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Selectboard reviews Eco One Stop grant plan for Northbrook Field: tree planting, pollinator garden and pavement removal proposed
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Summary
CMRPC presented an Eco One Stop (EEA) grant proposal for Northbrook Field — planting 21 canopy trees, creating a pollinator garden, and removing a deteriorated basketball court — with application due March 20; the town may be exempt from a match due to small-community designation and the program is reimbursement-based.
Representatives from the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) briefed the Board of Selectmen on a proposed Eco One Stop grant application to improve Northbrook Field and the Town Common.
Will Talbot, associate planner at CMRPC, said the FY2027 application (due March 20 at 11:59 p.m.) would include removing three declining canopy trees on the common’s west side, planting 21 new canopy trees around the common, installing a pollinator garden at the northeast corner (near the senior center pergola), and removing the south-end court — an old basketball court in poor condition. Two adjacent courts would remain unchanged. The proposed project aims to increase shade and cooling and to create environmental-education programming, run by the town with potential CMRPC and senior-center partnerships.
Talbot told the board that tree planting is eligible under both MVP Action Grant and the Cooling Corridors program; the pollinator garden is eligible under at least one program. Some elements may be ineligible but the Eco One Stop process allows award of eligible components. CMRPC estimated the overall package would likely be under $100,000 (the town previously pursued a larger park proposal north of $200,000 that included full court reconstruction). The programs are reimbursement-based; though a typical 10% match applies, North Brookfield’s rural/small-community designation likely waives the match for this grant. Applicants must show proof of contractor payments to be reimbursed.
CMRPC also noted the EEA has moved grant submissions into a centralized Grants Management System (GMS); the town will need to establish a GMS account and designate a town representative to manage the application portal. CMRPC offered to serve as consultant and handle procurement and invoicing logistics for the town under a contract arrangement, which would change how invoices are managed but not remove state reimbursement requirements.
Board members raised cash-flow questions tied to the reimbursement model and asked that town accounting staff be consulted on invoice timing; CMRPC said timelines could be structured with periodic invoicing to reduce cash-flow strain and that watering/maintenance for trees could extend into a two-year schedule under some programs.
Action requested: the board approved moving forward with preparing cost estimates and the Eco One Stop expression of interest; CMRPC and town staff to return with estimates and a proposed signature timeline ahead of the March 20 deadline.
