Town Administrator Mallory Aronstein, together with Town Planner John Hansen, Jr. and Conservation Agent Colleen Brown, is pleased to announce that the Town of Swansea was awarded two state grants totaling $83,800 by the Baker-Polito Administration.
The Town of Swansea was awarded a $75,000 Community One Stop for Growth grant by the Urban Agenda Grant Program and an $8,800 Sustainable Materials Recovery Program grant by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. All grant funds were allocated by the Baker-Polito Administration.
“We are thankful for the Baker-Polito Administration’s continual focus on assisting municipalities with state funding awards for worthy endeavors such as these,” Town Administrator Aronstein said. “With these funds, Swansea will be able to complete important initiatives and programs, such as our Comprehensive Plan and solid waste disposal program, that will benefit our community for years to come.”
Community One Stop for Growth Grant
The Town of Swansea will use the funds from the Community One Stop for Growth grant to update the town’s Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan, which was last updated in 2003, will chart the course of the town for the next approximately 20 years. The Town of Swansea will work alongside the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) to develop the plan.
The plan, which will be used for the development of a vision statement for the future growth of the Town, will include goals and action items for the following elements: Facilities & Services, Transportation, Land Use, Housing, Economic Development, Natural & Cultural Resources, Open Space & Recreation and Sustainability. The Comprehensive Plan will also provide an opportunity for public engagement, which will lead to the development of public policy as it relates to these elements.
In addition to the state funding, at the Annual Town Meeting in June a $55,000 town match was approved by community members to supplement the funding needed for the Comprehensive Plan. The town also allocated $20,000 in funding that was approved at a previous Town Meeting to fund the Open Space and Recreation portion of the town’s Comprehensive Plan.
Swansea’s Community One Stop for Growth grant was part of the latest round of Urban Agenda Grant Program awards, which total $2.5 million in support of 30 projects in 26 communities.
The Urban Agenda Grant Program is designed to support community development that is grounded in collaboration and focused on economic opportunities with local significance. Both MassWorks and the Urban Agenda Grant Program are included in the Community One Stop for Growth platform, a single application portal and collaborative review process of grant programs launched in January 2021 that make targeted investments based on a development continuum.
Sustainable Materials Recovery Program Grant
With their $8,800 Sustainable Materials Recovery Program Grant award, the Town of Swansea will fund solid waste disposal items including disposal bins, tags and hazardous waste day implementation.
The Sustainable Materials Recovery Program was created by the Green Communities Act of 2008 and has provided more than $46 million to recycling programs since 2010. Funds from the Sustainable Materials Recovery Program Grant are allocated to municipalities to help them maximize recycling, composting and waste reduction programs.
Sustainable Materials Recovery Program Grant awards were announced on Nov. 17 in recognition of America Recycles Day.
###
