SOUTHWICK – The Select Board held a public hearing session Tuesday night about the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program.
Fuss & O’Neill, a consulting firm hired by DPW Director Randy Brown to help him with the MVP process, gave a presentation to the Select Board during Tuesday’s public hearing.
Julianne Busa of Fuss & O’Neill informed the Select Board that she’s worked with approximatley 15 communities since the MVP Program was created in 2017.
“We hope to assist Southwick in gaining funds in the planning process but also implementing funds through that process,” said Busa.
A state-run program through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the MVP program addresses issues or hazards in a community that have developed due to climate change. The program also allows municipalities to apply for grant funding by being a part of the program and coming up with plans and actions that revolve around climate change.
In early June, Brown was informed that the town had been approved for a $15,000 grant for the MVP program. The grant allowed Brown to hire a trained consultant to assist him through the process of becoming an MVP community.
Town officials and consultants from Fuss & O’Neill are seen discussing the M.V.P. Program. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)
In early September, a core team consistng of six members from different town departments: Randy Brown (DPW Director), Russ Anderson (Fire Chief), Robert Landis (Police Lieutenant), Art Lawler (Building Inspector), and Charlie Dunlap (Director of Emergency Management Services), was assembled in order to help move the MVP program forward.
Southwick only has until June of 2019 to become an MVP community and once that’s accomplished the town will have the opportunity to apply for more grants in the future.
This past May, Brown informed the Westfield News that the town was in the process of joining the MVP program and applying for the grant.
Recently, a one-day workshop was held with various stakeholders in town and the three main topics centered on the rising temperatures, changes in precipitation, and the sea level rise, which isn’t an issue in Southwick.
Busa mentioned the annual days of maximum temperatures over 90 degrees could increase over the years. The consultant also said that she’s seeing a pattern of rain coming in spurts, where a heavy rainstorm will happen then followed by days of no rain.
The potential concern with climate change also stretches to threats to human health. Due to the anticipation of temperatures over 90 degrees, heat stroke to young children or teenagers, and the elderly could be a concern.
However, Busa did say that the Northeast region is in good shape, adapting to climate change and preparing for the worse-cased scenarios.
“We’re one of the parts of the country that is taking this problem really seriously,” said Busa.
After Busa was finished with her presentation, Brown spoke about what he would like to see addressed with the MVP Program.
“My concern is our culverts and bridges,” said Brown.
The DPW Director added that there are several aging and undersized culverts, noting Industrial Drive and Kline Road as streets that have culvert issues.
Brown also noted that communications is a concern as there a number of communication dead spots in town. Pest and disease control is a problem, causing a high frequency in ticks and mosquitos.
Besides laying out the concerns, Brown wanted to go over some of the strengths in Southwick that revolves around climate change. A main strength is the 1,000 acres of preserved farmland and open space. There is also a full fleet of four-wheel drive emergency vehicles and also a storm-ready community that has a comprehensive emergency management plan.
“These are all positives that we can build upon as we look toward the next couple of steps,” said Brown.
According to Busa, there is an opportunity for a community like Southwick to get anywhere from $10,000 to $400,000 in funding. The funding is expected to come out in the next few weeks.
The Select Board then said that culverts and dredging part of Congamond Lake would be the projects they would like to pursue as part of the Program.
Town of Southwick Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart acknowledged that just the permitting and design of dredging Congamond Lake is estimated to cost around $125,000.
“Maybe that would be a good project to look at for this,” said Select Board Clerk Doug Moglin.
The Select Board then recommended to Brown that he put a plan together for the culvert project, while DPW Engineer Dick Grannells would look at the dredging project on Congamond Lake.
