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Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness
Where we are today...
The FY24 MVP Action Grant Round is open! Grant applications are due May 4th, 2023.
In February, Town planning staff submitted an Expression of Interest to the MVP Program for technical assistance with incorporating climate resilience best practices into land use policies, regulations and bylaws. Among other benefits, this will help the Town lead by example and be an important team building effort among land use staff and within the community. The Town received favorable feedback on the Expression of Interest from our MVP regional coordinator. Town planning staff - in collaboration with conservation, health, sustainability, and public safety staff - are preparing to submit a full grant application for the project for this funding round. One critical component of the grant application will be demonstrating local support for the project - from boards, committees, and other stakeholders. As a start, on April 10, 2023, the Planning Board voted unanimously to support the grant application.
Grant awards will be announced in late summer. If we are awarded, staff will work with the MVP Core Team, volunteers, and other stakeholders to initiate the process, find a subject matter consultant, and manage the project from start to finish.
If you would like to be involved, please email Julie Mercier, Town Planner: jmercier@carlislema.gov
A little background...
In 2017, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts inaugurated the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program to assist municipalities in planning for and implementing strategies to adapt to predicted changes in our warming climate. The predicted changes include both increased flooding from large rain events and a greater likelihood of drought, increased extreme heat days and heat waves, and increased flooding from sea level rise.
The Town of Carlisle, in continuing its proactive efforts to address climate threats, received a state MVP Planning Grant to conduct a Community Resilience Building (CRB) Workshop. The Town also needed to update its FEMA Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was completed in 2012, so this was also included in its MVP Planning Grant. Upon completion of the MVP program, Carlisle will be eligible to apply for MVP Action Grants state grants to address identified climate risks, as well as FEMA hazard mitigation grants to implement projects that reduce the community’s vulnerability to natural hazards. As a companion volume to this Carlisle MVP Report, a Carlisle Hazard Mitigation Plans 2021 Update has been completed and will be submitted to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and FEMA for review and approval.
The Town of Carlisle partnered with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to complete the MVP program and the Hazard Mitigation Plan. The Town designated an MVP/HMP Core Team, coordinated by Madeleine Blake, Co-Chair of the Carlisle Planning Board (see Core Team members listed in Section 8). The Core Team identified and recruited community stakeholders to participate in the CRB Workshop. Thirty-four people representing Carlisle Town staff, Town Boards and Commissions, community organizations, and regional partners participated in a virtual CRB workshop via Zoom on March 27, 2021 (see Workshop Participants, page 19). The Workshop’s central objectives were to: • Understand extreme weather and climate related hazards • Identify existing and future strengths and vulnerabilities • Develop and prioritize opportunities to take action to reduce risk and build resilience Materials provided for the CRB Workshop included local and regional data on changes in temperature, precipitation, and drought, as well as future projections to the end of the 21st century. Maps and infographics provided data and mapping specific to Carlisle’s infrastructure, demographics, and natural resources (see Appendix A). The Workshop participants considered Carlisle’s strengths and vulnerabilities, focusing on three categories: infrastructure, society, and the environment. Working in four small group and then together as a large group, the workshop participants identified, and prioritized actions designed to increase Carlisle’s resilience to future extreme weather events.