Bernardston

Town Info

Contact Info

38 Church Street, P.O. Box 504

Bernardston, MA 01337

PHONE: 413-648-5401 FAX: 413-648-9318

E-mail: bernadmin@crocker.com

 

Hours & Days Open

Monday -Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Friday Closed

 

 

Selectboard Meetings

Bi-weekly on Wednesdays, 6:00 p.m.

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FRCOG work in Bernardston during 2008

Note: Listed below are services provided directly to the Town of Bernardston in 2008. The FRCOG provides many other services on a regional basis that benefit the communities of Franklin County. In addition to reviewing the service highlights below, we encourage you to look throughout our website to find out more about the other work that we do.

Community Coalition for Teens

• Staff conducted a 100-question Teen Health Survey to assess teen attitudes and behavior among middle and high school students. Staff reported to Pioneer Valley Regional School administrators on results from the survey of 211 Pioneer students, representing 83% of the 8th, 10th, and 12th grade classes.  Survey data meets federal No Child Left Behind requirements for the school, enables the school to receive Safe and Drug Free Schools funding, and is valuable for grant-writing and program planning.
• 26 students from Pioneer Valley Regional Middle and High schools attended the 17th Annual Youth Conference in May 2008 at R.C. Mahar Regional School. The day-long conference included 24 workshops.
• CCT provided technical assistance to staff at the Pioneer Valley Regional School District to implement student-led social norms marketing campaigns addressing student health issues. 
• Staff coordinated and conducted Alcohol Purchase Surveys of all open package stores in Bernardston on two occasions. These surveys, proven to reduce alcohol use among youth, involve sending young-looking of-age undercover shoppers to check the stores' compliance with underage drinking laws. On the first round 100% of sellers checked for identification on the second round. 50% 0f sellers checked for identification.

Cooperative Bidding & Purchasing Program

• Bernardston participated in the Purchasing Program’s cooperative bids and contracts for $81,442 in #2 Fuel Oil and Diesel.  The town purchased $321,105 in Highway Products and Services through the Program and also participated in the Dog Licenses & Tags Program.  The total fee for participation in the bids was $2,523. 
• Pioneer School District participated in the Purchasing Program’s cooperative bid for #2 Fuel Oil for $145.

Energy Saving Performance Contracting

• Bernardston is participating in the second staff-facilitated regional procurement process to select an Energy Services Company (ESCO).  Six Franklin County municipalities and 2 regional school districts are selecting an ESCO to provide energy saving performance contract services at public facilities to increase operating efficiency and reduce taxpayer cost. 
• The Pioneer Valley Regional School District is also participating in this process.

Franklin County Cooperative Inspection Program

• 84 building permits, including 4 dwelling units, were issued for Bernardston, for a total construction valuation of $1,818,776.  14 Certificates of Inspection were issued. Total fees collected were $11,555.
• A total of 37 electrical permits were issued with $3,700 in fees collected.
• A total of 43 plumbing permits were issued with $4,960 in fees collected.
• All fees collected are returned to the Town.

Franklin County Emergency Communications System

• Staff assisted the Franklin County Emergency Communications Oversight Committee in securing an additional $623,941 for emergency communications for all Franklin County Communities. The equipment upgrade was funded with Homeland Security monies.

Planning and Development Department

• Staff secured Brownfields funding to conduct environmental site assessment work for the Streeter Property on Church Street.  The value of this work in 2008 was $47,000.
• Staff assisted in the successful application for Priority Development Site designation for two properties in Bernardston and for a $60,000 technical assistance award to the Town to support pre-development work.  
• Staff assisted the Town in beginning the development of a Community Development Plan including the development of Economic Development and Housing Chapters.
• Staff prepared a Draft Official Zoning Map incorporating the new Zone II Water Supply protection.
• Staff worked to secure funding from DCR for the Heritage Landscape Inventory Program.  Five communities in Franklin County were selected to participate in the program including Bernardston. 
• Staff prepared a proposal for the MA DEP’s 604(b) Water Quality Management Planning Grant Program to fund a $24,000 Wellhead Protection Project for the town to protect public water supplies, private drinking water wells and high yield aquifers.
• Staff completed the Deerfield River Watershed Nonpoint Pollution Study which included detailed Action Plans to address sources of nonpoint pollution such as failing septic systems, river bank erosion, and stormwater runoff in the upper reaches of the Deerfield River and the North, Green, Chickley, and South River subwatersheds.   This project was funded by an $87,700 grant from the MA DEP.
• Staff provided the Town with a map showing the Functional Classification of Roads.
• Staff developed a draft Business Brochure showing roads, businesses and other features of the town.

Regional Health Inspection Program

• Staff served as the Town’s Health Agent working on behalf of the Board of Health. 
• Staff attended 6 Board of Health meetings.
• Staff conducted 21 routine food inspections, 1 food-borne illness investigation,  inspections of 1 family-type campground, 1 seasonal/farm stand food and 2 motels,  as well as 2 housing inspections.
• Staff issued 1 Letter of Compliance, 1 Outdoor Wood Boiler inspection, 1 Notice of Code Violation, and  enforced Title 5 provisions after a septic system inspection;
• Staff supported a Brownfields application to help clean-up an abandoned property;
• Staff presented an informational hoarding slideshow jointly with the Board of Health, Police, & Fire Departments.
• Staff responded to an emergency water alert including testing at 7 locations for chlorine residual levels in the water system, and worked closely with restaurants and food handlers to follow special procedures;
• Staff responded to 2 odor complaints and worked with residents to develop a monitoring process.

Regional Preparedness Program

• The Mohawk Area Public Health Coalition (MAPHCO) awarded Bernardston $920.44 to purchase a laptop computer for Board of Health use in emergency preparedness planning.
• The Regional Emergency Planning Committee (REPC), funded with grants from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), provided the town with copies of an Incident Command System Field Operations Guide, a valuable reference work for emergency planners.  REPC staff also made available topographical and critical infrastructure maps for use in the town’s emergency operations center (EOC).
• Staff met with the Board of Health.

Town Accounting Program

• Staff developed chart of accounts and vendor file in Fundware system for July 1 accounting conversion.
• Staff produced biweekly vendor warrants, and provided monthly budget reports to all officials and department heads.
• Staff provided assistance in completing the Recap for tax rate submission and assisted with annual audit.
• Customized reports for committees and departments were developed and distributed.
• All accounting data was accessible over a secure internet connection to a server at the FRCOG office.  Backups were completed daily and there was no unscheduled down time.

Workshops & Training

• 2 Officials attended “MAVEN Online Disease Reporting” Intro and Advanced Sessions.
• 3 Officials attended ““The National Public Health Performance Standards for Boards of Health.””
• 2 Officials attended “Septic, Soils and Permits.”
• 1 Official attended “Indoor Air Quality & Chemical Spill Cleanup.”
• 1 Official attended the Employers Assn. of New England FRCOG Membership Briefing.
• 2 Officials attended the Municipal Finance Forum.
• 1 Official attended “Acting as your own Public Info Officer (PIO)” Part II – Practical Exercises.
• 1 Official attended the Fuel and Regional Issues Roundtable.

This page was last updated on August 12, 2009 .

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