ci: Updated CI process for releases

[svetlanabrennan]

Updated the prep release workflow, pr template and added dependabot file.

Also set the actions USE_NEW_RELEASE variable to true

Fixes issue #123

[codecov]

Codecov Report

All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests ✅

Project coverage is 100.00%. Comparing base (39b17ce) to head (484f89d).

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff            @@
##              main      #124   +/-   ##
=========================================
  Coverage   100.00%   100.00%           
=========================================
  Files            3         3           
  Lines           91        91           
=========================================
  Hits            91        91           

Flag	Coverage Δ
unit-tests-16.x	36.26% <ø> (ø)
unit-tests-18.x	36.26% <ø> (ø)
unit-tests-20.x	36.26% <ø> (ø)
versioned-tests-16.x	96.70% <ø> (ø)
versioned-tests-18.x	96.70% <ø> (ø)
versioned-tests-20.x	96.70% <ø> (ø)

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