Town of Marion Receives Over $240,000 in State Grants
Interim Town Administrator Judith Mooney is pleased to announce that the Town of Marion has received two state grants: a Municipal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Improvement Grant and a Green Communities Grant, totaling over $240,000.
"We are grateful to receive these grant awards, which will be used to make important accessibility and energy efficiency improvements in public areas and town facilities," said Interim Town Administrator Mooney. "The enhancements supported by this funding will benefit Marion's current and future residents and visitors, and we are appreciative to the Massachusetts Office on Disability and the Department of Energy Resources for their support."
Municipal Americans with Disabilities Act Improvement Grant Program
The town has been awarded $49,060 through the Municipal Americans with Disabilities Act Improvement Grant Program, administered by the Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD). The funds will be used to install accessible walkways from the Silvershell Beach parking lot to the bathhouse and playground.
The MOD recognizes that architectural and programmatic barriers to facilities and services exist throughout many municipal buildings in Massachusetts. This grant program supports capital improvements specifically dedicated to improving programmatic access and/or removing barriers encountered by persons with disabilities in facilities throughout the Commonwealth.
Green Communities Grant
The Town of Marion has also been awarded $194,065 through the state's Green Communities Grant program. The funds will be used to fund energy conservation measures, weatherization improvements, air source heat pumps and administrative assistance in Marion municipal facilities, including Fire Stations 1 and 2 and the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center.
The Town of Marion was one of 50 municipalities to be awarded a portion of $6,180,510 in Green Communities competitive grants earlier this month to fund energy efficiency and clean energy projects.
Under the Green Communities Act, cities and towns must meet five criteria to be designated as a Green Community and receive funding. The grants provide financial support for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that further the designated communities’ clean energy goals. Two-hundred ninety Massachusetts cities and towns, which account for 89% of the Commonwealth’s population, have currently earned the Green Communities designation. Since 2010, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources has awarded more than $166 million in Green Communities grants.
