Berkshire Regional Planning Commission Meeting

This will be a Virtual Meeting as allowed by Ch. 20 of the Acts of 2021 suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c.30 sec.20.

Information to join the meeting is:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3926128831
Meeting ID: 392 612 8831
Call in information: 312.626.6799, 646.558.8656, 301.715.8592, 346.248.7799, 669.900.9128

Meeting Material: All written materials for the meeting are posted on BRPC’s website: www.berkshireplanning.org. Click on the Calendar of
Events for the meeting and available materials will be listed.

Agenda

1. Opening (7:00-7:05)
   1. Call to Order
   2. Roll Call
   3. Approval of Minutes of the November 18, 2021 meeting
2. Comments from the Public (7:05-7:10)
   Members of the public may offer comments regarding topics, which are on
   the agenda, or other matters which they wish to bring to the Commission’s
   attention. Comments are limited to no more than three minutes and are to
   be directed to the Commission.
3. Delegate and Alternate Issues (7:10-7:15)
   Delegates and Alternates may bring up any issue not on the agenda.
4. Executive Committee Actions (7:15-7:20)
   Executive Committee actions taken on the Commission’s behalf at its
   December 2, 2021 and January 6, 2022 meetings are presented for discussion.
5. Ratification of Committee Members (7:20-7:25)
   The BRPC bylaws require the Commission to ratify members to various
   committees. There is a change on the CEDS Committee, as Michael Coakley,
   Business Development Manager, will replace Deanna Ruffer, Community
   Development Director, as Pittsfield’s representative.
6. Approval of Community Assessments for FY 2023 (7:25 – 7:30)
   The BRPC Finance Committee has proposed a 2.5% increase in community
   assessments for FY 2022. By law, BRPC must notify municipalities of their
   assessments no later than February each year so that they may be included in
   city/town budgets.
7. Community One Stop for Growth Grant Portal (7:30 – 8:00)
   The Community One Stop for Growth is a single application portal and
   collaborative review process of grant programs that make targeted
   investments based on a Development Continuum offered by the Executive
   Office of Housing and Economic Development. We will take some time to
   review this important source of potential grants.
8. Housing Discussion (8:00 – 8:45)
   BRPC has worked with 1Berkshire and a group of “housing practitioners’” to
   prepare a regional housing strategy. We will review that strategy as part of
   our ongoing emphasis on housing.
9. Executive Director’s Report (8:45-8:50)
10. Adjournment (8:50)

Other interested citizens and officials are invited to attend. All times listed are estimates of when specific agenda items may be discussed.