Published: 2/13/2020 7:02:17 PM
Modified: 2/13/2020 7:02:05 PM
Now that they’ve been awarded a $39,000 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant, Northfield and Warwick officials will work together to develop action-oriented resiliency plans and implement top priority climate change resilience projects.
The towns were officially notified of the grant award on Feb. 6, via a letter signed by Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. Warwick Town Coordinator David Young said the money will support consulting services through the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, which will lead the vulnerability preparedness work and help the two towns update their hazard mitigation plans. This work needs to be completed by May 30.
Northfield Town Administrator Andrea Llamas said the state recommended Northfield conduct a regional effort with Warwick.
“Warwick wasn’t going to be able to do it this year, so they asked us to be the lead town, ” she said.
During its meeting Monday, Northfield’s Selectboard signed a new agreement for services from FRCOG.
“We’re adding Warwick, so there will be language in (the agreement) that will say ‘this is regional’ and will include Warwick’s MVP process in conjunction with Northfield’s,” Llamas explained. “They will have to produce a separate hazard mitigation plan for each town.”
Regarding specifics of what the new plans and projects will involve, Llamas said there will be a public hearing in the future, and a day-long project involving various town agencies, such as the Police, Fire and Highway departments. Those involved will discuss vulnerabilities and what Northfield needs to work on.
“Sometimes, by recognizing those, you can go after grants to try and rectify some of those areas,” Llamas said. “The MVP is more hands-on about trying to recognize possible solutions and then they try to fund some of them.”
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.