Common Ground E-Newsletter
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A Newsletter for Community Planning in the Berkshires
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Berkshire Municipal Officials Networking
Join us on March 26th from 5 to 7 pm
The Berkshire Selectmen's Association, Berkshire Municipal Managers, and BRPC invite you to an evening of networking with colleagues from neighboring communities throughout Berkshire County. This event is for any municipal officials (elected or appointed) who are interested in attending.
Register in advance on Eventbrite, or email lbrennan@berkshireplanning.org prior to March 20th to reserve tickets and request an invoice.
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40 under 40 Awards- Congratulations to BRPC's Nicholas Russo!
40 Under Forty celebrates talented people in the Berkshires, under the age of 40, who have a deep dedication to improving the quality of life for those living and working in our community. Nominees, who hail from throughout Berkshire County, are eligible for the award through their professional work and how it makes a difference, their personal commitment to their community, or other efforts to improve the quality of life for those living and working the Berkshires. Congrats Nicholas on being one of the awardees!
Berkshire Community College, together with partners 1Berkshire and Mill Town Foundation, will honor the winners of its annual 40 Under Forty Awards on Wednesday, March 18 at 5pm in the Robert Boland Theater, located on the main campus at 1350 West Street.
Learn more about 40 under 40 and purchasing tickets to the event.
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An Introduction to Inclusive & Equitable Community Engagement Webinar
Project for Public Spaces
This mini course is designed for practitioners currently working on or interested in leading community engagement as part of their projects in urban planning, transit planning, redevelopment, and more. Over two sessions, participants will be provided with the foundational theory, tools, and case studies to build an inclusive and equitable outreach and engagement strategy. Special attention will be given to topics such as building trust, accessibility, and human-centered design.
Sessions will run March 17th and March 19th 10am-noon via Zoom.
Register here for the webinar. Registration closes March 12th.
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Free Digital Skills Classes
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is pleased to offer free digital skills classes and tech one-on-one drop-ins in the towns below. Senior Planet classes from AARP are offered through the Senior Planet licensing program. Classes and tech drop-ins are funded by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute at the MassTech Collaborative under the Municipal Digital Equity Implementation Program. Funding was provided by Massachusetts ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Funds. For more information, contact BRPC AmeriCorps Member Jimmy Hall @ 413-442-1521 x33 or email digital@berkshireplanning.org.
Becket/Washington
Title: AI + Disinformation
Location: Becket Town Hall | 557 Main St, Becket, MA 01223
Date/Time: March 17th @ 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Title: AI + Disinformation
Location: Washington Town Hall | 8 Summit Hill Rd, Washington, MA 01223
Date/Time: March 19th @ 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Great Barrington
Title: Tech Drop-In
Location: Mason Public Library | 231 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230
Date/Time: Every Tuesday from 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
Title: AI + Disinformation
Location: Claire Teague Senior Center | 917 Main St, Great Barrington, MA 01230
Date/Time: March 23th @ 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Lee
Title: Smartphones at a Glance
Location: Lee Library | 100 Main St, Lee, MA 01238
Date/Time: March 11th @ 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Title: Digital Genealogy
Location: Lee Library | 100 Main St, Lee, MA 01238
Date/Time: March 18th @ 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Title: Intro to Social Media
Location: Lee Library | 100 Main St, Lee, MA 01238
Date/Time: March 25th @ 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
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2026 CPTC Annual Conference
2026 CPTC Annual Conference registration is open! The Conference is an all day in person event held at Holy Cross College in Worcester on Saturday, March 21, 2026. It is focused on Massachusetts municipal planning issues. Eighteen workshops are being offered, with many providing opportunities to earn AICP Certification Maintenance (CM) credits.
Continental breakfast and buffet lunch are included. Registration is required. The fee is $105. Full details and registration can be found here: https://masscptc.org/index.php/training/annual-conference/.
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Stream Smart Training
March 25, Berkshire Community College, 9am-4pm (PM site visits optional)
Stream Simulation Design (“Stream Sim”)
May 18-22, US Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Office, Hadley MA
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Pre-Register by March 12: email Amanda Kunzmann (Amanda.kunzmann@usda.gov) to request a pre-registration application.
- 4.5 day technical training on US Forest Service 'stream simulation' method for road-stream crossings, an ecosystem-based approach for designing and constructing resilient crossings that provide aquatic organism passage.
- Workshop is held by US Forest Service staff.
- Pre-registration and selection required. Space is limited.
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Attendance selections will be made and attendees notified by April 3.
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Municipal and Tribal Technical Assistance (MTTA) Grant Program
The MA Federal Funds & Infrastructure Office (FFIO) has opened the MTTA grant program to all Massachusetts local governments and federally recognized tribes, as well as regional organizations whose membership is exclusively composed of municipal governments, community development corporations, and other development authorities or agencies. This funding can be used to engage assistance from consultants, including BRPC, to pursue your community’s priorities.
This discretionary grant program will prioritize requests from rural communities, Gateway Cities, as well as localities with financial and capacity needs in similar undeserved communities.
Learn more on the FFIO landing page for MTTA.
Please reach out to BRPC to request assistance with your project scope or application. Email choss@berkshireplanning.org or lbrennan@berkshireplanning.org.
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Municipal Energy Technical Assistance (META) Grant | Department of Energy Resources
The Municipal Energy Technical Assistance (META) grant provides funding for municipalities, regional school districts, and water/wastewater districts to retain independent third parties for technical services, like the study, negotiation, development, and/or management of clean energy projects.
Learn more on COMMBuys.
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Creative Experiences | Mass Cultural Council
Grants to organizations (including schools) to fund festivals, projects, residencies, and other cultural activities in the arts, humanities, and sciences. Grants are $2,500 or $5,000.
Application Opens: March 3, 2026
Application Deadline: April 30, 2026
Learn more about Mass Cultural Council's Grant Opportunities.
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Environmental Justice Fund | Office of the Attorney General
The Fund will support projects selected that address environmental harms in disadvantaged communities across the Commonwealth and is intended to address the burdens people face every day—whether economic, environmental, or health-related.
Awards from the Fund can be used:
- For the restoration of any natural resource or the investigation, remediation or mitigation of any environmental pollution or harm on or at any real property located in a disadvantaged community
- For any project to benefit the community health or well-being, whether to address economic, environmental or other health needs of a disadvantaged community
- To contribute to an academic or government-funded research project related to environmental protection or conservation of natural resources in a disadvantaged community
Learn more on how to request funding for your organization.
| | | | Overwhelmed? Reach out to your BFF (Berkshire Funding Focus) for help navigating grant applications! Take a look at additional grant opportunities and resources on our website: www.berkshirefundingfocus.org. | |
Public Health Planning
Program Manager Jaymie Zapata
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Got microplastics on your mind?
What are microplastics? They are, quite simply, small pieces of plastic that have either been manufactured at a small size or degraded from larger plastic (like a littered plastic bottle). The plastics are so small they enter our air, water and food.
The Public Health Planning team has entered into the second year of partnership with the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) to implement a three-prong approach to reducing microplastics in the Berkshires: Public education, assisting food service providers with switching from plastics to compostable or reusable items, and creating a municipal toolkit for towns who want to implement plastic reduction bylaws.
Public Outreach: Look for us at your local library, farmers market or other gathering point. We have metal water bottles to give out, a fact sheet with 6 easy tips to reduce microplastics in your life, and visuals about how microplastics enter the food chain. If you’d like to see us at a town event, please reach out to our public health nurse, Sophie Carnes Jannen, at scarnesjannen@berkshireplanning.org.
Restaurants: We are offering both technical assistance and financial assistance to any food service establishment (including schools, summer camps and food trucks) who are interested in moving away from plastic serviceware or storage. Curious how many things in a restaurant are plastic? Check out our one page self-directed audit! We welcome outreach and referrals from anyone who owns a business or is partnered with a local business and wants to make the switch to any of their stock! Reach out to our food inspector, Jazu Stine, at jstine@berkshireplanning.org.
Municipal Bylaws: All across Massachusetts cities and towns have been enacting plastic bag bans, styrofoam packaging bans and more in order to reduce waste and microplastics in their environment. We are near to completing a toolkit for municipalities that lists example bylaws from across the state, template bylaws and explanations of the how and why of any given option. If you’re interested in talking through this process or receiving the toolkit when it's live, please reach out to the project manager, Jaymie Zapata, at jzapata@berkshireplanning.org.
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Public Health Services
Program Manager Lydia Shulman
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No Laughing Matter
Misused nitrous oxide, commonly known as “whippets” or “laughing gas”, has become a topic of discussion for many Boards of Health as of late. While commonly used in the food industry, this gas used to aerate creams and foams has leaked into a profitable industry in smoke and vape shops, as well as other adult retailers where it is sold and ultimately used recreationally. Flavored canisters of nitrous oxide are becoming increasingly more available for purchase, with disingenuous marketing they are for baking, especially when found at a smoke shop. This dangerous “laughing gas” or “whippets” have found their way onto the shelves and online retailers and will remain a topical issue until there is clear regulation at both the State and local level. The FDA has warned consumers that repeatedly inhaling nitrous oxide could lead to asphyxiation, blood clots, frostbite, numbness, paralysis and brain damage, among many other side effects.
Currently it is illegal to intentionally inhale nitrous oxide for the purpose of intoxication, according to Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 270, Section 18. However, there is no state-wide law that currently bans the sale of nitrous oxide in smoke shops, which has driven communities to address this loophole on a local level. As of June 2025, the City of Northampton passed a regulation banning the sale of nitrous oxide in all retail establishments, except for licensed kitchen and medical supply stores. Many other municipalities are moving to draft similar regulations in the interim. It’s important for communities to understand that Boards of Health have the authority to enact bans of this nature, provided proper procedures and public hearings are followed.
On the legislative front, a new bill was introduced in December 2025 and referred to the committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure in January of 2026 with a hearing to be scheduled. This bill would restrict the retail sale of nitrous oxide products, while still allowing for legitimate culinary, medical, dental and industrial uses. In other words, “authorized sellers” would need to abide by new conditions to sell nitrous oxide products. As awareness of this issue continues to grow, it will be important to monitor the bill’s progression and to reiterate the critical role Boards of Health can play in protecting the health and safety of their communities.
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Transportation Planning
Program Manager Clete Kus
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Downtown Parking Challenges
Berkshire County Towns frequently experience parking and circulation issues in their downtown business districts. The Town of Lenox recently approved a two-year test of new downtown traffic and parking patterns to address chronic persistent parking shortages – especially during the busy summer season around the Tanglewood festival. Data collected from a parking study conducted last summer showed that municipal lots are often underutilized while on‑street spaces are heavily used. These parking management challenges are less about parking availability and more about user demand. In response, a pilot program will convert the busy Church Street to one-way travel, allowing for an additional 26 additional on‑street parking spaces on both sides in total. Officials emphasize flexibility, noting that the layout can be adjusted seasonally or ended outright if it proves ineffective.
Addressing traffic congestion and parking shortages are challenges for every community. Lenox’s pilot program will ideally either solve the issues confronting the village center or provide useful feedback for a final solution. If your community is considering options for more effective parking management, local officials should consider reaching out to BRPC’s transportation planning services. For more information or to ask about our program offerings, please contact Clete Kus, Transportation Program Manager ckus@berkshireplanning.org.
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Community Development & Housing
Program Manager CJ Hoss
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How do you finance an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)?
The Berkshire Eagle outlined a variety of options available for homeowners to construct an ADU in Berkshire County. BRPC’s Home Modification Loan Program (HMLP) was highlighted in the article and is designed to help fund ADU construction for those living with disabilities or aging in place. If you or someone you know is interested in constructing an ADU through HMLP or are curious about the eligibility requirements, please email us at HMLP@berkshireplanning.org.
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Berkshire County Housing Rehabilitation Program Waitlist Open!
BRPC operates multiple CDBG-funded Housing Rehabilitation Programs around Berkshire County. Housing Rehabilitation Programs help fund projects such as septic repairs, window replacement, lead paint abatement, roof repairs, and much more for low to moderate income households. If you are interested in being added to the Waitlist for a future Housing Rehabilitation Program, please fill out this form. If you believe individuals in your community could benefit from the Housing Rehabilitation Program, please share the Waitlist Form or contact Brett Roberts at broberts@berkshireplanning.org.
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Data & Information Services
Program Manager Mark Maloy
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Gross Domestic Product
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently released 2024 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers by county. The GDP for Berkshire County remained steady with a chain-type quantity index of 102.56. This number indicates that since 2017, when the chain-type quantity index was reset to 100, Berkshire County has seen minimal growth in its GDP (2.56%). In fact, Berkshire County has seen minimal growth (6%) since 2008. Both the state and the nation have seen significant growth, around 19% since 2017. Berkshire County also shows the lowest GDP growth among our comparable counties, with Saratoga County, New York, having the next-lowest growth rate at 11%.
For more information, take a look at Berkshire Benchmarks.
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Economic Development Planning
Program Manager Laura Brennan
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Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) - NEW Priority Projects
The CEDS Committee is accepting submissions of NEW Priority Projects for potential inclusion in the 2026 Annual Report. Submissions are due by March 13, 2026. What's a CEDS Priority Project? Work that will have a significant positive impact on the region (construction, programmatic, or both) and help us pursue one or more of our regional goals.
Please use this form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CEDSfy26
Please contact Laura Brennan with any questions at lbrennan@berkshireplanning.org.
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ArtWeek Berkshires 2026
The annual county-wide, crowd-sourced celebration of all things creative is back from May 15th through the 25th.
Attendees can enjoy 100+ hands-on or behind-the-scenes events and open studios across the region, including gallery shows and live performances, poetry readings, and painting demos.
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Environmental & Energy Planning
Program Manager Melissa Provencher
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Spring Flood Risk Starts Now
National Flood Safety Awareness Week occurs in the second week of March and arrives at a timely moment. This winter delivered sustained freezing cold and snow accumulation that many of our Western Mass communities have not seen in years. However, deep snowpack followed by a rapid warm up can create concentrated runoff, ice blockages, and localized flooding. Climate change is not only about hotter summers. It is also about sharper swings between extremes. When temperatures shift quickly, frozen ground limits infiltration and stormwater systems are tested all at once.
For most, this period is a practical reminder. Flood risk does not begin with a named storm. It often starts with incremental conditions that compound. Snowmelt, blocked culverts, undersized crossings and constrained floodplains all play a role. Spring is a window to review known trouble spots and inspect infrastructure because after all “A failure to plan is a plan to fail.”
Communities looking to move from awareness to action have tools available. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Eco One Stop portal provides access to climate and environmental resilience grants that support culvert upgrades, floodplain restoration and nature based solutions. Mass.gov also maintains guidance on flood preparedness, mitigation planning and municipal responsibilities under the National Flood Insurance Program.
Floodplain management training is currently available through June and offers a direct opportunity to strengthen local compliance with NFIP requirements and update floodplain bylaws. This training supports staff who manage permitting, zoning and conservation review and helps ensure that local regulations align with evolving flood risk.
Use this time a a checkpoint. After a winter like this one, it is worth asking whether our policies, infrastructure and funding strategies are positioned for the thaw.
BRPC works directly with communities on hazard mitigation planning, floodplain bylaw updates, grant strategy and project development. If your community would like to review spring risk conditions, discuss funding opportunities, or assess next steps, contact Melissa Provencher, Energy and Environmental Program manager, mprovencher@berkshireplanning.org.
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