Photo/Melanie Petrucci
SHREWSBURY – Shrewsbury will be creating a climate action plan, thanks to a $100,000 grant.
Awarded by the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, which is administered by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), these grants support cities and towns in identifying climate hazards, developing strategies to improve resilience, and implementing priority actions to adapt to climate change.
The Planning and Economic Development Department and the Department of Public Works applied for the grant.
The goal is to create a plan that serves as a roadmap for how Shrewsbury will take action to progress toward the town’s climate goals for the next five years. The plan would be organized into five specific focus areas to address climate change, the built environment, energy, transportation, natural resources and preparedness.
Shrewsbury’s climate action plan is one of 73 projects to have received action grant funding in the latest round of applications.
Building on Shrewsbury’s climate resilience planning process completed in 2018, these funds will allow Shrewsbury to create the climate plan. Shrewsbury identified these projects as urgent and necessary in its efforts to address ongoing climate change impacts.
This comes after Town Meeting declared a climate emergency during the May 2021 meeting. This spring, Town Meeting voted to transfer $140,000 from free cash to fund a climate action and resiliency plan.
Leading up to spring Town Meeting, Town Manager Kevin Mizikar said that the town was seeking funds through the MVP program.
“So, we may not have to use all of Shrewsbury’s dollars,” Mizikar said. “We’ll leverage those state grants where possible because a plan like this is eligible for reimbursement and funding through the MVP program.”
The MVP program has awarded $100 million in funding and technical support to communities across the state.
Residents who are interested in getting involved can join by reaching out to [email protected].
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