’s future. NCC also manages the North Country transportation committee for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation by prioritizing the transportation projects of our 51 member communities for the State Highway ten-year plan. When requested, NCC manages other special corridor study projects for transportation and various other Federal Highways and NH Department of Transportation programs. NCC also provides technical assistance to the region in the area of solid waste management and recycling. NCC facilitates the collections of household hazardous wastes, fluorescent lighting, electronics, paint, and anti-freeze as well as a Glass Recycling Cooperative. NCC also provides advice and technical assistance in natural resource planning in regards to watersheds and water resources. NCC is also in the process of developing a more inclusive environmental department to address the concerns of local conservation commissions and provide more environmental planning advise to our communities. NCC provides mapping and GIS services to our communities including base maps for planning purposes and analysis mapping, which can be used as a decision making tool. We are also a resource for numerous types of data used in the planning and development of our communities such as traffic count data and demographic information.
Economic Development Activities
NCC is recognized by the Department of Commerce, Economic Development Agency (EDA) as the organization responsible for economic development strategic planning in the northern tier of New Hampshire. NCC manages and maintains the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) in the region. The CEDS document and CEDS process determines eligibility for all EDA funds in the region. NCC assists the North Country District Economic Development Committee which has representation of economic development leaders throughout the region. This committee primarily is responsible for prioritizing projects for eligibility for EDA funding. NCC provides grant writing assistance to communities and over the last ten years has written grants which have brought over $40 million dollars of EDA funds into the region. NCC has written and administered numerous CDBG grants throughout the region. Projects which NCC has been involved with include the NH Living Wage Study, Colebrook Industrial Park, Berlin Water Storage Tank, North Woodstock Water Extension, Mount Washington Valley Technology Village, and the Dartmouth Incubator Project, just to name a few.
