Overview:
Petersham has received a $100,000 grant from the Massachusetts Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program to improve emergency communications and planning. The grant will fund the Community Resilience through Emergency Communication Planning Project, which aims to hire an experienced emergency communications consultant to create a comprehensive emergency plan. The plan will include developing phone trees, an activation plan, a detailed list of emergency contacts, and a town-wide radio network to maintain communication during power outages or other emergencies.
PETERSHAM – The town has received its first grant through the Massachusetts Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, receiving $100,000 to improve emergency communications and planning.
The grant is part of a statewide initiative funded by the Healey-Driscoll administration, which announced $28.7 million in MVP grants this year to help 54 Massachusetts communities prepare for increasingly severe weather events, including floods, wildfires and heat waves.
According to an announcment from the governor’s office, “This year, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) made a targeted effort to recruit rural and small towns into the MVP Action Grant program, with $11.1 million going specifically to those areas.”
Since its inception in 2017, the MVP program has funded over 500 projects across the state. This year’s grants are part of the proposed $315 million Mass Ready Act, designed to prepare communities for extreme weather events.
“Communities across Massachusetts are already feeling the impacts of rising heat, flooding and other extreme weather. These grants give them the ability to prepare before disaster strikes – protecting homes, public spaces and essential services,” said Gov. Maura Healey in the announcement. “Preparation is the most affordable, effective way to protect people and avoid much higher costs down the road.”
Petersham’s grant will fund the Community Resilience through Emergency Communication Planning Project. One goal of this project is to hire an experienced emergency communications consultant to create a comprehensive emergency plan, EEA Communications Manager Aisha Revolus said. The plan will include developing phone trees, an activation plan, a detailed list of emergency contacts, and a town-wide radio network to maintain communication during power outages or other emergencies.
Revolus said the project also involves pilot testing and proof-of-concept programs for the town’s Code Red system, which sends alerts to residents through phone calls, texts, or emails during emergencies.
“The main outcomes of the project will include outlining clear objectives and strategies for delivering information in an emergency, determining roles and responsibilities and making recommendations for communications equipment,” she said.
Select Board Chair Deborah Poodry said the project grew out of last year’s MVP planning process, which identified gaps in the town’s emergency communications.
“The focus is really on police, fire and how residents stay in contact when the power is out,” Poodry said. “A lot of people don’t have landlines anymore, so the grant will allow us to look at alternative communication systems.”
She added that the goal is to create a robust system that reaches all residents, including those who may not have cell phones or social media access.
“We really hope that our emergency services will be effectively connected in times of crisis,” said Poodry. “That will help us preserve not only the community, but also the forest, environment, and watershed around it.”