As part of the Town of Montague’s participation in the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) 2.0 Planning Process, the Town has $50,000 to spend on a 12-month climate-resilience “seed” project. The funding is intended to jump-start or advance the updated community resilience priorities that were identified through the 2.0 Process over the past year.
Over the summer, the Montague MVP 2.0 Core Team—a project team composed of residents, liaisons from community organizations, and municipal employees—surveyed and interviewed residents to uncover the root causes of social vulnerability and sources of social resilience in Montague. From the extensive feedback received, the Core Team developed an updated list of resilience priorities for the Town of Montague. In the fall, the Core Team finalized resilience priorities based on public feedback gathered at an English-language community meeting at the Shea Theater, a Spanish-language community meeting at the HeartWing Center (formerly known as Montague Catholic Social Ministries), and surveys circulated at gathering places like the Senior Center and community meals site in town. Of 20 resilience priorities identified by the Core Team, three top priorities related to food access and home energy efficiency were selected as the focus for project development.
After careful consideration, the Core Team has identified three potential projects for funding. To ensure that the selected project best meets the needs of the community, the Town is inviting residents to provide their input by participating in a survey.
Project Concepts:
The Town of Montague values community input and encourages all residents to participate in shaping the future of local climate resilience efforts. Residents are encouraged to rank these projects based on their potential benefits to the community and provide feedback on what is necessary to maximize their benefit, particularly for those in the community most vulnerable to climate change. Residents with life circumstances that may experience increased overall vulnerability — such as older residents and youth, renters, unhoused residents, low-income residents, households that speak a language other than English at home, residents of color, residents with experience of substance abuse issues, LGBTQ residents, residents with a disability, caretakers and neurodivergent residents — are particularly encouraged to take the survey.
How to Participate:
To learn more about Montague’s MVP 2.0 Core Team, planning process, and resilience priorities, click HERE.
For questions/comments, please contact the Montague Planning Department at planner@montague-ma.gov.
Posted: to Planning Department on Mon, Feb 3, 2025
Updated: Fri, Feb 7, 2025