Milford Overview
Milford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the central part of the state. They have a population of 30,277 people and an area of 14.8 square miles. Climate hazards present in Milford include severe winter storms, other severe weather, and inland flooding.
Milford MVP 2.0 Core Team
The MVP 2.0 Core team is a group of municipal staff and Community Liaisons who work together to identify local climate resilience priorities and implement a project that supports those priorities.
Milford's Core Team includes municipal representation from:
- Town Engineer
- Sewer Department
- Public Safety/Police Department
- Fire Department
- Public Health/Board of Health
- Milford Sewer
Community Resilience Priorities
Community resilience priorities are actionable steps that were developed as part of the MVP 2.0 Planning Grant process. They are a result of dedicated community engagement, reflection on the evolving nature of community needs, and input from Environmental Justice and priority populations.
| Priorities | Potential Actions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Priority 1: Housing Improve the local housing crisis by taking steps to increase affordable housing stock and addressing landlord accountability issues with resources and support for lower-income residents. | 
| Potential Actions: Reviewing and/or amending zoning bylaws to encourage development or redevelopment of affordable housing projects in town, establishing programs to encourage energy efficiency upgrades or water conservation strategies to reduce utility costs, establishing rental assistance programs, creating an affordable housing trust, or low-income housing subsidies, providing or facilitating access to services for affordable rental repairs. Expanding accessibility to information to educate landlords, and about how to hold landlords accountable and pointing community toward the Better Business Bureau for Landlords, potentially by providing online information available in multiple languages and/or a way to report enforceable action, establishing non-profit partnerships which will lead to mediation services between landlords and tenants. | |
| Priority 2: Health Services Expand access to resources and information regarding physical and mental health resources and services (particularly for immigrant women) and student disability services. | 
| Potential Actions: Providing trainings, outreach, or a centralized source of information on services available to the community regarding physical and mental health resources and disability services. | |
| Priority 3: Community Facilitate positive interactions between the government and community by expanding accessibility to services, resources, decision making, and information sharing/ communication strategies to the community, particularly underrepresented populations (immigrant communities). | 
| Potential Actions: Establishing or facilitating social spaces during the off-season (winter) for those not working, including a center for youth to gather, establishing a community engagement office, implementing a reverse 911 system or 311 community-wide messages, creating a single webpage with community resources and information, with translations. Police department conducting regular “meet and greets, police department conducting an orientation series for new residents, particularly immigrants coming from home countries who are accustomed to different police relationships, elected leaders and town officials visiting ESL classes. | |
| Priority 4: Public Transit Expand public transit options and accessibility, particularly for new immigrants. | 
| Potential Actions: Improving bus routes within and out of town and improving safety at existing bus stops and bus shelters. | |
| Priority 5: Workforce Development Expand access to information and resources for job development and financial assistance, particularly with online resources for English language learners. | 
| Potential Actions: Establishing or facilitating job training opportunities, particularly in the off-season (winter) for seasonal workers, expand capacity and access to English language classes. | |
| Priority 6: Emergency Preparedness Improve existing Emergency Preparedness Plan to include an emergency shelter plan, evacuation routes, transportation options for vulnerable populations, a community needs assessment, listings of available resources, and potential partnerships. | 
| Potential Actions: To be determined | |
| Priority 7: Extreme Weather Improve community resilience to extreme heat and cold. | 
| Potential Actions: Improving accessibility and information sharing about community pools and splash pads and incorporating shading features at parks. | |
| Priority 8: Walkability Enhance the walkability and ability to bike within neighborhoods and to downtown Milford. | 
| Potential Actions: Assessing the feasibility of and implementing projects with the goal of connecting existing or additional multi-use trails or enhancing bicycle parking. | |
| Priority 9: Flooding Reduce flood risk through policies, projects, and initiatives with residents that increase flood resilience. | 
| Potential Actions: Establishing temporary shelters during flood events, improving access to affordable, permanent housing, creating accessible education resources about flood risk management and prevention, or pursuing the implementation of projects that would mitigate flood risk associated with the Charles River watershed. | |
| Priority 10: Parks Access Improve accessibility and information sharing about community parks. | 
| Potential Actions: Increasing the amount of recreation areas that don’t require reservations, enhancing signage with park information and hours in multiple languages, conducting engagement activities within local parks, implementing an “adopt-a-park” program with local churches, or creating different kinds of parks designed for multicultural communities or for those with disabilities. | |
Milford's MVP 2.0 Seed Project: Parks Hub Enhancement Plan
Milford received funding to implement a Seed Project that addresses one or more of their climate resilience priorities. The Town of Milford plans to develop a Parks Hub Enhancement Plan that will focus on reimagining the town’s parks as community spaces. Specifically, this project will work towards establishing communication hubs in parks to provide community members with information on energy-efficient programs, employment and housing support, as well as guidance on navigating health plans.
The activities of this project include:
- Determine financial costs and source of funding.
- Identify municipal departments that the project and initiative would fall under.
- Perform community engagement and relationship building to identify gaps and needs.
- Hire consultant for support in design and construction.
- Implement feedback system to account for community needs.
Action Grant Projects
The MVP Action Grant provides funding to communities that want to take important steps to prepare for climate change, such as dealing with extreme weather, flooding, rising sea levels, and extreme heat.
Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Milford Town Park (FY21)
The Town of Milford and Charles River Watershed Association worked together to design and construct green stormwater infrastructure within Milford Town Park. This project installed two rain gardens and 1 one infiltration system. These nature-based solutions will help provide ecological resilience for the town. The project team engaged with the schools that sit adjacent to the site and the surrounding Environmental Justice community.
