11-2SG Concerned Citizens of Franklin County
Grant Round:
2011 September
Grant Program:
Small Grants
Grant Type:
Other Grants
Grant amount requested:
2,500.00
Grant amount awarded:
$2,000.00
Attachments
Please provide a brief description of the project for which you seek funding.
1-Our group is in its 3rd year of trying to stop a 47 Megawatt biomass power plant from being built in Greenfield, MA. To this end, we are raising funds to organize for an upcoming zoning board hearing, and be able to file an appeal in court 2-We are concerned about this project and others like it, because of the negative impacts on our forests, air quality, and greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the millions of dollars of subsidies that would be given to these projects could be better used for conservation and public transportation. Our main strategy to stop this particular project rests with a new zoning board hearing, and a subsequent court appeal, that has yet to take place. In a related matter, we are working with the Biomass Accountability Project to strengthen the biomass regulations in Massachusetts. The developer for the Greenfield project is waiting for the new regulations to be issued before he will revise his project, and present that to the Zoning Board of Appeals in Greenfield. For the ZBA hearing, our group will be organizing the opposition to show up at the hearing and testify against it. We will also be hiring a lawyer to testify to support our position at the hearing as well as solicit the help of a variety of experts to help us make our case with the ZBA. If a decision is not in our favor, we will file an appeal in court within three weeks of that decision. 3- Our group formed to stop this project. Since then, we have been offering assistance to other groups with similar proposals in their communities. Those have included Winchester, NH, Ashfield, MA and Pownal VT. Our group is also involved at the State level. We collaborate with the opposition groups for biomass projects in Springfield, MA and Russell, MA. 4-The timeline is completely depending on the interests of the developer.
Project Summary
The group received a grant in 2011 for outreach materials and legal fees.
Primary Issue Area:
Environmental Health
Please break-down/categorize the program expenses:
| Proposed Item | Estimated $ Amount | Would grant funds be used for this item? | Type Of Expense |
|---|---|---|---|
| lawyer to represent us at the ZBA hearing | $1,500.00 | Yes | Materials |
| file a lawsuit and take it throught the intial stages | $7,500.00 | Yes | Materials |
| postage | $50.00 | Yes | Materials |
| website hosting | $180.00 | Yes | Materials |
| PO Box | $60.00 | Yes | Materials |
| 501c3 filing | $400.00 | Materials | |
| copies | $300.00 | Yes | Materials |
| MA nonprofit fee | $35.00 | Yes | Materials |
| tech support | $600.00 | Materials | |
| ads | $100.00 | Yes | Materials |
| brochures | $150.00 | Yes | Materials |
| accounting (professional) | $1,000.00 | Materials | |
| design layout | $300.00 | Materials | |
| grant writing | $200.00 | Materials | |
| admin support | $2,000.00 | Materials | |
| research | $1,000.00 | Materials |
Whom does your group need to make this project happen?
Please explain how your group will engage members from your community in this project.
When it is time to go before the Greenfield Zoning Board, we would put up signs, do visibilities in town, hand out literature at grocery stores, write letters to the editor, have a press conference or two, and use our e-mail lists to notify people. We would also create a fact sheet to hand out beforehand and at the hearing.
If your group receives a NEGEF Grow grant, how do you plan to pay for remaining expenses?
| $ Amount | Source |
|---|---|
| $4,000.00 | fundraisers |
| $1,000.00 | Natham Markham Grant |
| $2,500.00 | NEGEF |
Please list these materials or services
| $ Amount | Item |
|---|---|
| $1,000.00 | accounting |
| $300.00 | design layout |
| $200.00 | grant writing |
| $300.00 | tech support |
| $2,000.00 | administrative support |
| $1,000.00 | research |
Please describe what changes will occur in your community and its environment when your group's project is successful.
If we are able to stop the Greenfield project, all of Franklin County will be spared the extra negative health and environmental impacts that a large biomass project would create. If we are successful, there will be increased awareness of the problems with biomass projects across the region. Also, any success that we have in either stopping the project or in For the town of Greenfield, keeping the project from being built will have the affect of keeping one billion pounds of carbon dioxide, 164 tons of nitrogen oxide and 53.3 tons of hazardous particulate out of the air each year. From a social and political standpoint, it appears that the citizens of Greenfield are more willing to vote on important matters, as evidenced by the 35% turnout and 84% win on the biomass issue in June 2010, since out group has been active. A total of eight people sympathetic to our issue have stepped up to fill elected seats on the Greenfield City Council, giving the town a sense of participation on democracy at the local level. One of our members is now the Vice President of the Greenfield City Council. We hope that this renewed participation in local government will continue into the future. Indicators of success would include winning the ZBA over to our side. The ZBA is appointed by the mayor, who collaborated with the developer to bringing the project to Greenfield. We have interviewed ZBA members who have been told that the ZBA must approve a project as long as it meets basic zoning criteria. We have also seen the Greenfield Planning Board operate out of the same narrow standard when issuing its permit for the big box store in Greenfield. To address this, our plan is to have our lawyer explain the zoning law according to state statutes that gives boards latitude to zoning boards to reject unpopular or inappropriate development in their towns. If we succeed at this, we will have had a great influence on all future development in Greenfield. As Greenfield is the county seat, criteria for decisions made by a special permit granting authority in Greenfield could impact decision making for all twenty six towns on Franklin County, giving citizens more say in how their towns get developed. While the existing state statues and local regulations already allow for boards to say no to unwanted projects, many residents feel helpless at the hands of their boards. If citizens believed that their participation could affect a positive change, that would encourage a more effective democratic process. We hope our particular success would have this outcome. If we are able to stop the Greenfield project, all of Franklin County will be spared the extra negative health and environmental impacts that a large biomass project would create. If we are successful, there will be increased awareness of the problems with biomass projects across the region. Also, any success that we have in either stopping the project or in changing how decisions are made could have positive benefits for many communities in Massachusetts and elsewhere who are dealing with similar issues who can learn from our experience. For the town of Greenfield, keeping the project from being built will have the affect of keeping one billion pounds of carbon dioxide, 164 tons of nitrogen oxide and 53.3 tons of hazardous particulate out of the air each year. From a social and political standpoint, it appears that the citizens of Greenfield are more willing to vote on important matters, as evidenced by the 35% turnout and 84% win on the biomass issue in June 2010, since out group has been active. A total of eight people sympathetic to our issue have stepped up to fill elected seats on the Greenfield City Council, giving the town a sense of participation on democracy at the local level. One of our members is now the Vice President of the Greenfield City Council. We hope that this renewed participation in local government will continue into the future.
Please list how many people in your community your group expects to actively engage in this project.
1 000
What relevant skills does the group need (but does not currently have access to) to help move the initiative forward?
We don't have a great outreach effort beyond Greenfield, or towns with biomass projects. So, for example, we are not able to effectively engage the multitude of students and college resources in our area. We work extensively with the Biomass Accountability Project, the two groups that opposed the Springfield, MA biomass project, and MassForestWatch, who all provide support and experience to each others’ efforts. Recently Toxics Action Center has offered their experience and guidance to us as well.
What relevant skills do current members of the group have to help move the initiative forward?
Outreach/marketing experience, fundraising experience, technical expertise, graphic/web design, etc. One person is a computer professional is our website and e-mail manager. A volunteer troubleshoots for us, keeping this author’s personal computers going so that we can continue to do our work. We have enlisted an accountant who is an enrolled agent who files our state and federal financial reporting. We several people who have been engaging is a variety of fundraising activities for the past three years. We have members of our group, as well as consultants who volunteer, who have considerable experience for our media and outreach efforts, and who are also experienced professional and volunteer campaign workers. We have a number of scientists who have been volunteering their time to help us with technical issues. Their areas of expertise include engineering, soil science, forest ecology.