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Flood Plain Field Trips

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Field Trips and Next Steps at Millers Meadow

Nic Miller led two field trips for those interested in learning about river restoration and flood mitigation. Nic is a fluvial geomorphologist. Fluvial geomorphologists study how rivers flow and change over time, and how human-built dams, channels, retaining walls, combined with increased storms due to human-induced climate change, are causing flooding that threaten our communities.

Spring 2024

In the spring of 2024 we visited the Whetstone River Restoration site, a 2017 project of the Vermont River Conservancy which restored a floodplain to prevent downstream flooding and created an attractive 12-acre park with native trees, shrubs, and a small wetland, in Brattleboro. When we visited, they were just finishing up the construction phase and were planting. To reconnect the site to the river and reconstruct the floodplain, they had removed a berm along the side of the river and many years’ worth of fill brought in by a lumber yard. We were told that before planting, they had killed many invasive plants including knotweed.

Fall 2024

In the fall, we visited a similar river restoration project completed in 2016 in Conway that Nic had designed, where a former floodplain-turned-cornfield was rehabilitated and reconnected to the South River.  Since the establishment of the South River Meadow in 2016, the meadow has already provided flood storage at least fifteen times over the past eight years. As part of the project, the impenetrable wall of invasive bittersweet and knotweed was removed, and boulders and logs were strategically placed in the river to protect a home on the opposite bank. In 2022, the Friends of the South River planted over 70 native trees and shrubs. Today, the site is fast becoming a fabulous native habitat and recreational destination.  

FRCOG Story Map

A document that gives perspective on all this is A Climate Resilient South River, a story map written by FRCOG which uses the South River as an example of the challenges involved in resolving flooding issues. It starts with an overview of these issues, and then goes into a self-guided tour of the South River project that includes photos of problems of erosion, canals, and culverts, as well as solutions. This is followed by explanation of how River Mapping can be used to lead to specific project recommendations. Other tools such as River Corridor Overlay Zoning District, and River Corridor Easements, are discussed. 

South River, Conway, Field Trip Photos

  • Conway Restored Plantings 11/24

  • Nic explains South River flood mitigation project

  • Nancy Explains

  • Undercut erosion

  • Downstream Green River, houses that would flood

  • A Resotoration remedy: S. River boulders creating riffles

Return to Millers Meadow, What is Our Vision?

After the trip to Conway, participants visited Millers Meadow and shared their vision for the meadow:  Bring the land to the level of the water for easier access and reduction of erosion?  Clear the invasive species along the bank?  Create a beaver pond where Maple Brook, a highly polluted stream, enters the Green River?  We dream of finding even more nature-based solutions to restore water quality,  reduce downstream flooding, protect Greenfield, and sequester carbon, all while creating native habitat for humans and critters alike in this twelve-acre parcel of land.

Are there grants to achieve this vision?

Presently, we are working with the City and Youth Climate Action Franklin County on grants to MassWildlife and Greenfield Community Preservation Committee (CPC) to achieve some of the visions above. The grants would create river access for fishing; enhance native habitat for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife;  and create paths and benches with a view of the river by removing some of the invasive plants, while ensuring that the 700 trees and shrubs recently planted will thrive.

Looking into the future

By 2027, we hope to have reports from two water-related FRCOG projects that will help us better understand the potential and cost-effectiveness of using Millers Meadow to reduce downstream flooding even more than projects to date. 

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Existing Greenfield Affordable Housing

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Existing Greenfield Affordable Housing

There are a huge number of Section 8 and  Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) certificates that are in a wide variety of houses around town.  Some are managed by larger landlords, some by small landlords.  We have not researched the exact number of certificates in town.  15% of Greenfield’s housing is either publicly owned or receives subsidies through Section 8 or MRVP.

Right now in January 2025, the Franklin County Regional Housing Authority has helped develop housing in Greenfield, but does not own any housing here.  (Though that may change.)  They own and operate housing in many of the towns around us. 

The state has a requirement identified as 40B.  This requires all communities in the Commonwealth to have at least 10% of their housing designated as affordable.  As noted above Greenfield has 15% presently and will soon have more than that.  The towns around us do not come close to their 10% (with the exception of Sunderland,  Orange, and perhaps Montague — mostly in Turners Falls).  What 40B states is that if a town does not meet its 10% and a farmer sells land to a developer, none of the town’s zoning rules apply.  All state building codes do, but if a town has 1 acre lots, a developer is not required to have 1 acre lots. 

Greenfield Housing List

Greenfield Housing Authority (GHA) (owned and operated)

Oak Courts –74 units (family housing)
Elm Terrace—108 units (housing for seniors and disabled persons)
491 Main Street—19 units—congregate living
94 Elm Street
9 Grove Street
37 Woodleigh Avenue
24 Pierce Street
23 Mill Street
159 Conway Street
279 Elm Street (318 Conway)
111A &B, 113A & B Conway Street
116 A & B, 118A &B Wells Street
74-76 Phillips Street
275 Elm Street
300 Conway Street
27-29 Spruce Street
Sullivan Lane—10 units
87 N &S, 89 N &S Elm Streets
87,190,195, 245 Briar Way

Greenfield Housing Associates Inc. (private non-profit affiliated with GHA)

Winslow — 9 Wells Street—55 units
317 Deerfield Street—4 units

Greenfield Gardens—Privately owned, receives Section 8 certificates from GHA, also rents at market rate
Leyden Woods—Privately owned by The Community Builders, receives Section 8 certificates from GHA, also rents at market rate
Millhouse—Privately owned by Beacon Properties, receives Section 8 certificates from GHA, also rents at market rate
The Highrise—Privately owned by Greenfield Acres, senior housing, receives Section 8 certificates, also rents at market rate

For properties under construction or under consideration see Supporting Housing Development.

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Wilson’s project gets $300K in tax credits

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Co-op says new site would increase space, add new jobs

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI, Staff Writer, THE RECORDER newspaper, October 1, 2025

GREENFIELD — The Massachusetts Economic Assistance Coordinating Council has awarded the Franklin Community Cooperative $300,000 in state tax credits toward its plans to expand Green Fields Market into the ground floor of the former Wilson’s Department Store on Main Street.

The co-op’s ability to move into the building by its 2027 target opening relies heavily upon the success of an eviction filing against the building’s sole retail tenant, Cleary Jewelers, whose lease expires in 2029. Outreach & Communications Manager Caitlin von Schmidt said the Franklin Community Cooperative is confident the project will move forward.

“We’re really confident that things are heading in the right direction and that we’ll have a resolution soon. We are working on our funding and planning to go forward,” von Schmidt said. “We are feeling we’re in a good place. We think things are moving in the right direction and we’re confident that we’re all going to be happy at the outcome.”

The $23.4 million project, according to the Economic Assistance Coordinating Council, will allow the co-op to increase its total retail space and is expected to create 20 new jobs.

The co-op reported in February that its sales fell “significantly below plan” over the second half of 2024, with losses of roughly $50,000 per month. Von Schmidt attributed that loss to higher prices caused by a lack of space preventing the co-op from buying goods at a bulk scale that would lower prices. She said the co-op plans to double sales with the expansion.

“Part of our issue is that we don’t have enough storage for product, so that affects how much we can buy, which means that we can’t buy at a scale where we can get cheaper prices,” von Schmidt explained. “We’re going to also be able to offer more price points in the store, which will also make us more accessible to the community.”

Von Schmidt added that the move would triple the co-op’s floor space and provide five times more backroom space, increasing the market’s kitchen, storage and bakery capabilities.

Von Schmidt added that the co-op is renovating the building with “enabling work,” such as installing steel bracing throughout to comply with modern-day seismic codes.

Housing Greenfield Meeting Notes – 09/08/2025

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Present: Susan Worgaftik, Peg Hall, Pamela Goodwin,  Wisty Rorabacher, Nancy Hazard, Carol Letson, Dorothy McIver,  Amy Cahillane, Edie Heinemann,  Mike Mullin, Brace Rennels,  Louise Amyot,  Rachel Gordon, Mariah Kurtz, Judy Draper, Mary McClintock, Noah Grunberg, Nikki Garrett, Jessa McCormack, Max Webbe

Discussions

Hope Street Lot Status and Next Steps—Susan Worgaftik
     Due to the introduction of a referendum to prevent housing from being built on the vacant Hope Street lot, a campaign “Vote No November 4th …Support Housing” has been organized.  The City Council voted to allow the city to sell the Hope Street lot to a builder for the purpose of building housing there.  The question on the ballot asks the voter to overrule that vote.  A NO vote supports the Council’s decision.
Right now individuals involved in Housing Greenfield are working on the campaign, but Housing Greenfield itself has not taken a vote on this.  As Housing Greenfield is a non-profit under the Greening Greenfield/Franklin County CDC umbrella, the organization can comment and campaign regarding ballot questions, but cannot do so in regard to candidates.
After much discussion, the group decided that, although the sentiment is to support this campaign, individuals, not the organization as a whole, will make their support for housing at this site known.  We will continue this discussion at our October 6th meeting.

Rent Stabilization—Jessa McCormack
     Jessa presented that there are currently two initiatives underway in Massachusetts to limit rent increases.  One is legislation [S.1447 / H.2328] and one is a ballot initiative.  The legislation is “enabling legislation” using “local option” language, so that it would change the current state law forbidding rent control, and give each municipality the option to enact their own measures that impose a limit on the size of annual rent increases.
There is also an effort to put rent stabilization /rent control on the statewide ballot for November 2026.  A summary of the referendum question is summarized Here.  This ballot initiative “would limit annual rent increases in Massachusetts to the cost of living (as measured by the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index), with a cap at 5%.”  Both the legislation and the ballot initiative have exceptions/exemptions, and more details you can read.
Because similar legislation has been introduced multiple times, the requested referendum would bring the issue directly to the voters.  Some have speculated that even the threat of the ballot measure might give the legislation a better chance.
There have been studies done on the terms “rent control” vs. “rent stabilization”, and while the latter polls better in some locations, there does not appear to be a difference in Massachusetts.
The referendum petition needs to have at least 75,000 verifiable signatures with no more than 20% coming from any one county, so 15,000 from Franklin County.  Max Webbe, Jessa, and Sara Brown are all involved in this.  If you would like to work on the gathering of signatures, contact Max at mwebbe@protonmail.com; Jessa at jessamaemccormack@gmail.com or Sara at saragerbrown@gmail.com.

Stone Farm Lane Condominiums—Noah Grunberg
     Noah approached Housing Greenfield for a letter of support to the Planning Board and/or the Zoning Board of Appeals for this project.  After a great deal of discussion about the environmental concerns on this lot regarding the development of 22 condominiums, Housing Greenfield voted to send a letter to the Planning Department of the city in support of this project.  The letter outlining the various issues can be found Here

Reports

Winter 2025-2026 Warming Center—Amy Cahillane
     Planning is ongoing for the warming center to once again be at the Salvation Army this year.  There will be some training provided so folks who volunteer will be familiar with the site.  Stay tuned for an email regarding a gathering to discuss next steps and training.  The city is also waiting to hear from the state about the possibility of funding for this effort.

NEXT MEETING WILL BE MONDAY, OCTOBER 6TH AT 6:30 VIA ZOOM. The 13th, our regular date is Indigenous People’s Day.

(There were several other issues on our agenda, but due to the length of our discussions, we limited the meeting to the topics above.)

Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Nearly $11 Million in Funding for Dams, Levees, and Coastal Infrastructure 

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Great news! Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) got a grant that we, Greening Greenfield, helped them get!
Last year we wrote a Community support letter for a grant that would enable CRC to take the first steps (design) in removing and/or lowering dams on the Green River at Meridian St and the one just upstream from the Museum of our industrial Heritage.

9/04/2025  Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced over $10.9 million in grants to repair or remove aging dams, seawalls, levees, and other critical infrastructure across Massachusetts. This funding, provided through the Dam and Seawall Repair or Removal Program, will support twenty-three municipalities and nonprofit organizations in making long-overdue repairs and taking down outdated structures that put homes, roads, and neighborhoods at risk.

“Strong infrastructure keeps our communities running – from protecting homes during storms to keeping roads open and water secure,” said Governor Maura Healey. “By investing in these projects now, we’re helping communities prevent future problems, save money over time, and keep people and neighborhoods safe.”

“As a former mayor of a coastal city, I know how hard it is to find the funding to take on major infrastructure repairs, even when the need is obvious,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “These grants help cities and towns take on big repairs they couldn’t tackle alone.”

The Dam and Seawall Program provides funding for the design, permitting, and construction of infrastructure projects that directly improve public health, public safety, or ecological restoration. Dams and coastal barriers are often the first line of defense against flooding and storm damage. But many of these structures are decades old and no longer serve a useful purpose. When left in disrepair, they can block waterways, damage the environment and pose safety risks – including the threat of collapse. Removing and repairing these structures is often the most cost-effective and safest solution, allowing rivers to flow naturally again and reducing long-term maintenance costs for towns.

“Infrastructure built decades ago wasn’t designed to handle the weather we are seeing today,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “These investments help communities upgrade what is outdated and make lasting improvements. This program is about being proactive and making sure critical systems continue to serve the people who depend on them. These are the kinds of important upgrades that will be further supported by the Mass Ready Act.”

The recently proposed Mass Ready Act by the Healey-Driscoll Administration aims to strengthen the state’s infrastructure to better protect Massachusetts homes, businesses and communities. This act supports the Dam and Seawall program, which has provided nearly $146 million in grants and loans since its inception in 2013 to address aging and outdated infrastructure across the state.

“Making sure cities and towns have the resources to maintain and update infrastructure is a key piece of making communities safe, accessible, and avoiding costlier repairs down the road,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “These funds are critical for Holliston and Hopkinton, and I’m confident that each will use the resources to strengthen their communities. I applaud the Healey-Driscoll Administration for prioritizing this work and moving quickly to deliver these resources across Massachusetts.”

“Infrastructure improvements are critical for towns like Blackstone, Charlton, Dudley, and Monson especially when it comes to dams and waterways, but these repairs or removals are costly and inaccessible for small towns with limited budgets,” said Senator Fattman (R- Sutton). “This is why working in a bipartisan manner to ensure funding for projects across the Commonwealth is so significant. I’m proud to see that come to fruition for these towns and look forward to many more projects like these.”

MA New Electricity Rates for Heat Pump Users

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What to know about Massachusetts’ new electricity rates for heat pump users.
WBUR/Updated August 25, 2025 Miriam Wasser

Using an electric heat pump in Massachusetts is about to become more affordable.

Beginning in November, the state’s three big electric utilities — Eversource, National Grid and Unitil — will offer cheaper electric rates during the coldest months of the year for households that use a heat pump.

The new seasonal rate is meant to encourage more  customers to switch to heat pumps, which are a cornerstone of Massachusetts’ plan to tackle climate emissions. By 2030, the state aims to have 500,000 heat pumps installed. For context — just over 90,000 homes in the state had a heat pump as of last year.

With the winter heating season right around the corner, here’s what you need to know about the rates and how to sign up:

How much will I save?

Even without the new rate, households that replace an oil or electric baseboard heating system with a heat pump will almost certainly save money. But the savings are less certain for the many households that use natural gas.

“Part of the reason it has been difficult to get owners to switch from gas to electric is that the math hasn’t always penciled out in terms of cost savings,” said Kyle Murray, Massachusetts program director for the Acadia Center, a nonprofit that advocates for clean energy policies. Murray said the new winter rates “will likely make heat pumps significantly more affordable.”

A recent report commissioned by several environmental groups, including the Acadia Center, found that with the new rates, 64% of households would reduce their heating bill by installing a heat pump. The Department of Public Utilities, which ordered the utilities to implement these rates, said the average household with a heat pump should save about $540 this winter.

Heating costs depend on several factors — most notably usage and the weather. But in general, the utilities designed these rates so a person heating a home with a heat pump will pay the same, if not less, than a person who heats with natural gas.

How do the rates work?

From Nov. 1 to April 30, customers enrolled in the heat pump program will get a discount on the delivery portion of their bill.

For National Grid and Unitil customers, the change just affects the “distribution charge,” which is the cost of the poles and wires needed to get power to your house.

Eversource customers will see a reduction in the distribution and transmission charge. The transmission charge reflects the cost of building and maintaining the high voltage transmission lines that move electricity over long distances.

The distribution and transmission charges return to standard levels from May 1 to Oct. 31.

Beginning Nov. 1, 2025, heat pump owners will be charged a lower "distribution" rate during the coldest months of the year. (An Eversource bill with annotation by Miriam Wasser/WBUR)Beginning Nov. 1, 2025, heat pump owners will be charged a lower “distribution” rate during the coldest months of the year. (An Eversource bill with annotation by Miriam Wasser/WBUR)

The new seasonal heat pump rates vary by utility and will change every year. But going into this winter, here’s what you can expect. (Some of these numbers are subject to final approval from the Department of Public Utilities.)

Eversource

  • Typical distribution rate: 6.26 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh)
  • Heat pump rate: 1.95 cents/kWh
  • Typical transmission charge: 4.54 cents/kWh
  • Heat pump transmission charge: 1.41 cents/kWh

National Grid

  • Typical distribution rate: 6.74 cents/kWh
  • Heat pump rate: 2.46 cents/kWh

Unitil

  • Typical distribution rate: 10.18 cents/kWh
  • Heat pump rate: 3.63 cents/kWh

To make sense of these numbers, let’s take a look at a real Eversource electricity bill from December 2024. It’s for a single-family home that uses heat pumps for space and water heating, and has an electric vehicle that gets charged at home.

In December, the family used 1,876 kilowatt hours of electricity and paid $627. Had the new heat pump rate been in effect, the total bill would have been more like $493 — a 21% savings.

Who is eligible?

If you receive a bill from Eversource, National Grid or Unitil and have a qualifying heat pump in your home, you should be eligible. (This includes people enrolled in a municipal aggregation program.)

People who live in a city or town served by a municipally-owned electric company are not eligible.

Which heat pumps qualify?

Pretty much all of them. Ducted system, ductless systems (mini splits) and for some customers, heat pump water heaters qualify.

Even if you don’t heat your entire house with a heat pump — maybe you only have mini splits in your finished basement or attic — you should be eligible.

If you got your heat pump through the Mass Save program in the last couple of years, you almost certainly qualify — in the future, you may even be automatically enrolled.

Mini splits are a popular heat pump choice for homes without existing ductwork. (Beth Healy/WBUR)

Mini splits are a popular heat pump choice for homes without existing ductwork. (Beth Healy/WBUR)

If you didn’t get your heat pump through Mass Save, or you got it before 2019, signing up will take a little more work. The utilities are still fine-tuning this process, but expect them to ask you for paperwork to verify you have a heat pump, like proof of installation.

How do I sign up?

Unitil customers can enroll by calling customer service or by filling out a customer service form and indicating they’d like to sign up for the Heat Pump Rate. (More details available here.)

National Grid and Eversource customers can’t sign up just yet because the companies are still finalizing their enrollment systems. Both utilities say they expect to have more information about how to sign up this fall. (We’ll update this story when that information becomes available, so check back here.)

Anything else I should know?

If you’ve been thinking about making the switch to a heat pump, you may want to get that process started sooner rather than later. That’s because the tax and spending package signed by President Trump this summer sunsets the federal tax rebates for installing heat pumps at the end of this calendar year.

Before then, if you install an air-source heat pump or a heat pump hot water heater, you can claim a $2,000 credit on your federal taxes. If you install a ground-source heat pump, you can claim up to 30% of the total cost in tax credits.

Though these federal incentives are going away, Massachusetts will continue to offer its own incentives for heat pumps through the Mass Save Program.

New Mass Save rebates for qualifying heat pumps

Below are the rebates available over the next several years.  The capacity of a heat pump is measured in tons. For example, a 3-ton system typically can heat or cool a 1,500-square-foot space.

Heat pump type and size

2025 rebate

2026 rebate

2027 rebate

Covers part of your home and uses outside air to heat and cool

$1,250 per ton

$1,125 per ton

$1,000 per ton

Covers your whole home and uses outside air to heat and cool

$3,000 per ton, up to $10,000

$2,700 per ton, up to $9,000

$2,500 per ton, up to $8,000

Covers part of your home and uses a ground, or geothermal, heat source

$2,000 per dwelling unit

$2,000 per dwelling unit

$2,000 per dwelling unit

Covers your whole home and uses a ground, or geothermal, heat source

$15,000

$13,500

$12,000

Europe built a battery that stores summer heat underground and heats whole cities in winter, fossil-free

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In northern Europe, engineers have built a thermal energy storage system that works like a seasonal battery — but instead of storing electricity, it stores heat from the summer sun. The system captures excess warmth during hot months, then buries it deep underground in insulated water reservoirs, keeping it ready for when the temperature drops. Months later, in the dead of winter, the stored heat is pumped back up and used to warm entire neighborhoods without needing fossil fuels.
The design is deceptively simple: water tanks or boreholes in underground rock layers act as massive thermal vaults. During summer, solar panels and industrial waste heat funnel warmth into these underground reservoirs, heating the water to more than 80°C. By carefully sealing the system and surrounding it with insulating layers, engineers can trap that heat for up to six months with minimal loss.
When winter arrives, the process reverses. District heating networks circulate the stored hot water back to homes, offices, and public buildings. Unlike traditional batteries, which degrade after a certain number of charge cycles, this underground heat battery can operate for decades with almost no maintenance. It doesn’t rely on rare earth metals or chemical reactions, only on physics and clever insulation.
The potential scale is staggering. One such installation in Denmark already stores enough heat to cover the winter needs of thousands of households, cutting natural gas use almost entirely. Larger future versions could heat entire cities while slashing carbon emissions, helping Europe reduce its dependency on imported fuels.
The technology also integrates seamlessly with renewable power sources. Solar farms can dump excess summer energy into the system, while wind turbines keep pumps running through autumn and winter. By aligning seasonal energy supply with demand, it solves one of the hardest problems in the renewable energy puzzle — long-term storage.
If scaled globally, these “heat batteries” could become as important as lithium batteries, but for heating rather than electricity. They promise a future where communities are warmed through the depths of winter by nothing more than the sun’s rays captured half a year earlier.
Reader comment:  “Indeed.  Though some energy source must “pump it back up”.  And what does it take to create giant underground insulated reservoirs?  Note that this is different than community-scale geothermal, such as Framingham, MA is experimenting with.” Peg Hall, 8/25/25

City Hall Gardens in August

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At City Hall we installed native-plant pollinator gardens in 2023.  The gardens serve to attract pollinators and birds and to provide a spot of visual relief from all the pavement on Court Square.  Many people, including vendors at the weekly farmer’s market, have commented that they enjoy watching the different shrubs, grasses, and flowers go through their seasonal cycles.

The gardens are also intended to showcase a way of taking care of the landscape that is more natural than what we often see in public places.  For instance, our mulch includes fallen leaves, which nurture the soil and provide cover for the many insects that use them as cover.

The gardens are pretty easy to maintain, but they do require some weeding and watering.  Mary Westervelt, who led the team that initially planned and planted the gardens, has been checking them weekly – usually Mondays. She would welcome help moving the hose around and checking for sprouted Norway maple seeds and the like.  Go to Contact Us and say you’d like to talk to Mary about the City Hall garden.  A big shout out to a couple of fellows who regularly sit on the benches in front of City Hall and faithfully pull trash out of the gardens. Thank you, Sean and Jim!

Blooming in August:  In the south garden, Hypericum kalmianum (Joe Pye Weed) is covered in blossoms.  In the north garden, Rudbeckia fulgida (Orange Coneflower) and Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower) are putting on a show right now. The Clethra alnifolia (Summersweet) shrubs that flank the entrance are covered with fragrant white blooms.  The blooms are a favorite of bees.  But don’t be intimidated – the bees are not interested in you, unless you can provide pollen and nectar!