This project is intended to provide the town of Becket with an ADA Self-evaluation and Transition Plan which will enable the town to identify barriers to accessibility in all municipal facilities, including buildings, streets and sidewalks, parks, and other municipally owned properties., and to plan for elimination of such barriers over the next 5 years.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) is currently managing a Housing Rehabilitation Program for the Town of Becket. The Program is being funded by a $772,800 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), written and submitted on behalf of the town by BRPC, and awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. The Program goal is to rehabilitate 20 homes, which may be located anywhere within the Town of Becket. 

BRPC Community Development Program Staff will assist the Town of Cheshire by conducting a municipal ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan during the Spring of 2023. This project is funded through a grant from the Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD) and will look at ADA accessibility at all municipal facilities through the lens of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Using the survey information gathered, BRPC, the Town of Cheshire, and its residents, will then participate in the development of a transition plan that will better position the Town to apply for a variety of implementation grants in the future.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is currently managing a Housing Rehabilitation Program for the Towns of Cheshire and New Marlborough. The Program is being funded by a $998,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), written and submitted on behalf of the towns by BRPC, and awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. The Program goal is to rehabilitate up to 20 homes in Cheshire and 4-6 homes in New Marlborough. The average cost per rehabilitation project is expected to be $30,000.

The FY20 Regional Dalton CDBG grant includes Sheffield, Stockbridge and Becket. The $1,298,304 grant will provide to provide housing rehabilitation services to at least 20 homeowners in the four towns, as well as municipal ADA planning in Dalton. This is a HUD funded grant program, with competitive grants awarded through the MA Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and will be used to assist low to moderate income homeowners correct code violations, weatherization, and other deferred maintenance in their homes. BRPC will assist the Town of Dalton with grant administration and will manage the housing rehabilitation program. Typical projects undertaken through the CDBG Housing Rehabilitation Program include roofs and window replacements, electrical and plumbing upgrades, heating systems and septic systems.

BRPC will assist the Town of Florida in implementing its MA WRAP grant by drafting the bid package and guiding the procurement process for paving various sections of town-owned roadway.

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) will perform a Housing Needs Assessment for the town of Great Barrington, updating the 2013 Great Barrington Sheffield Needs Assessment, with the focus on Great Barrington.

BRPC Community Development Program Staff will assist the Town of Lanesborough by conducting a municipal ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan during the Spring of 2023. This project is funded through a grant from the Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD) and will look at ADA accessibility at all municipal facilities through the lens of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Using the survey information gathered, BRPC, the Town of Lanesborough, its ADA Committee, and its residents, will then participate in the development of a transition plan that will better position the Town to apply for a variety of implementation grants in the future.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC), in partnership with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) and the Franklin Land Trust (FLT) is conducting a planning and public outreach process to explore interest in a new partnership with State and Federal agencies for 21 towns in northwestern Massachusetts. The partnership could lead to a new designation by the State and U.S. Forest Service which could provide state and federal funds and technical assistance to expand forestry activities on privately owned land and to support tourism-based businesses. This potential designation would focus on forest-based economic development like recreational tourism, forest management, and research on new forest related manufacturing technologies.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, working with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, will assist in the development and implementation of the Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership.

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) will serve as Housing Rehabilitation Program Manager, and provide Program Delivery, for the FY17 Monterey CDBG Grant. This program will rehabilitate up to 18 homes for low to moderate income homeowners.

  Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, the Town of Adams and their municipal partners are pleased to announce the FY19 Community Development Block Grant CDBG CV...

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) will assist the City of Pittsfield in compiling data, public input and drafting its U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) 5-year plan.

The Sheffield-Great Barrington Housing Rehabilitation Program has been designed to address one of the most pressing community development needs in the two communities, as established by their Community Development Strategies: the preservation of affordable housing through the rehabilitation of properties owned and occupied by low- and moderate-income people. This activity will undertake moderate levels of rehabilitation to existing substandard housing units to provide safe, decent, and sanitary housing that meet the CDBG program inspection requirements. And continues with a FY16 grant with Sheffield.

Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is currently administering a $1,265,368 FY19 CDBG Community Development Block Grant for the Town of Sheffield. The grant includes 3 activities, including a Housing Rehabilitation Program for the Towns of Sheffield, New Marlborough, and Otis, and 2 individual ABR design projects for Sheffield and New Marlborough. The grant application was written and submitted on behalf of the towns by BRPC Community & Economic Development staff and was awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. With a budget of $896,000, the housing rehabilitation program goal is to rehabilitate up to 20 homes across the three towns of Sheffield, New Marlborough, and Otis. Due to the age and presence of lead paint hazards in many of the homes in the 3 towns, the average cost per rehabilitation project is expected to be $40,000. The Sheffield Municipal Facilities ABR Design project will provide bid-ready specifications and designs eliminating architectural barriers to ADA access at the Sheffield Police Station, Library and Town Park. The New Marlborough Town Hall ABR Design project, with a separate designer selection process, will also provide designs and bid-ready specifications for a future construction project, in this case eliminating architectural barriers to handicap accessibility at the town hall. The New Marlborough Town Hall was built in 1908.

The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and Town of Lenox and their municipal partners are pleased to announce the FY19 Community Development Block Grant CDBG CV emergency grant assistance for microbusinesses in Lenox and neighboring southern Berkshire communities. 

This project is intended to provide the Town of Stockbridge with an ADA Self-evaluation and Transition Plan which will enable the town to identify barriers to accessibility in all municipal facilities, including buildings, streets and sidewalks, parks, and other municipally owned properties., and to plan for elimination of such barriers over the next 5 years.