Posted onDecember 17, 2020|Comments Off on $50K MassDevelopment grant for RFP assistance re MSH
The town received a $50,000 state grant to assist with the RFP for the former Medfield State Hospital site. Here is the announcement letter that came yesterday, despiteits date. –
Comments Off on $50K MassDevelopment grant for RFP assistance re MSH
Project Title = Medfield Rail Trail Brief Project Description = The Medfield Rail Trail is a proposed shared use trail following the route of the MBTA rail bed in Medfield, running approximately 1.3 miles from Ice House Road to the Dover town line. The Trail will provide connections for residents throughout the region (particularly youth and seniors) for biking, walking, jogging, cross country skiing, and horseback riding. The rail trail will provide a direct connection to the planned mixed-use redevelopment of the 128-acre Medfield State Hospital; the planned Dover Greenway; the Bay Circuit Trail, an extensive regional trail system from Plum Island in the north to Kingston Bay in the south; as well as access to the Norfolk Hunt Club’s extensive regional trail network.
Project type = Construction
Trail use = Shared-Use Path
Award = $100,000
Match = $74,480
Baker-Polito Administration Announces $4 Million in MassTrails Grants
55 Local Projects Will Greatly Enhance State’s Network of Trails
BOSTON – The Baker-Polito Administration today awarded $4 million in MassTrails Grants to 55 local trail projects throughout the Commonwealth. The grants will support the state’s vast network of trails with projects dedicated to the construction, maintenance, and improvements for a variety of public trails, including hiking trails, bikeways, and shared-use paths.
“Massachusetts has an extensive network of public trails connecting communities and regions while offering excellent recreational opportunities,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “By supporting local trail projects, our Administration is dedicated to building on that network and ensuring residents and visitors can hike, bike and run on safe, well-maintained and accessible trails.”
“Trails are important resources that improve our quality of life by providing great access to parks, reservations, forests, and other public properties throughout Massachusetts,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “The MassTrails Grants Program serves as a critical funding source for our many local partners who are working to improve infrastructure, create new segments, and enhance existing trails for the public to enjoy.”
MassTrails Grants focus on the improvement of existing trails, the construction of new trails, and the maintenance of the statewide trail system. This year’s projects include:
The installation of trail facilities and amenities and facility landscaping;
The completion of trail design and engineering plans;
The installation and maintenance of directional and interpretive trail signage;
The development and creation of GIS mapping and trails guides;
The purchasing of trail maintenance equipment; and,
The upgrading of existing trails to accessible trail standards.
“Local trails are excellent resources that not only enrich our lives by providing increased opportunities to explore nature, but also enable us all to commit to healthy, active lifestyles,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides. “The MassTrails Grants Program is a great example of the Baker-Polito Administration’s dedication to investing and enhancing the Commonwealth’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources, and we look forward to celebrating the completion of these 55 projects.”
“The MassTrails Grant Program invests in path improvements and construction which allow for more access to important destinations, giving residents safe, healthy, and low carbon travel options as well as options for active recreational activities,” said Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack. “Now more than ever, the public is seeking transportation options due to the pandemic and this funding creates, enhances, and maintains networks of multimodal, shared-use pathways which help people get to where they need to go while reducing their carbon footprint and lowering pollution.”
Funding for MassTrails Grants comes from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) capital budget, and from the motor fuel excise tax on off-road vehicles including ATV’s and snowmobiles, which is provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Surface Transportation Act, in coordination with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). All MassTrails Grant applications have been reviewed in consultation with an inter-agency MassTrails Team and the Massachusetts Recreational Trails Advisory Board (MARTAB).
“The Baker-Polito Administration continues to foster public-private partnerships in an effort to attain mutual goals that directly benefit the public,” said DCR Commissioner Jim Montgomery. “The 2020 MassTrails Grants Program will assist our partners in protecting and enhancing many of the Commonwealth’s natural and recreational resources, including closing gaps within the state’s network of trails, strengthening infrastructure, and making significant improvements.”
“These grants support our tremendous inventory of remarkable open spaces and the communities that host them. North Reading now has significant state support to examine converting an abandoned rail-line into a rail trail,” said State Senator Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester). “Funding from MassTrails not only advances this opportunity, but it also helps bring more recreational access for people across the state to enjoy outdoor spaces and improve our quality of life.”
“Visitors from all around the world come to Western Massachusetts for its beautiful outdoor recreational opportunities all of which improve our quality of life and are important parts of our communities,” said State Senator Adam Hinds (D-Pittsfield). “The MassTrails Grants Program provides critical funding for improving and supporting our public trails for all to enjoy.”
Additionally, each recipient matches awarded grants with a minimum of twenty percent in funding or in-kind services for the designated project. This year’s total investment, including matching funds, is approximately $7 million. In order to meet their funding obligation, an organization is able to utilize a variety of methods to fund at least twenty percent of the project’s total cost to receive the grant. Methods include in-kind labor and professional services, material donations, use of equipment, or a cash match. Funding is made available to registered non-profits and municipal, state, and federal agencies.
“I would like to thank the Baker-Polito Administration for supporting local trail programs through the 2020 MassTrails Grants Program,” said State Representative Frank Moran (D-Lawrence). “I am joyful to learn that Groundwork Lawrence has been awarded this grant which will allow them to continue their work in increasing access to the Merrimack River Trail for all residents of the Commonwealth. The 17th Essex District will benefit substantially from this grant, given that it will bring more connectivity to all three communities: Lawrence, Andover and Methuen.”
“Funding and maintaining our local trails and paths, especially at a time when it can be hard to get out of the house, is crucial to communities we serve,” said State Representative Josh Cutler (D-Pembroke). “Thanks to grants like MassTrails and the Baker Administration, Hanson can help foster outdoor recreation for its’ citizens to enjoy.”
“The people of Clinton take great pride in the town’s surrounding natural beauty,” said State Representative Harold Naughton (D-Clinton). “The parks and trails are treasured by locals and visitors alike, and I am thrilled that the Commonwealth is investing in the spaces that make our community such a special place to live.”
“I am excited to learn that Ashland has received a grant through the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s MassTrails program,” said State Representative Jack Patrick Lewis (D-Framingham). “I am grateful to the Baker-Polito Administration and Commissioner Montgomery for their further support to enhance and expand Ashland’s vibrant trails.”
MassTrails Grant projects are located within the following municipalities: Ashland, Adams, Arlington, Ashburnham, Athol, Barnstable, Becket, Belchertown, Bourne, Braintree, Brookline, Chelmsford, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Clinton, Concord, Dalton , Dartmouth, Egremont, Fitchburg, Florida, Franklin, Great Barrington, Greenfield, Groton, Hanson, Hatfield, Hawley, Hinsdale, Holyoke, Hopkinton, Lanesboro, Lawrence, Lee, Lenox, Lowell, Mattapoisett, Medfield, Monterey, Mount Washington, Natick, Needham, New Ashford, New Bedford, Newburyport, Newton, North Adams, North Reading, Northampton, Northfield, Peabody, Pittsfield, Plainfield, Plymouth, Sandisfield, Savoy, Sheffield, Southampton, Springfield, Sturbridge, Sudbury, Templeton, Townsend, Tyringham, Wareham, Washington , Williamstown, Windsor, and Yarmouth. A full list and brief description of each of the 55 projects receiving a grant can be found on the MassTrails Grants webpage.
Comments Off on Medfield Rail Trail awarded $100K state grant
Posted onJune 10, 2020|Comments Off on ATM Warrant / Budget Cuts
Annual Town Meeting set for 11 AM June 27 on MHS field
The COVID-19 delayed 2020 annual town meeting (ATM) will take place on Saturday, June 27 at 11 AM outdoors on the Medfield High School turf field, with a rain date on June 29. The warrant for the ATM has been pared down to just the articles needed to enact the FY21 budget, with the intention to hold a special town meeting when the virus permits, perhaps in the fall, to deal with any other necessary town business.
The Select Board voted last night to recommend approval of all the articles. The Warrant Committee had already voted to recommend approval of all but one or two of the articles, and is expected to recommend approval of the remaining ones when they receive the final numbers related to those articles.
The town’s budget is built off a guess that the town’s state aid will be reduced by 10% next year. It is a guess because the state legislature is not able to give the town guidance on what to expect, because the federal government has yet to share with the state what to expect by way of federal assistance – creating this uncertainty for every American city and town is not the way government should run.
The Select Board is expected at its next meeting on June 16 to vote to make use of the legislation passed this past week that allows the ATM quorum to be reduced to just 10% of the usual quorum – our quorum is 250.
Also at the Select Board meeting last night, the Town Administrator, Kristine Trierweiler, recommended and the Select Board approved the following town side budget cuts in order to balance the town’s FY21 budget:
Town Administrator, Kristine Trierweiler, was notified by Michael J. Heffernan, Secretary of Administration and Finance, of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts this week that Medfield is slated to get $1,137,716 as its share of the $2.7 billion the Federal government is paying to Massachusetts under the Care Act. Below are that letter and memorandum.
Posted onMay 8, 2020|Comments Off on MMA Zoom meeting
I attended at noon today a meeting of the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s Massachusetts Select Board Association (NB – MSA changed its name this year from “Selectmen”). Bleak news about the state budget and the financial aid we will get from the state next fiscal year starting July 1 – may be down 20% this coming year. The legislative delegation is coming to the Select Board meeting next Tuesday to personally share the bad news.
The only good news was at the end of this slide –
State Revenue and Budget Outlook
• Legislature has Announced that the Fiscal 2021 Budget Process is Delayed
• Administration & Legislative Budget Writers Held New Revenue
Hearing to Revisit Revenue Forecast, with $4B to $6B Shortfall Estimated
• State Budget Process Unclear (Joint Budget? Temporary Budgets?) • GOOD NEWS … $3.5 Billion in the State Rainy Day Fund should Help to Mitigate Fiscal 2020 Revenue Shortfalls (and Increased Expenditures) • GOOD NEWS … Massachusetts Received $2.67 Billion from the Federal CARES Act to Pay for Unexpected/Unbudgeted COVID-19 Expenses
Posted onMarch 16, 2020|Comments Off on Virus legislation – re ATM & budget issues
Legislation the Gov. filed this AM, that Assistant Town Admiistrator Nick Milano says is expected to be passed by the House today, allowing for postponement of our annual town meeting and municipal relief with respect to our impending budget issues –
Comments Off on Virus legislation – re ATM & budget issues
Posted onJuly 31, 2019|Comments Off on Final budget #s from state
Division of Local Services (DLS) of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue has released the final state aid amounts based on the recently passed and signed state budget.
Our total state aid monies are up about $130,000 over the $7,822,174 received last year.
I started this blog to share the interesting and useful information that I saw while doing my job as a Medfield select board member. I thought that my fellow Medfield residents would also find that information interesting and useful as well. This blog is my effort to assist in creating a system to push the information out from the Town House to residents. Let me know if you have any thoughts on how it can be done better.
For information on my other job as an attorney (personal injury, civil litigation, estate planning and administration, and real estate), please feel free to contact me at 617-969-1500 or Osler.Peterson@OslerPeterson.com.
Medfield02052's Blog 