WESTHAMPTON — The projects won’t dazzle residents with bells and whistles — culvert repairs, stormwater management and solar array installations, to name a few — but their importance can’t be understated for cash-strapped and under-resourced communities in the region lucky enough to secure recently announced state funding.
Numerous western Massachusetts cities and towns recently landed about $11 million from the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs through the Massachusetts Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant program. The money is earmarked to help communities fight extreme weather and deal with long-term impacts of climate change.
Among the largest awards in Hampshire County are $1 million to build a solar array and energy backup system atop Westhampton Elementary School, $2.7 million to allow Belchertown to replace a culvert that allows Hop Brook to run underneath Warren Wright Road, and $1.2 million to Williamsburg for creation of nature-based solutions to deal with excessive stormwater at the former Beaver Brook golf course.
The funding is part of $28.7 million awarded by the Healey-Driscoll administration to 54 statewide. The money will be used to make infrastructure improvements that will boost safety and preparedness during flooding, heat waves and wildfire. In addition to culvert upgrades and wetland protection to mitigate flooding, other projects will increase shaded spaces in parks, help create plans for certain communities to build elevated housing out of flooding range, and create emergency and wildlife evacuation plans.
State Sen. Jo Comerford has been a strong advocate to help get MVP funding to reach rural western Massachusetts communities, a program that is difficult to access for under-resourced cities and towns like many in the area. Since it began in 2017, more than 500 projects have been funded.
“The Municipal Vulnerability Program, or MVP program, is one of the most important state programs we have for cities and towns to both do planning but also execute on plans to increase resilience,” she said.
Comerford said many communities in the area have led efforts to create easier access to MVP funding, which has traditionally been difficult for communities to secure due to a rigorous application process and the way the state ranks priority to different communities. While some rural communities have the resources to fulfill that process, the senator said others aren’t as equipped with full-time grant writers or town administrators.
She said the Healey-Driscoll administration has listened to these voices and worked to make the changes necessary get this funding to western Massachusetts.
“The (Healey-Driscoll) administration has been very willing to hear those concerns and they understand,” said Comerford. “They have been more and more engaging in ways to understand that we (western Massachusetts communities) need a share of the MVP program so we can do the work that our residents need and deserve.”
Westhampton, for example, could not afford to undertake the solar array project without its $971,856 MVP grant, said Teri Anderson, the town’s project manager for the work. In addition to the solar arrays, the project will also build an energy backup system that will be able to maintain power in the event of an outage.
“We’re ecstatic,” she said. “This project would not be happening without the financial support from the state. The size of this project and the complexity is just not within our budget capacity.”
Anderson is also the chair of the Westhampton Resilient Master Plan implementation committee. The plan, completed in 2023, is a proactive approach to protecting the rural, small-town character of Westhampton while creating climate-focused, sustainable infrastructure changes. The town was originally able to create the plan through the same MVP program.
Construction of the solar array is expected to begin next summer and will be used to provide educational opportunities for students to learn about the energy sustainability. Additionally, two public presentations will be held, one for businesses and one for residents, detailing how they can use clean energy on their own properties.
Education and outreach is a key factor for this round of MVP funding. The program will help recipient cities and towns partner with local organizations to create educational opportunities for the community.
Belchertown, Williamsburg projects
Belchertown was awarded $2.7 million through this year’s program to replace the Hop Brook culvert. The brook connects Lawrence Swamp and the Daigle Aquifer that provide drinking water for the town, making this replacement crucial, said Linda Leduc, director of the Department of Public Works. She said the culvert is threatening closure of the road, but the upgrades will create a much wider path for water to flow through if flooding occurs.
“We would never be able to get this done with in-house funds, so this is huge,” said Leduc. “The fact that MVP was part of assessing the project is really a full circle moment.”
In 2019, Belchertown received a previous round of MVP funding that allowed them to identify the culvert as severely undersized and in need of replacement. The culvert will be replaced with an open-bottom, 23-by-8-foot high culvert and an adjacent path for animal crossing — mainly beavers — that will be a 9-by-3-foot culvert.
Just like Westhampton, Belchertown will provide educational sessions for the upgrade, how it works and helps humans coexist with beavers and other animals that use the culvert.
Williamsburg’s grant will allow the town to not only create nature-based solutions to deal with excessive stormwater, but will also provide assessments and community outreach to restore flood preparedness and climate resilience of the area. This may open the opportunity to create 20-30 units of affordable housing around the property.
“This grant funding is providing a natural solution to flooding, that we could have never fit into the size of our operating budget,” said Town Administrator Nick Caccamo.
Similar to Belchertown, Williamsburg used past MVP funding to assess areas of potential water overflow in the community. The funding will also create research opportunities of the site’s Native American history, with two informational sessions with members of the Nipmuc Tribe advising on land stewardship practices. A major part of this process will include reaching out to various community members to hear input on conservation recommendations.
“These projects are very varied but really important in every community and again, it’s not the only tool for communities, but it’s one of the biggest and most important,” said Comerford.
Other recipients in the area and their award amounts include:
- Amherst, along with Belchertown, Hadley, Shutesbury and Pelham: Fort River Watershed Culvert Assessment & Prioritization Plan, $427,700.
- Conway: Flood Resilience Project, $330,300.
- Franklin Regional Council of Governments (& Franklin County Communities): Climate Resilient Water Use in Franklin County, $125,000.
- Hatfield and Hadley: Assessment, Maintenance, and NBS Improvements to Agricultural Drainage Channels, $179,000.
- Holyoke: Wastewater System Vulnerability Assessment, Adaptation Plan, and Green Infrastructure, $390,000.
- Montague: The Hill Neighborhood Green Infrastructure Master Planning, $458,750.
- Shelburne: Dragon Brook: A Climate Resilient Watershed, $395,940.
- Southampton: Project Stay Cool: Empowering Southampton Against Extreme Heat, $82,770.
- Worthington: Wood Pellet Heating System, $82,025.