For Immediate Release

Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019

Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: jordan@jgpr.net

Town of Acton Awarded Grants to Pursue Planning and Energy Initiatives 

ACTON — Town Manager John Mangiaratti is pleased to announce that the Town of Acton was awarded two grants totaling $178,461 that will support planning and energy initiatives.

The first grant, in the amount of $139,461, was awarded to the Town of Acton and the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District through the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources Green Communities Program. This is the seventh Green Communities grant award Acton has received since the start of the grant program in 2010.

The grant will be split to fund two LED lighting retrofitting projects. Retrofitting at Acton Public Safety and Recreation facilities will use $54,965 of the grant funds and retrofitting at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School will use the remaining $84,496. The lighting changes are projected to save more than 117,000 kWh in electricity and more than $12,000 per year in cost savings.

The Green Communities program issued just under $15 million in grants to fund the clean energy projects of 91 different municipalities during this cycle.

The second grant, distributed by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA), is a Planning Assistance Grant which awards funding in support of municipal efforts to plan, zone and act to conserve and develop land consistent with state sustainable development principles. The grants help communities retain appropriate technical expertise and undertake the public process associated with creating plans and adopting land use regulations. This grant cycle has awarded over $1 million to fund 21 project across the state.

Acton, in partnership with the Town of Maynard, was awarded $39,000 which will be used for planning and technical assistance to study zoning for the Powder Mill Road corridor.

“The Planning Assistance Grant Program is part of an effort to encourage municipalities to implement land use regulations that are consistent with land conservation and development objectives including reduction of land, energy, and natural resources consumption, provision of sufficient and diverse housing, and mitigation of and preparation for climate change,” EOEEA Press Secretary Katie Gronendyke said.

“The appropriate usage of Town land and energy efficiency in our facilities are important initiatives that will benefit our community’s future. Grants like these allow our Town to continue to focus on sustainability,” Town Manager Mangiaratti said. “We’re excited to move forward with these innovative projects and I thank the Baker-Polito Administration for providing resources to help us do so.”

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