MMA announces winners of annual Municipal Innovation Awards

The winners of the annual Kenneth Pickard Municipal Innovation Awards were recognized at the MMA Annual Meeting on Jan. 22.

This year’s awards went to a project that uses anaerobic digestion to generate energy for a wastewater treatment plant; the state’s first municipal curbside composting program; and a town-run bookstore that has helped to free up library space and generate revenue.

Judges for the awards were Bob Ritchie, the former director of the Municipal Law Unit in the attorney general’s office, and Alan Sentkowski, a Princeton selectman from 2004 until 2010 and a former president of the Massachusetts Selectmen’s Association.

The award is named in honor of Kenneth Pickard, the executive secretary of the Massachusetts League of Cities and Towns from 1969 to 1973.

The winners are:
• Fairhaven: Anaerobic digestion to offset energy costs
• Hamilton-Wenham: Organic waste pick-up program nears goal
• Wilmington: Land purchase led to library bookstore

• More information about the Pickard Municipal Innovation Award