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.

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