Ten Franklin County towns will update their hazard mitigation plans, thanks to $320,000 in grants from the Massachusetts Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office.
In July, Gov. Maura Healey’s office announced that the towns of Conway, Whately, Deerfield, Shelburne, Rowe, New Salem and Gill would each be receiving $30,000 to update their hazard mitigation plans. Additionally, Colrain will be receiving $32,000, Leverett will get $38,000 and Bernardston was awarded $40,000.
To be eligible for federal mitigation funds, municipalities are required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to have plans outlining potential hazards in their communities, such as natural disasters, and ways they can be prevented and mitigated.
“They have to be updated every few years and they’re very important because they keep the town current on planning for hazards,” Deerfield Assistant Town Administrator Greg Snedeker said. “It represents what it claims to be, and tends to be more focused on weather and infrastructure.”
In a statement, Healey said that not only do updated hazard mitigation plans help municipalities prepare for emergencies, they make municipalities be more competitive for grant funding that could mitigate those hazards.
“Our administration has made it a priority to pursue every federal dollar available, and these grants will enable more communities to do so,” Healey said.
Whately’s plan was last updated in 2020, and expired in November 2025. In a statement, Whately Town Administrator Peter Kane said the funding will make it possible for the town to update the plan in a more timely manner.
“It’s more important than ever for municipalities to prepare for natural disasters to keep residents safe and support long-term community resilience,” Kane said. “Without this grant funding, the town of Whately would have struggled to update its Hazard Mitigation Plan, leaving residents more vulnerable to future disasters. We are grateful for the commonwealth’s support of this project and the opportunity it provides to safeguard our community.”
Conway, Gill and Deerfield also had last updated their plans in 2020, and Shelburne followed shortly after in 2021. Rowe had last updated its version in 2016, but completed a similar Municipal Vulnerability Plan in 2021.
Shelburne Emergency Management Director Thomas Williams said updating plans regularly is important because the conditions, needs, skills and assets of a town and its residents change over time.
“This award will allow a new group of residents to assemble to review and update the town’s mitigation plan developed five years ago with such expertise that it will be a challenge to improve upon,” Williams said. “This update will develop not only an updated plan, but also advance the expertise of emergency management demands in our residents.”
Gill Town Administrator Ray Purington said that once the contract award has been received and signed, the town will proceed with procuring a consultant to assist with updating the plan. Gill’s last plan was developed with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments.
Once a consultant has been selected, the town will proceed with gathering local officials. For example, the last hazard mitigation planning committee brought together representatives from the Police, Fire and Highway departments, the Gill-Montague Regional School District, Northfield Mount Hermon School, the Franklin County Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority and Purington as town administrator.
“It’ll be a series of meetings with town officials in hazard areas and there will likely be a few public comment sessions,” Purington said.
The committee and planning consultant will examine Gill’s 2020 plan, and consider what potential hazards the town could face and what preparations can be made to improve mitigation and response efforts.
As weather patterns “ebb and flow” more due to climate change, Purington said the town can likely expect frequent storms and flooding scenarios.
“About three years ago, heavy rain wiped out a section of Route 2 by the bridge,” he said, referring to the July 2023 landslide that closed a section of the road near the Turners Falls-Gill Bridge. “That kind of hazard will be showing up more frequently than in the past.”
Snedeker said many towns were impacted by the 2023 rainstorms, during which they learned a lot about hazard planning, emergency response, and the importance of coordinating and collaborating with local, state and federal partners to ensure towns and their residents are prepared for emergencies.
To update Deerfield’s plan, Snedeker said the community will look at what hazards it has faced and what it has learned, as well as any new relevant data, such as analysis of local watersheds.
Snedeker said that since the last plan was approved, the town has done work to inform residents about potential hazards and how they can be mitigated — for example, how to dispose of leaves and brush on their property so it does not fall into the river and cause blockages that could lead to flooding. Deerfield has also looked at infrastructure such as culverts to ensure they can handle large weather events.
In a statement, Leverett Town Administrator Marjorie McGinnis said the funding makes it possible for small towns to update their plans and prepare for hazards.
“This grant will allow our town to update our All Hazards Mitigation Plan, something we have had in place for many years but have had to let expire in December 2025 due to a change in funding avenues,” McGinnis said. “Leverett is a town of less than 2,000 residents, with an emergency planning budget of $4,130 total, so without grants we could not have plans such as this in place. We appreciate the award very much.”
Previously, numerous towns throughout Franklin County relied on federal funding awarded to the Franklin Regional Council of Governments to support their planning efforts; however, funding cuts in 2025 required FRCOG to scale back these services, leaving municipalities seeking other funding streams to update their plans.
“As a small rural community, we lack the means and resources to maintain and update our Local Hazard Mitigation Plan,” New Salem Town Coordinator Emily Hill said in statement. “This grant will allow us to identify risks, strengthen our resilience, and better protect our residents, infrastructure and natural resources.”
A 2021 report from Stanford University found that weather patterns are becoming more unpredictable, which could result in people having “less time to prepare and mobilize for big storms.” Because of changes in climate and weather patterns, local officials say planning ahead is essential.
“It’s important for all the towns in western Massachusetts and across the state,” Snedeker said. “We all have to be a little more proactive.”
