FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12/22/23
For further information, contact:
Susan Scully Petroni
City of Framingham Public Information Officer
spetroni@framinghamma.gov
508-782-8629
City of Framingham Receives 2 MVP Grants From Healey-Driscoll Administration
FRAMINGHAM – The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced $28.5 million in Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP)grants earlier this year, including a $1.97 million grant to the City of Framingham.
Seventy-nine projects by 56 different individual municipalities, 16 regional groups, two water districts, and one Tribe were awarded a MVP Action Grant.
Projects focused on proactive strategies to address climate change impacts and may include actions to invest in and protect environmental justice communities and improve public health, nature-based solutions to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat and flooding, and climate resilience-focused regulatory updates
The City of Framingham received a $1,987,986 grant for a flood mitigation project for the Walnut Street Neighborhood.
The Walnut Street Neighborhood Flood Mitigation construction project will restore hydraulic connectivity, enhance flood mitigation capacity and increase resiliency in response to climate change. This will be accomplished through removal of the earthen berm and- through restoration of the surrounding wetlands, stream channels and streambank in the wetlands complex between Walnut Street and Stonybrook Road, according to the grant.
“The berm will be replaced with an elevated boardwalk providing ADA accessible, safe, and walkable access through an environmental justice neighborhood to connect community amenities. The boardwalk design incorporates public educational signage and lookout areas that will educate users of the path about climate change impacts, resiliency, and the benefits of nature-based solutions,” according to the grant.
In addition to the flood mitigation benefits, the project will create more resilient, enhanced neighborhood connections. The removal of the existing “school path” berm and replacement with a boardwalk system will safely reconnect the City’s Bowditch Athletic and Cultural Complex and the Callahan Senior Center on the west side of the path (and wetlands complex) with the residential neighborhood on the east side of the path which includes the Fuller Middle School, McCarthy Elementary School, and Framingham Housing Authority residences, according to the grant.
According to the grant, bidding is planned to take place in Fiscal Year 2024 to allow construction to begin in early Fiscal Year 2025.
The City of Framingham also received a $215,000 MVP grant in conjunction with the Town of Ashland and Sherborn to protect open space near the Guild Road neighborhood in South Framingham.
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