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April 2024
The Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District is here to provide updates about upcoming events, ongoing projects, grant opportunities, and technical assistance opportunities throughout the year.
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Freetown is updating its Master Plan! SRPEDD and the Town of Freetown have been working to inform the public about the planning process and ways people of all ages can get involved. Staff has hosted public workshops, attended local events and presented to the COA.
The project team recently joined 8th-grade civics students from Freetown-Lakeville Middle School to talk about local government and introduce planning concepts. Students were then given a map and tasked with creating their own plan using building blocks. SPREDD hopes to continue educating the public on planning terms and processes through interactive and meaningful activities for all projects!
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Comprehensive Staff Planning Activity 'Dry Run' | |
Excerpts from 8th-Grade Civics Presentation | |
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SRPEDD is updating the Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Pedestrian Plan this year. The plan details the state of walking facilities in the region, including sidewalks, crossings, trails, and shared-use paths. It documents current pedestrian needs and creates a collective vision with specific recommendations and action steps for achieving more walkable neighborhoods across Southeastern MA.
We would like to hear from residents across all our communities about your walking activity, challenges, and which walkability improvements and locations are most important to you. Public feedback will be incorporated in the plan to help guide SRPEDD staff, municipal officials, and state decision-makers in planning, programming, and funding decisions that address the diverse needs of local roadway users.
Share our survey with your networks to help develop a holistic strategy for improving walkability and supporting improved safety, public health, local economies, regional connectivity, and reduced reliance on private vehicles.
For more information about the Regional Pedestrian Plan. visit the project webpage.
Click image to download flyer
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Canton Fire Paramedics are gearing up to formally launch a new Field Transfusion Paramedic Program - the first of its kind in Massachusetts. According to Canton Fire News, "[t]he program will significantly advance the treatment of trauma patients by allowing trained firefighters to transfuse Low Titer O Whole Blood (LTOWB) to trauma patients at the scene of an emergency or during transport to the hospital. In cases of trauma, it is critically important that patients receive definitive, comprehensive care for the greatest likelihood of survival. Receiving whole blood before arriving at a Trauma Center reduces the time it takes a patient to receive potentially lifesaving emergency resuscitation, which has been associated with a greater likelihood of survival and a greater chance of receiving definitive care,". | |
Click to read full article on Canton Fire News | |
This complex project was funded by the Southeastern Regional Homeland Security Advisory Council (SRAC). SRPEDD's Homeland Security Department worked in close coordination with Canton Fire and Boston Medical Center to procure equipment and training. SRPEDD looks forward to this program's success, and to being able to roll out similar programs throughout the Southeast region. | |
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Accessibility and Mobility in a Digital and Physical World – Webinar Recording
This Safe Routes to School webinar provides actionable, detailed guidance on best practices for digital, language, and physical accessibility.
Language Access Guide for Municipalities
MAPC’s Language Access Guide is a comprehensive collection of tools, ideas, and resources for designing public processes, services, and communications that utilize plain language, include multiple languages, are responsive to disability impairments, honor and celebrate diverse cultures, and allow for meaningful participation of all individuals despite the languages they use.
Beyond Mobility: The Massachusetts 2050 Transportation Plan
This Plan is a blueprint for guiding transportation decision-making and investments in Massachusetts in a way that advances MassDOT’s goals and maximizes the equity and resiliency of the transportation system. The full plan and executive summary are now out for public comment and available for review on the plan website. The 30-day public comment period will end on May 5th, 2024.
MMA Municipal Guide
2024 contact book of all federal, state, and local agencies and governments.
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Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, Fire Prevention and Safety Grants
Application Deadline: April 12, 2024
The purpose of the AFG Program is to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters concerning fire and fire-related hazards. The Grants Programs Directorate administers the Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grants as part of the AFG Program. FP&S offers grants to support activities in two categories: (1) activities designed to reach high-risk target groups and mitigate incidences of death and injuries caused by fire and fire-related hazards ("Fire Prevention and Safety Activity") and (2) research and development activities aimed at improving firefighter safety ("Firefighter Safety Research and Development Activity").
Contact Lizeth Gonzalez at lgonzalez@srpedd.org for more information.
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MBI Residential Retrofit Program
Request for Information Deadline: April 17, 2024
The Department of Energy is providing grants of $50,000 - $500,000 with a 50% match The Residential Retrofit Program is to deploy state of the art broadband infrastructure at approximately 22,000 Public & Affordable Housing properties across Massachusetts. MBI intends to increase low-income residents’ opportunity to access high-quality, reliable, and affordable broadband service in their homes by addressing deficient wiring and infrastructure through grants for the deployment of fiberoptic cabling to the unit to qualified Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) who will install, own, and maintain equipment.
Contact the Maria Jones at mjones@srpedd.org for more information.
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Carbon Utilization Procurement Grants
Application Deadline: April 30, 2024
The Department of Energy is providing grants of $50,000 - $500,000 with a 50% match to help states, local governments, and public utilities purchase and use products developed through the conversion of captured carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions. The goal is to speed up adoption of advanced carbon management technologies, creating a market for environmentally sustainable alternatives in fuels, chemicals, and building products sourced from captured emissions from industrial and power generation facilities.
Contact the Environmental Department at enviro@srpedd.org for more information.
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Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program
Application Deadline: May 16, 2024
Safe Streets and Roads for All provides funding to projects and initiatives designed to prevent roadway deaths and injuries. The funding applies to planning, infrastructural, behavioral, and operational initiatives that prevent death and injuries on roadways for people including drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and users of other types of transit.
Contact the Transportation Department at aduarte@srpedd.org for more information.
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Section 604(b) Water Quality Management Planning and Section 319 Nonpoint Source Competitive Grants
Application Deadline: May 24, 2024
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s (MDEP) Watershed Planning Program provides funding for water quality assessment and management planning (604(b) Grants) and implementation (319 Grants) projects that address the prevention, control, and abatement of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution. Eligible entities include: regional planning agencies, councils of governments, conservation districts, counties, cities and towns, and other sub state public planning agencies and interstate agencies. Planning grants are roughly $50,000 while implementation grants range between $50,000 - $500,000. No local match is required.
Contact the Environmental Department at enviro@srpedd.org for more information.
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Community One Stop for Growth Program
Application Deadline: June 5, 2024
The Community One Stop for Growth is a single application portal and collaborative review process of community development grant programs that make targeted investments based on a Development Continuum. This process streamlines the experience for the applicant and better coordinates economic development programs and staff on engagement and grant making. It also reorients the State from a passive reviewer of funding requests to an active partner in economic development strategy, priorities, and investment.
Contact Grant King at gking@srpedd.org for more information.
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Municipal Americans with Disabilities Act Grant
Application Opens: May 1, 2024; Application Deadline: June 14, 2024
The Massachusetts Office of Disability (MOD) wants to work with communities to realize their ADA Title ll obligations and engage in an interactive process so that municipalities can better understand and achieve increased access and opportunities for persons with disabilities. These grants support capital improvements specifically dedicated to improving programmatic access and/or removing barriers encountered by persons with disabilities in applicant facilities throughout the Commonwealth.
Contact Lizeth Gonzalez at lgonzalez@srpedd.org for more information.
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Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant
Application Deadline: November 21, 2024
The EPA is providing 150 large community-driven grants of $10 -$20 million for projects that benefit disadvantaged communities by reducing pollution, increasing community climate resilience, and building community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges. An additional 20 grants of $1-$3 million each will be provided for activities that meaningfully engage disadvantaged communities in governmental processes to advance environmental and climate justice. Partnerships of community-based organizations, local governments, higher education institutions, and/or Federally-Recognized Tribes are eligible to apply.
Contact the Environmental Department at enviro@srpedd.org for more information.
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Aubrey Hoes
Comprehensive Planner
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Aubrey joined SRPEDD in early 2024 as a part-time Comprehensive Planner with a background in environmental science, data science, and policy. Following completion of his BA in Environmental Analysis and Policy from Boston University, Aubrey will be joining SRPEDD in a full-time position.
Aubrey has developed an in-depth understanding of energy systems, urban design, sustainable development, and policy development through his studies. Before joining SRPEDD, Aubrey was an intern with the National Parks Service LWCF Grant Compliance Division, where he worked with a team that ensured regulatory compliance for protected lands.
After moving from rural Maine to the Boston metropolitan area for school, Aubrey discovered the possibilities of urban design and policy reform. He is driven by his passion for helping people – and Aubrey believes that the best way to achieve this is at a structural level.
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Audrey Matthews
Senior Climate Planner
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Audrey joined the SRPEDD environmental team in March 2024. She is from Sarasota, Florida, a graduate of the University of Florida (Go Gators!) with a BS in Sustainability, and a graduate of the University of Texas-Austin (Hook 'em horns!) with MS Sustainable Design and MS Community & Regional Planning. As a transplant Floridian, her passion lives in coastal resilience, vulnerability and mitigation studies, environmental justice, and mapping of all kinds.
Her expertise includes working with ESRI's ArcGIS, data analysis, community engagement, sustainable building practices, and regional/community policy. Audrey is a LEED Green Associate and an active member of the American Planning Association. She has worked at state-wide, rural/local, and educational institutions within Texas and Florida, with backgrounds in both public and non-profit sectors of grant management, energy auditing, LEED accreditations, comprehensive planning, redevelopment districts, nature-based design and suitability analysis. She will continue to do work in Green Communities, hazard mitigation, resiliency plans, and much more for SRPEDD.
While relocating to a much, much chillier Providence, Rhode Island for this position, she also enjoys rowing, hiking, collecting maps, and sewing.
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Fall River Open Space and Recreation Plan
SRPEDD is working with the City of Fall River to support the realization of high-quality open space and recreation facilities.
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Freetown Community Master Plan
Over the next two years, Freetown will create a new Master Plan, also called a Comprehensive Plan, that will help guide the town moving forward. We are currently seeking responses to the comprehensive survey and opportunities to speak at community events.
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Slade's Ferry Neighborhood Plan
The Town of Somerset, with assistance from SPREDD, will create a renewed strategy that will help guide development in the Slade's Ferry Neighborhood. Check out information from our latest open house!
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Regional Safety Action Plan
SRPEDD is working with Toole Design, VHB consultants, and a Taskforce representing diverse community perspectives to develop a Regional Safety Action Plan that identifies root causes of crashes in the region, areas of highest risk, broad strategies to improve road safety outcomes for all modes –including policies and educational efforts— and a prioritized list of projects that will be eligible for construction funding through USDOT SS4A implementation grants.
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Rochester Master Plan
Rochester is updating its Master Plan that will help guide the town moving forward. The project team recently hosted the first Advanced Topics Workshop covering Land Use, Housing, Economic Development, and Transportation.
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Route 28 Corridor Study
SRPEDD is evaluating opportunities for transportation and land use improvements from Cushman Street in Middleborough, through Rochester, to Charlotte Furnace Road in Wareham. Come talk to our team about improvements you'd like to see at our community workshops in March!
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Freetown Municipal Digital Equity Plan
SRPEDD has kicked off the agency's first Digital Equity Plan with the Town of Freetown to address service gaps to make internet affordable, accessible and safe for all.
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Middleborough Master Plan
SRPEDD has kicked off the Middleborough Master Plan! Over the next two years, we'll work with Town staff and the public to update the 2002 Master Plan.
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We are looking for self-motivated, reliable team players committed to growing and excelling in a hybrid collaborative environment.
Please click here to view all of SRPEDD's employment opportunities.
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88 Broadway
Taunton, MA 02780
Phone: 508-824-1367
Fax: 508-823-1803
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