Charlemont

Town Info

Contact Info

157 Main Street

Charlemont, MA 01339-5500

PHONE: 413-339-4335 FAX: 413-339-0320

select@bcn.Net

Hours & Days Open

Monday through Thursday

9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Selectboard Meetings

Tuesdays, 7:30 p.m.

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FRCOG work in Charlemont during 2008

Note: Listed below are services provided directly to Charlemont 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 Mohawk Trail Regional School administrators on results from 262 Mohawk students, representing 78% 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.
• 4 students from Mohawk Trail 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, one of which was facilitated by the Mohawk students.
• Staff coordinated and conducted Alcohol Purchase Surveys of all open package stores in Charlemont on three separate 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. The first round 0% of servers checked for identification, the second time 33% servers checked for identification and the third round 100% of servers checked for identification.

Cooperative Bidding & Purchasing Program

• Charlemont participated in the Purchasing Program’s cooperative bids and contracts for $453,243 in Highway Products and Services through the Program.  The town also participated in the Dog Licenses & Tags Program.  The total fee for participation in the bids was $2,233.

Energy Saving Performance Contracting

• Staff facilitated a regional procurement process and vetted template contracts to select an Energy Services Company to provide energy saving performance contract services at public facilities, increase operating efficiency and reduce taxpayer cost. This work was done on behalf of 16 Franklin County municipalities, including Charlemont, and 3 regional school districts, including Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont.

Franklin County Cooperative Inspection Program

• A total of 61 building permits, including 5 dwelling units, were issued for Charlemont, for a total construction valuation of $1,983,006. 30 Certificates of Inspection were issued. Total fees collected were $14,219.
• A total of 43 electrical permits were issued with $4,120 in fees collected.
• A total of 28 plumbing permits were issued with $4,015 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 assisted the Planning Board with Zoning Bylaw revisions considered at Annual Town Meeting in 2008.
• Staff assisted the Town in completing a Commonwealth Capital Application.
• 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 surveyed users of the MassHighway Park and Ride Lot on Route 2 to determine its level of use and why people were using the lot.
• Staff worked with members of the Charlemont Historical Commission, as part of the Mohawk Trail Scenic Byway (West) Facility Improvement Project, to determine locations within the town where historic marker signs could be located.
• Staff worked with representatives of the town to evaluate and map potential locations where a canoe/kayak put-in/take out with access to the Deerfield River could be located, as part of the Mohawk Trail Scenic Byway (West) Facility Improvement Project.
• Staff coordinated the execution of a multi-agency Memorandum of Understanding for the Mohawk Trail Scenic Byway Land Protection Project which received $500,000 in funding to purchase conservation restrictions and/or agricultural preservations restrictions (APRs) from willing landowners along the Mohawk Trail Scenic Byway.   
• Staff assisted the Charlemont Historical Commission to find the funding needed to hire a consultant to complete the National Register of Historic Places nomination packet for the Charlemont Fairgrounds.
• Staff worked to advance projects along the Mohawk Trail Scenic Byway including a project to develop a marketing plan for the Mohawk Trail, the Western Massachusetts Scenic Byways Marketing Project, and the Mohawk Trail Scenic Byway Historic Preservation Project.
• Staff conducted two town-requested, and two FRCOG-requested traffic counts.  The FRCOG-requested counts were in support of its Regional Traffic Count Program.
• Staff worked on developing safety improvements for crash prone areas along Route 2 as part of the Route 2 West Safety Study.
• Staff worked with MassHighway District 1 to identify potential traffic calming and pedestrian improvement measures for the Route 2 Corridor through the Village Center.
• Staff made two public presentations of the proposed traffic calming and pedestrian improvements for the Route 2 Corridor through the Village Center.

Regional Health Inspection Program

• Staff served as the Town’s Health Agent working on behalf of the Board of Health. 
• Staff attended 4 Board of Health meetings;
• Staff conducted 31 routine food inspections or re-inspections, 5 seasonal food inspections, 8 temporary food event inspections, and 2 consultations for modifications to commercial food kitchens;
• Staff monitored compliance of numerous public and semi-public water supply supplies at commercial facilities;
• Staff conducted 5 family campground inspections; 5 pool inspections or re-inspections; 5 routine motel inspections; 2 Bed & Breakfast inspections; 3 housing inspections and 1 lead paint follow-up;
• Staff conducted 1 septic system enforcement action including 5 site visits with 4 Notices of Code Violations, 5 Housing Court appearances including 1 probable cause hearing, 5 repair inspections, 1 final inspection, in consultation and with support from the Select Board and Town Counsel;
• Staff developed a computer-based billing, permitting and tracking database system for the Board.

Regional Preparedness Program

• The Regional Emergency Planning Committee, funded with grants from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), provided the town with copies of an Incident Command System (ICS) 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).
• Two officials attended initial Emergency Dispensing site planning meeting.

Western Regional Homeland Security Advisory Council

• Provided 23 UHF pagers to the Charlemont Fire Department and Ambulance. Each pager valued at $365.00 for a total of $8,395.00.

Workshops & Training

• 1 Official attended the Municipal Finance Forum.
• 1 Official attended “MAVEN Online Disease Reporting”  Intro and Advanced Sessions.

This page was last updated on August 12, 2009 .

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