By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – The City Council approved at its June 18 meeting an inter-municipal agreement (IMA) that joins Marlborough with Framingham and Hudson in launching a “Mass in Motion” initiative. The three communities first established the IMA in 2009 when they applied for and received a Community Transformation Grant from the state.
According to Mayor Arthur Vigeant, in his written request to the council to approve the IMA, “The objective of this program is to promote wellness and to prevent overweight and obesity in Massachusetts [residents] – with a particular focus on the importance of healthy eating and physical activity.”
The award is $60,000 per year from the commonwealth of Massachusetts for five years with additional matching funds of $60,000 from the Metro West Health Foundation.? Vigeant said the regional program, “Metro West Moves,” has a goal of reducing chronic disease, obesity, diabetes, stroke and heart disease in residents by five percent over the next five years. The program also aims to change behavior through policy changes, public education, and identifying new opportunities for residents to be more active on the city's parks and roadways.
In other business, the council approved the mayor's request to move forward with the re-application process for funding the Memorial Beach project. The Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services notified the city earlier this year that the project was not selected for funding for fiscal year 2012. Only 17 applications out of the 50 submitted were awarded funding. The council approved spending $100,000 for the initial phase of bringing the beach up to date.
The local Recreation Department has provided swimming and boating lessons to youths through the summer months in past years. A proposal made by Conservation Officer Priscilla Ryder to dedicate the beach area for recreation purposes was approved by the council at its June 18 meeting. The 10-acre beach will receive extensive site work, the concession stand will be renovated, improvements will be made to the beach and upgrades will be made to the children's play area.