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BEAT's Tag Sale Fundraiser - 8/28 BEAT will hold our Tag Sale Fundraiser / Silent Auction / and Bake Sale on Saturday, August 28 at the United Methodist Church, 6 Holmes Road, in Lenox from 9 am to 4 pm. Think of this as a great way to recycle (reuse) items and raise money for a good cause at the same time! (google map to the location) Kids bikes, scooters, Nordic Trac, snow shoes, glassware, household items, books, stuffed animals, and more. Silent Auction includes a weekend get-away to Savoy Mountain Cottage! If you have items to donate, please email team@thebeatnews.org or call 413-230-7321. |
GRANT OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND SCHOOLS Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire supports culture, humanities and interpretive sciences projects. The Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire (CCNB) invites local artists, individuals, and community organizations to apply for money through the Massachusetts Cultural Council for upcoming 2011 projects. The CCNB will accept grant applications postmarked by Friday, October 15, 2010. The CCNB grants funds received through the Massachusetts Cultural Council to support local artists, community organizations and school projects that are focused on the arts, humanities and interpretive sciences. There is also an “Individual Artist” grant offered. Details on that are available on the CCNB website: culturalcouncil.wordpress.com. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend one of two grant-writing workshops on Tuesday, September 14, or Thursday, September 30, both 6-7:30 pm, at the North Adams Public Library. Workshops are free and open to the public. Grants will be awarded after considering the project’s benefit to the community, the qualifications of the individuals and the organization involved, the planning process, and the population segments served. Priority is given to artists and organizations living within the 11 municipalities represented by the CCNB. The CCNB gives preference to proposals that reach under served populations, collaborative projects between cultural groups and community organizations, proposals involving local artists or projects, especially those concerning arts, humanities or interpretive sciences, which are underrepresented in our communities. Previously funded projects include storytelling at the Clarksburg Town Library, cultural diversity murals at Drury High School; Minerva Stage’s Student Independent Film Festival with Images Cinema; artist Ven Voisey’s “An Artist Is A Person In Your Neighborhood” public art projects; ballroom dancing for Pine Cobble 3rd and 4th grade students; Hoosic River Watershed’s river writing contest; and Heron Cove Twilight Concerts among others. Applications and guidelines will be available at local libraries and town halls or online at www.mass-culture.org beginning September 1st. Two copies of the completed application must be postmarked by Friday, October 15, and mailed to the CCNB, PO Box 227, North Adams, MA 01247. For more information contact Juliana Haubrich, Milne Public Library, at 458-5369, or jhaubrich@williamstown.net. |
2-Year Permit Extension Alert 8/17/10 On August 5th Governor Patrick signed into law “An Act Relative to Economic Development Reorganization”, also known as the Economic Development Bill. The Act has one section giving 2-year extensions to a long list of state and local permits and approvals, provided they were issued or existed during a two-year period starting August 15, 2008 and ending August 15, 2010. The Act also directs similar extensions for “any local by-law or ordinance”. Some specific restrictions on permit extensions are included and the new law does not limit the authority of a “municipal, regional or state governmental entity” to revoke or modify a specific permit where such a revocation or modification is authorized within the wording of the specific permit. If you follow the above bill link, the permit extension language begins on line 2723. Conservation Commissions and others dealing with permits should read Section 173 themselves. If they have legal questions, Conservation Commissions should ask town counsel for guidance. Although the broad language of the bill suggests that a liberal granting of permit extensions was intended by the legislature, we anticipate that MassDEP and the Attorney General's office will be offering official guidance on the section. Please visit http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/resources/extend.htm for updates from MassDEP. MACC is working to sort out practical approaches for Conservation Commissions implement this exception provision. Meanwhile, Conservation Commissions should be ready for inquiries and have copies of the section available to give out. MACC continues to follow this issue and will keep you informed asdetails are clarified. |
Massachusetts Recreational Trails Program Grant Workshop The Department of Conservation and Recreation will be holding a workshop to discuss the Recreational Trails Program and its upcoming grant round with applications due November 1, 2010. The dates, times and locations are as follows: Friday, September 17th 2-4pm Purgatory Chasm State Park (Sutton) The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) provides funds to non-profit organizations, municipal, state, and federal land managers to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both nonmotorized and motorized recreational trail uses. RTP grants are 80-20 challenge grants. In other words, 80% of the project costs are reimbursed to grantees, but at least 20% of the total project value must come from other sources (local match). There is a minimum award amount $2,000 and a maximum of $50,000. More money may be available for multi-town, regional projects. The Recreational Trails Program allocates 30% of its funds to motorized use, 30% to non-motorized use, and 40% to diverse use projects. The workshop will go over the program requirements for the RTP, discuss the scoring criteria, provide examples and presentations on successful grant projects and provide feedback and answer any questions that potential applicants may have about the program or about their specific projects and how they fall within the requirements of the program. Amanda Lewis The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)’s Recreational Trails Grants Program recently announced its next grant round. The Program provides grants ranging from $2,000 to $50,000 on a reimbursement basis for a variety of trail protection, construction, and stewardship projects throughout the Commonwealth (click here for info on projects funded during the last round). The application deadline is November 1, 2010. E-mail amanda.lewis@state.ma.us with your current contact information to make sure you receive the grant application details once they become available. |
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