DIXFIELD — As part of a state Community Resilience Partnership project, the Select Board is seeking volunteers for a working group to develop recommendations for protecting people, businesses and infrastructure from flooding, storm surge and other climate-related events.

Board Chairman Dick Pickett said during a workshop Feb. 9 that the recommendations from the working group will be used to apply for a grant, which could bring up to $75,000 to the town, or up to $175,000 if Dixfield collaborates with other communities.

Some ideas discussed included a hazard mitigation plan, emergency route planning, upgrades such as placing energy efficient windows in the Town Office and creating recreation trails.

In recent years, various roads have been washed out due to storms. The partnership program’s mission is combat climate-driven threats, such as severe flooding, erosion and infrastructure damage.

The partnership is a state-level initiative that has awarded over $18.8 million to 166 communities as of May 2025 to address climate impacts such as flooding.

Projects in 2025-26 range from replacing damaged, undersized culverts in Jay and Dixmont to repairing vulnerable coastal roads on Swan’s Island, strengthening infrastructure against storms while supporting community sustainability.