[0:01] like to call the select board meeting September 9th, 2026

[0:05] at 603 p.m. to order. Um,

[0:15] this meeting will be held in a hybrid fashion with the opportunity for both

[0:19] in-person attendance and remote participation. Please note that while an

[0:24] option for remote attendance and/or participation is being provided as a

[0:29] courtesy to the public, the meeting or hearing will not be suspended or

[0:33] terminated if the public um if technical problems interrupt the virtual broadcast

[0:40] unless otherwise required by law. Members of the public with particular

[0:45] interest in any specific item on this agenda should make plans for in-person

[0:50] versus virtual attendance accordingly. The meeting will be held in person in

[0:56] the main meeting room of Deerfield Municipal Offices in accordance with

[1:00] Mass General Law Chapter 38. Anyone in intending to record the meeting must

[1:06] identify themselves to the clerk and provide their name and address for the

[1:10] record.

[1:15] Okay.

[1:19] So, we are going to do public comment at the start of the meeting. So, if anybody

[1:25] has something that they'd like to say, please come forward.

[1:36] » Good evening. How are you? Okay.

[1:43] Hi Nikkowski, 35 State Road. Welcome. Good evening everyone. Um this is from

[1:50] both Peter and myself. Um concerns with um senior housing bid from RBI.

[1:57] First of all, we are totally in favor of senior housing. We appreciate the

[2:01] efforts and the ad hoc um senior housing committee. Unfortunately, the site at um

[2:07] 83 to 85 North Main Street is just not the right location. There are many too

[2:12] many workarounds and deficits at this site. Never mind the added expenses that

[2:18] we will illuminate below. Many have compared our project to Sunderland

[2:22] Sanderson Place. Sanderson's development is on 2.8391

[2:28] acre site with a total of 33 units. Deerfield proposed site is 2.1 acres and

[2:36] they are suggesting 34 units. Deerfield purchased the site at 38 to um

[2:43] excuse me 83 to 85 North Main Street for 420,000 with CPA funds, our tax dollars.

[2:51] We were led to believe that that would be the extent of our financial support.

[2:56] In the RFP, RDI requested $750,000 from our town to help balance their

[3:04] budget. More CPA money, more tax dollars. RDI states the abatement and

[3:10] removal of the existing structures will cost 560,000 to 749,000.

[3:17] RDI expects our town to cover this. RDI also asked our town to remove the

[3:23] existing decommissioned monitoring wells that would be more expense for our town.

[3:30] RDI is planning to apply for grants to cover another deficit of 750,000 for

[3:36] their budget. And if they do not get these grants, will they look to

[3:40] Deerfield to cover the balance? Our town's expected expense of 420,000

[3:48] may rise to 1,730,000

[3:54] to um excuse me 1,730,000 to 1,919,000

[3:59] or even more. RDI states they will need relief from current ST town statutes.

[4:07] Section 2300 maximum building height is 35 ft. Their proposed building is 47

[4:15] feet. Section 3100 parking spaces needed for a 34 unit building is 85. RDI is

[4:26] only planning on 29 parking spaces. That's not even one space per unit and

[4:32] no spaces for visitor parking. A suggestion made at one point of the

[4:37] meeting was that people can park on North Main. What's going to happen when

[4:41] it snows? storm water permit. RDI advised they

[4:47] will strive to meet our requirements. I underline the word strive, not meet our

[4:52] requirements, but they will strive to meet them, but additional waiverss may

[4:56] be required. In the first year project task, RDI

[5:01] states they will assist Deerfield with any offset mitigation by bloody brook.

[5:07] This may create additional expenses for Deerfield.

[5:11] RDI is proposing using permeable grass pavers in the parking area. This will

[5:17] create uneven terrain that will be an issue for people with mobility issues.

[5:25] They're also per our request planning to use permeable pavement. A quick look at

[5:31] the Liry lot will show how much this pavement deteriorates after a short time

[5:36] of use. another walking hazard for people with mobility issues.

[5:43] Permeable payment pavement is also more expensive. So of course that's adding to

[5:48] it. The lot is small to begin with. How will RBI set up project fencing to not

[5:55] impact buggers and ensure the safety of both workers and the residents? We are

[6:01] totally in favor of senior housing, but RDI's proposal is not the path to take.

[6:07] Submitted by Peter and Holly Lancowski. Thank you.

[6:11] » Thank you. Thanks for your time.

[6:21] » Thank you. I'm sure there's no cords.

[6:27] » Thank you. >> Oh, great. Thank you very much.

[6:29] Appreciate it.

[6:33] Anybody else?

[6:54] This is from

[6:57] Jason Clark, 81 North Main.

[7:02] Dear members of the select board, we the underside residents, neighboring

[7:06] property owners, respectfully submit this letter requesting the select board

[7:10] not make a final decision to accept or approve RDI's senior high housing

[7:14] proposal until an on-site meeting and review of the property has taken place.

[7:19] We believe the on-site meeting involving RDI representatives, the select board,

[7:24] the appropriate town committee members, and neighboring residents, property

[7:27] owners is necessary before a town makes a decision concerning this proposal.

[7:33] There are several several important questions and concerns that we believe

[7:36] need to be addressed directly and clearly. Property boundaries.

[7:41] These are outstanding questions regard or there are outstanding questions

[7:44] regarding exact boundaries of the property and how the develop or the

[7:48] proposed development hold relate to adjoining properties. We request we

[7:52] request that the property boundaries be clearly identified and reviewed during

[7:57] an on-site visit. This will allow the select board, county representatives,

[8:01] RDI, and neighboring property owners to have a shared understanding of where

[8:05] these proposed developments will be located and how close it may be to

[8:09] existing homes or properties. Adequacy of proposed parking. We have

[8:15] concerns that the number of proposed parking spaces may not be sufficient for

[8:19] the size and anticipated use of this development. An on-site review would

[8:23] allow the town and neighbors to better understand the proposed parking

[8:26] arrangement, including vehicle access, traffic patterns, guest parking,

[8:31] emergency access, and the potential for vehicles to overflow on surrounding

[8:35] streets and neighboring properties. We believe this issue should be fully

[8:39] addressed before the proposal is accepted. Storm water and water runoff

[8:44] to Bloody Brook. We're also concerned about water runoff and drainage from the

[8:49] proposed development, particularly in the area near Bloody Brook. Given the

[8:54] potential amount of new impervious service or surfaces associated with the

[8:58] development, including buildings, driveways, parking areas, and other

[9:01] improvements, we believe it's important to understand how storm water will be

[9:05] managed and where that water will ultimately flow.

[9:09] He respectfully requests that RDI explain its proposed drainage and storm

[9:13] water management plans on site and answer questions regarding potential

[9:18] impact on neighboring properties in Bloody Brook.

[9:22] Request for on-site meeting before decision. We're not asking the select

[9:25] board to reject senior housing or to prevent RDI from presenting its

[9:29] proposal. Rather, we're asking that the town take the necessary time to fully

[9:34] understand a proposal and its potential impact on the surrounding neighborhood

[9:38] before actually making a decision. An onslate meeting would provide an

[9:43] opportunity for RDI to explain its proposal and answer questions, the

[9:47] select board and town committees to inspect the property firsthand. Property

[9:51] boundaries to be identified and clarified. The proposed parking

[9:55] arrangement to be evaluated in relation to the actual site. Drainage and storm

[10:00] water concerns near bloody brook to be discussed. Neighbors to ask questions

[10:04] and identify concerns that may not be apparent from plans or documents alone.

[10:08] and all parties to have a common understanding of the existing conditions

[10:11] of a property. We therefore respectfully request that the select board postpone

[10:16] any decision to accept or approve REI's proposal until an on-site meeting has

[10:21] been conducted and the concerns outlined have been addressed. We believe that

[10:25] conducting this review is in the best interest of the town, the future

[10:28] residents of the proposed senior housing, RDI, and the neighboring

[10:32] property owners. We appreciate the select board's consideration of this

[10:36] request and respectfully ask that this letter be made part of the public record

[10:40] concerning the RBI senior housing proposal. Thank you for your time.

[10:45] » Thank you for your comments. >> Thank you.

[10:58] » You have anybody else?

[11:03] Ley. >> Yes. Thank you. Thank you for hearing

[11:08] me. Um I would just like to strongly urge the select board to go forward with

[11:14] this proposal with RDI. Um to address some of the concerns that were mentioned

[11:21] by Mr. Clark which were also appeared in uh Deerfield. Now, um there will

[11:27] actually be less pvious surface in the new development than there I mean

[11:32] impervious surface sorry than there is in the current site with that massive

[11:38] parking um lot. Um there we had the site surveyed by a professional surveyor and

[11:46] that is included the plot plan is included in the RFP packet. Um the

[11:54] parking is a conversation that we have certainly had and I think needs to

[11:59] continue with RDI but they are going to have uh a number of parking spaces and

[12:06] there is also delivery lot and there is on street parking there so I honestly

[12:11] don't think it's going to be a big issue since most of the people when we did our

[12:17] surveys most of the people who were interested in moving in are uh very much

[12:22] older and I think we'll be moving in so that they don't have to drive for the

[12:27] most part. Um, and as to the Bloody Brook concerns, we too have been very

[12:33] concerned about that and we went to the conservation commission a couple of

[12:38] years ago and we have walked the site with the chair of the conservation

[12:42] commission, Pete Law, and also I believe every member of the select board has

[12:46] walked that site uh at least on one occasion. And so I do not see the need

[12:54] to delay and I would prefer not to delay since we've been working on this for 25

[12:59] years. Um absolutely we need to include uh neighbors and the neighborhood

[13:08] in the conversations when it comes time to working with RDI to develop the real

[13:14] plan. This is a preliminary concept of the scope and so I would strongly urge

[13:21] you all to please move this on to the next step and um

[13:27] start working with RDI so that we can at last house our desperate seniors. Thank

[13:32] you. >> Thank you.

[13:41] » Welcome. Yes, please.

[13:45] Clark, 81 North Main Street. Um, I just want to point out that um,

[13:50] on Founders Day, they came out with something that said residents should be

[13:54] involved at every step of the process. It is important to give people ample

[13:58] time to provide feedback rather than host a public meeting after decisions

[14:03] have been finalized. All we're asking is for RDI to come. So, I look at the plans

[14:10] and I see, okay, they got to cut my tree to put a building back here. I want them

[14:14] to come and physically show me. >> That's That's all I'm asking.

[14:20] » Thank you. >> I think that that that's a fair answer.

[14:23] That is not a hard ask. >> Thank you very much.

[14:28] » Yeah. Thank you. Comment.

[14:38] Any comments? More comments on this or anything else?

[14:46] All right. Thank you.

[14:50] Uh we have um Trios Brewing Company summer concert season review and half

[14:56] marathon preview for September 13, 2026. Chris,

[15:04] » sure. So, as folks have probably noticed, the Treehouse summer concert

[15:08] series has wrapped up. Um, and uh, we're looking forward to the half marathon is

[15:13] Sunday, September 13th as well. Um, we thought it would be prudent to just take

[15:19] a minute to take stock of the concert season. Um, we have some, uh, you know,

[15:23] I think folks saw an email circulated from Sergeant Sakaloski about public

[15:27] safety's experience this summer. Um and then I know uh Greg Senkar, our

[15:32] assistant town administrator, has some additional information in regards to um

[15:35] noise complaints that we heard. Um so again, this is all while still fresh in

[15:40] our memory. Um just to, you know, kind of do a quick debrief. Um we were hoping

[15:46] to see if someone from Treehouse could be present tonight that doesn't appear

[15:49] um that was possible. Um but uh so turned over to Greg to speak to any of

[15:55] the the noise complaints that we've received uh this summer.

[16:00] Yeah, sure. In your packet, I think you can find uh sort of the rundown of where

[16:06] the complaints came from. I think there was a total of 44 um and I think it was

[16:11] across is it 11 11 residences. Um so just to you know it's it's a

[16:18] little more concentrated I think in in terms of

[16:22] most of them about I think it was 57% of them came from about three residents.

[16:27] So, we should be looking at, you know, the the sound and how it's traveling

[16:31] towards those residents and continue to to monitor that.

[16:34] » Yeah. >> Um, but uh, you know, those are those

[16:37] are the ones that we received. There may, you know, have been chatter from

[16:42] other residences that weren't reported and uh, so, you know, but that's that's

[16:47] a record of what we received. >> Okay. So, what about the the base as far

[16:52] as that goes for this season? because I didn't hear a lot of complaints about

[16:56] the base. >> Yeah, I Yeah, I went and visited a

[17:00] number of times and traveled around the the town as well to to check out the

[17:06] base volume and how the transference was was traveling through the town. Uh it

[17:10] does appear that the array has helped. Um I think complaints are down primarily

[17:16] from that, not from all. Um, and and again, I think it's one of those things

[17:20] where because the way drip bass travels, even with the the double sort of array

[17:26] that they were using, um, you know, it's not it's not perfect. Sound is going to

[17:30] travel, >> but I do think it it definitely had a

[17:34] positive impact this year. >> Okay. Thank you.

[17:44] Yeah, I I want to thank you for compiling this list. It just kind of

[17:48] gives a good understanding of kind of where the complaints were coming from

[17:51] and when. And then um I was just reading through Adam. Somehow I missed his

[17:56] email. So now I was just looking at he did a great job of like listing the

[18:01] date, what the concert was, and just kind of any issues that that that they

[18:06] had to deal with. Um, and they look, you know, pretty

[18:11] pretty well under control for most everything here. Um,

[18:17] you know, every once in a while you have somebody intoxicated, which seems kind

[18:21] of obvious, but but uh but they seem to handle it pretty well. And um

[18:28] there were there weren't any, you know, major medical issues or ma major um

[18:33] issues there at all. Um, so I I do think we have made great strides in trying to

[18:40] kind of tamp down the noise as best we can. Um, yeah, I would only chime in uh

[18:46] with the times that I visited. I did check in with the emergency services.

[18:51] Uh, they were actually pleased with the way the changes that were made for this

[18:56] year. Yeah. >> How things were operating, uh, how they

[18:59] were counting uh, attendees. And so that all definitely improved. Yeah, it was

[19:05] great to tour the command center and see kind of all the assets that they had and

[19:09] cameras that are up and the work that uh all the staff has done u you know keep

[19:15] people safe and um I have a chance to kind of listen to the music and see the

[19:20] sound and walk around and understand what we've done under the stage and

[19:23] around the stage and try and limit the sound and not to diminish that people

[19:27] still are concerned because I saw every email that came uh for complaints but

[19:33] Um, so I think we just continue to work on

[19:36] that, try to find ways to to make it um, more palatable for the people that are

[19:42] having to deal with that those those noise issues. Um, it seemed a shorter

[19:47] season. I mean, we we definitely closed earlier than that

[19:50] » in August. >> In there was there was five less

[19:53] concerts. I think there were 33 last year and there were 27.

[19:57] » Yeah. >> So they did wrap it up early. I think

[19:59] the last one was I think August 22nd. >> Yeah, correct. Yeah. Yeah. It was

[20:04] » modest mouse I think was the last one. >> Yeah. Again would love to hear from them

[20:08] how how it kind of went because I know you know uh cost is a concern for them

[20:12] too and like I'm sure that's why the the the stage went away sooner and just

[20:17] wondering how the economic development went. Was it you know did are they

[20:21] finding a a sweet spot is the number of concerts good you know number of

[20:25] attendees that kind of thing. So just love to know that curiosity. Anyway so

[20:29] yeah thank you. I mean, just to I assume you're sharing this information with the

[20:35] treehouse in terms of complaints and I hope that we have more granular so that

[20:42] they can say we got most complaints because of these two bands or

[20:46] » on these two nights and maybe there's something about those two acts that uh

[20:53] contributes and maybe they want to take that into consideration when they're

[20:58] making their lineup. >> Yeah.

[21:00] Um and and just for the I I assume we're

[21:05] all geared up for the marathon this weekend. People are aware in town that

[21:09] we have of a half marathon going on and um notifications have gone out. Path is

[21:15] good. Um police is aware, EMS is aware. >> Okay.

[21:21] » Great. Thank you. >> All right.

[21:28] Okay. Um, again with the half marathon, I think

[21:32] we've got to keep an eye on that as well to make sure that that goes as as

[21:36] smoothly as possible. I know that uh I've seen the the flyers that they've

[21:40] sent out to the residents as far as closures and stuff like that. So, I

[21:43] think that's that's a good start with it. We're going to make sure that again

[21:47] it's minimum inconvenience to the town people. So,

[21:54] all right. Next uh is um we've applied for the Purple Heart community for um

[22:01] Deerfield and uh we're actually going to have uh the ceremony for it on November

[22:07] 12th, the day after Veterans Day. And um the way that it's set up is we're going

[22:14] to have signs that will that are going to be at the entrance to

[22:19] the major roadways going into Deerfield right now. And um

[22:24] so it I think that as far as the ceremony itself goes going to be here,

[22:30] right? >> Yeah, we're still coordinating the the

[22:33] exact details with Alvarillis from the Order of the Purple Heart. Um but yes,

[22:38] likely in the afternoon, November 12th, that was something that was instituted

[22:43] by the Savage family, family from uh Eastern A. they uh their uncles

[22:50] or great uncles were the Broncos. I think there were two of them that were

[22:53] killed in World War II and that's why they were bringing it up and um so we we

[22:59] move forward with it and so we are now going to be a Purple Heart community and

[23:04] probably something we should have done a while ago but we're getting it done now.

[23:09] Uh the next thing is commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Walter O.

[23:14] decision's death in the line of duty on October 2nd, 1976.

[23:19] Walter was a Deerfield police officer that was hit by a vehicle and was killed

[23:24] out of five and 10. And um he has uh his family has always lived in town and

[23:32] Walter was regarded as a uh just a great guy all around but as far as police

[23:38] officer goes he's the guy with the jelly beans and uh he was just a really really

[23:44] nice guy and he was always there to help. He was either coaching working for

[23:50] the fire department, the police department. He was an allaround great

[23:53] guy. So, uh this is this ceremony again will be uh basically just to rededicate

[24:01] his memorial in the front of the town hall and uh his two sons will be there

[24:07] for it and uh that's Friday the 2nd at 9:00 a.m. October 2nd 9 a.m. And I just

[24:16] want to apologize. I'm not going to be in the country at the time. So I will

[24:19] have to miss miss this ceremony. But I'm thoughts are with the decision family.

[24:30] » You got anything else you want to add to that? Can we get it covered?

[24:35] » Okay. Um board of health. We have

[24:40] anything on the board of health agenda? >> No. No. um continuing to wait on some

[24:44] updates on the housing court case for next week. Um I I believe um Ned

[24:50] attended the the MAFCO event yesterday. Jennifer, I don't know if you have any

[24:54] from that. >> I I uh I attended as well. Pretty quick

[24:57] meeting. Um u Archer dropped off the certain uh books.

[25:05] There's a toolkit and a um and the guide. So we should kind of get

[25:10] familiar on that. Uh there is going to be a training coming up on um

[25:16] public health 101 and I think that we're going to try and fit

[25:22] in another training as well, but that's I'll I'll get some updates for you on

[25:26] the dates on that. They haven't dated yet.

[25:28] » Is that going to be a tabletop type? >> Uh it wasn't going to be tabletop, but

[25:31] it was going to be a kind of a grouping group uh inerson training on some of

[25:36] that stuff. So, I'll get some more data on that soon as soon as they have a date

[25:40] for us. >> All right.

[25:43] Before we move on, I've got a couple of things. Um, first I want to make a

[25:47] request. Could you um actually post to the Deerfield Massachusetts Facebook

[25:51] page and share to other social media the course the half marathon course or

[26:00] whatever information you have. It's not on our website at the moment. So, town

[26:05] website Facebook page just so we can share with

[26:08] people. Um, >> yeah, I'm thinking I may have done it a

[26:11] while ago. It's time to update it. >> Yeah. Yeah. And, um, couple of other

[26:17] things I just wanted to say that uh, the solar array on the Tilton library is up.

[26:23] It functions. It's waiting for Eversource to um, review and approve the

[26:29] system operation. So, it's capable of producing electricity. It just has to

[26:34] wait until Ever says it can. Um, and the solar array on the 1888 municipal

[26:40] offices building is probably going to be completed this week or early next week

[26:45] and it will go through a similar period of waiting for Eversource to recognize

[26:50] that it can start operation.

[26:55] Also, that speaking to Tilton, I know it's a little early, but October 8th

[26:59] they'll have the grand opening. um so everybody can see see it all. I think

[27:02] it's open now, but they'll have a a ceremony so you can go and um check it

[27:07] out. That's at 4:00 between 4 and 6 on October 8th.

[27:16] Um

[27:20] » Yep. So uh I guess we're going to approve the

[27:24] minutes of last meeting. So I move that the select board approve the meeting

[27:28] minutes of September 2nd, 2026 as presented.

[27:32] » Y now they're they're they're almost done. They'll be on the next meeting. So

[27:35] okay, not quite available, >> right? In reading.

[27:41] » Okay, disregard that. Um

[27:47] okay, so the next one is the review vote on the facility use policy. You want to

[27:52] explain that one? >> Yeah. And um I'm sorry I keep passing

[27:56] things to you, Greg, but but uh yeah, so essentially this this is something that

[28:00] came up last year. Um you know, once the the Tilt Library moved back into, you

[28:06] know, its permanent home at the Tilt Library, um you know, we wanted to

[28:09] figure out what to do with the 1821 meeting house. Um we've certainly been

[28:13] having a series of um you know, different groups and events uh using

[28:17] that space. Um, and it felt logical to kind of come up with an actual policy on

[28:22] how to have outside groups use town facilities. Um, so Greg working with um,

[28:28] Matthew Morris, our DPW superintendent, came up with a a proposed schedule fees

[28:33] and then some other policy questions, but I'll pass it over to him to speak to

[28:37] the details there. >> I think the really the the main sort of

[28:43] conversation we should have is do the fees look reasonable? uh is there

[28:48] anything that we haven't considered with the fees? Uh if nonprofits should be

[28:54] given a waiver of fees uh and then finally um you know what how do we want

[29:00] to proceed with any sort of alcohol on the premises if at all. It's it's really

[29:06] up to you. Um you can issue one day liquor licenses for for events but they

[29:12] do have to follow uh you know proper procedure in terms of um being legal,

[29:17] they can't serve unless they have someone that's

[29:21] certified. >> So, um it's really up to you. Um I'm

[29:27] open to hearing your thoughts on it. >> I I would think it's um I would think we

[29:34] would follow the same policy as, you know, anybody else that needs is wants

[29:38] to do a certain wine and beer or something like that. Um

[29:43] and we would have a one day liquor license. uh they would need to have

[29:46] insurance and I mean I'm not sure how often it would would take place for

[29:51] events there but you know if somebody's having a community wants to do a

[29:56] retirement party or something there people are going to serve beer wine it's

[30:00] you know I think yeah you'd need to be tips drain certified and all of that and

[30:05] have insurance so I'm in favor of it

[30:11] » the other question that I had is that uh we were thinking about some of the

[30:15] groups in Deerfield that might be using it as a permanent home such as you know

[30:19] like the VFW that was in they were in the 1888 building and if the women's

[30:25] club wanted to have that as a place for them to go and if we have anything to do

[30:29] with scouting and that type of thing that the fee would be waved for those

[30:33] groups >> that are could be meeting on a monthly

[30:36] basis or some some weekly basis. So I wanted to know if you could throw that

[30:42] in there as well and you thoughts on that agree with that too for

[30:46] sure. >> Yeah. I basically think that the fees

[30:51] that we're starting out with are logical but for you know

[30:56] public service groups should be able to use town space without fees.

[31:08] All right. That being said I'll read the motion on this one. We did do this one.

[31:13] Right. Move that the select board adopt the

[31:16] town of Deerfield facilities use policy and application as presented effective

[31:21] immediately.

[31:24] » Second with adjustments that I think you'll make to the

[31:29] » Yep.

[31:34] » All those in favor Daniel I. Tin LG >> Lakemore High

[31:40] be a learning process. I'm sure >> revisions to come.

[31:44] » Yeah.

[31:52] » Okay.

[32:09] Okay. Um, execute the hazard mitigation plan update contract with Furco in the

[32:17] amount of $30,000. >> Sure. So earlier this summer, as as you

[32:21] may recall, uh the town was notified that we were awarded a $30,000 grant um

[32:27] from the municipal and uh tribal um forgetting the acronym, but MTA

[32:36] um >> Amy Han, our land use coordinator, had

[32:40] kind of went out and applied for this grant. Um, we think, you know, kind of a

[32:43] logical body to carry this work forward and updating our multi-hazard mitigation

[32:47] plan would be our municipal vulnerability group. Um, so certainly

[32:51] that's going to be on their agenda for next week is taking this up. Um, Amy did

[32:56] seek out a number of quotes for those services. We had uh, I think moved

[32:59] forward with the application with a quote from GZA. Um, ultimately that

[33:05] wasn't going to fit in the award. Um, we contacted Ferg and they were able to, as

[33:10] they've done in the past, you know, provide a fee for a proposal for this

[33:14] work. Um, so I would suggest at this time that the, you know, the motion

[33:18] before you is, um, you know, contingent upon receipt of grant funds. We don't

[33:24] have those just yet. So, we'll finalize execution after that.

[33:29] » Sounds good. So, in other words, we're going to vote

[33:33] on it with >> Yes, but we're not going to send it to

[33:38] Furk until we get the money. Move that the select board authorize the

[33:43] chair to execute the memorandum of understanding between the town of

[33:46] Deerfield and the Franklin Regional Council of Governments for hazard

[33:50] mitigation plan update services in an amount not to exceed $30,000 contingent

[33:56] upon the town's execution of and receipt of funding under the municipal and

[34:01] tribal technical assistance grant agreement from the Commonwealth's

[34:05] federal funds and infrastructure office and further authorize the town

[34:10] administer ministator to execute any nonsubstantive

[34:13] documents necessary to implement the project.

[34:17] » Second >> discussion to go.

[34:21] » All those in favor Daniel I. >> Tim LG I

[34:25] » Gilmore I was getting great to get a grant to do this work. It's awesome.

[34:31] » Awesome. >> Okay. Now we're at a senior housing

[34:36] proposal for 8385 street.

[34:43] » Sure. So I'll just give a little background here. Um you know this is the

[34:47] second time around that the town put out an RFP for senior housing for 8385 North

[34:52] Street, also obviously known as the the St. James Church site. Um we received

[34:58] one proposal from RDI. Uh they're the development way of the Franklin Regional

[35:03] Housing Authority. Um you should have a copy of that proposal

[35:09] in front of you. Um back in July, the board appointed members of a a basically

[35:15] a proposal evaluation committee to to vent the proposal. Um that committee

[35:20] ended up meeting a number of times. Um they did a site visit with RDI to

[35:25] Sanderson Place. We had a a one-on-one meeting with RDI to actually discuss

[35:30] some concerns that that committee members had um and ultimately committee

[35:35] members um evaluate the proposal and submitted that back to Furco who has

[35:39] been handling the procurement process for us. Um so on most fronts

[35:43] advantageous or highly advantageous was the the rating for the the proposal. Um,

[35:49] Burkhog then opened our price proposal which we knew was going to be um, you

[35:54] know, not not a mind-blowing amount of money. It's a it's $1. Um, and that was

[35:59] expected given the the budget that uh, RDI had put forward which requires as

[36:04] was mentioned earlier tonight some additional subsidy from the town.

[36:08] So, at this point um, that you know the board has the proposal in front of them.

[36:13] um you know we need to whether it's tonight or at a future point make a

[36:17] decision about either selecting RDI as the the developer for the site uh or

[36:23] moving on and and and um you know finding out a different way to approach

[36:26] the project. Um Lisa me from town council is here uh to answer any

[36:33] questions that the board may have. This is obviously new territory for the town.

[36:36] This is kind of further along the path of senior housing than the town has been

[36:40] previously. Um, so certainly if there are questions about what we're doing

[36:44] tonight or about uh a prospective land development agreement with RDI, should

[36:48] the the board decide to go that way, uh, Lisa is available here to to talk to.

[36:54] » Great.

[36:59] You got what? Yes. So Lisa, I want to ask a little bit um about the process in

[37:04] that, you know, we we've been asked to kind of move the move the ball forward

[37:10] down the field a little bit and uh allow the town boards to kind of start start

[37:15] their work to see if this project is feasible. Um do we have one one swing at

[37:21] the bat? or should we have um should we hold and get other I mean it seems like

[37:28] the questions that were asked um tonight will be flushed out in multiple meetings

[37:33] through different boards like ZBA conservation all of that stuff um if we

[37:40] accepted this proposal to move forward down the road do we have other um other

[37:47] steps in the process where we could pull it back or um you know just looking for

[37:53] a timeline of how this project would go forward and what kind of control this

[37:58] board has. >> Sure. Um so let me let me first say that

[38:03] um I have um I've reviewed the RFP and I have reviewed the proposal

[38:09] um and nothing in the either the financing or the timeline that's

[38:14] presented by the proponent um strikes me as unusual.

[38:20] » Right. Um, in fact, I think that the timeline that is set forth is a very

[38:26] realistic timeline. Um, over this past year, I think I've negotiated

[38:33] three other LDAs for other communities um related to uh moderate and lowincome

[38:40] housing. um none of them senior although I have

[38:44] been a proponent on a senior housing project um in a community on behalf of

[38:49] uh a private entity. So none of it is um strikes me as being unusual. Um and the

[38:58] the part that they're looking for funding from further funding from the

[39:04] CPA um is also not unusual in these projects. if you're going to get fund if

[39:09] you're going to get housing that is um 60 50 and 30% um AMI not at all unusual

[39:19] um that having been said um I there are comments as you suggested um Trevor that

[39:27] uh are going to be addressed in a zoning process for example you know all the

[39:33] storm water for you know in conservation um the the design of the building. All

[39:38] of that is all part of a comprehensive permit process in front of the zoning

[39:42] board of appeals and anything like that. I think that this firm would sit with

[39:46] the zoning board of appeals to um help them with the comprehensive permit proc

[39:51] process because I don't think that the board has been through very many if any

[39:56] of those um permits. Mhm. >> Um so the from a timing point of view

[40:02] the next step really is if the board decides um that they would accept

[40:07] tenatively accept the RDI proposal based upon the negotiation of a land

[40:13] disposition agreement then we get to negotiate the agreement. Now, there's a

[40:18] sample agreement that was included in the RFP, but you know, a lot of the

[40:23] details that are in the proposal now have to be worked into the land

[40:27] disposition agreement. And so, that's your second bite of the apple, if you

[40:32] will, right? So, you you say, "Okay, tenatively we accept the RDI proposal as

[40:38] it's presented." And there'll be contingencies, right? There's going to

[40:41] be contingencies on this. You don't have any control over the CPA. So there's

[40:46] contingencies on whether the or the CPC the contingencies on whether that gets

[40:51] funded and whether town meeting agrees to fund that. There's contingencies in

[40:54] here relative to them getting initial funding. Right? Then there's

[40:59] contingencies on them getting their permits. Then there's contingencies

[41:03] based upon whether or not they get their final funding. But so those would all be

[41:07] worked into the LDA. And I think probably if I'm them, one of the first

[41:13] things I am going to do is seek that funding from the town, at least approval

[41:19] by the CPC committee and town meetings because then I'm I'm going to know if

[41:23] I'm going to be able to go forward. >> Right.

[41:25] » Um right. So that that's going to be worked into the LDA, but I'm not going

[41:29] to if I'm them, I'm not doing that. And and as the town, you don't want them to

[41:34] do it until we have a signed land disposition agreement. So those your

[41:38] your first trigger is tonight or whenever you decide to make the decision

[41:43] to move forward contingent on the you know the agreement of an LDA and and

[41:50] assuming the parties can reach an agreement on an LDA then the next

[41:55] contingencies will be laid out in the LDA related to funding and things of

[41:59] that nature. >> Yeah, that I that helps quite a bit. I I

[42:04] kind of I assess that that would would generally be it. You know, this is just

[42:07] kind of saying, hey, there's a developer that's interested. They put a proposal

[42:12] together. It's really a rough proposal and what they think they could make

[42:17] happen there, but there is a lot of decisions that still need to be made.

[42:20] Can you fit 34 units on this thing? Um, you know, can you can you get a approval

[42:27] for the height of the building? Can you get uh approval an exemption for the

[42:31] number of parking? I have I have some concerns about the size of it, the

[42:34] parking, um, and you know, some other things, but I know our conservation

[42:39] commission will deal with kind of the water and out to the ri out to the

[42:43] brook. Um, there's quite a bit of work that still needs to be done. I just want

[42:48] to make sure that this this board still has a say at like if if we start through

[42:53] this process and realize that you know that it isn't going to be feasible uh

[42:59] it's going to be too much um that we have a way to back that off and then

[43:03] also all the residents in town have a say whether this is going to go forward.

[43:07] Do they want to fund the CPA um to to make the project worthwhile? I

[43:13] personally I think yes money is you know it's a lot of money for sure. Um the way

[43:19] I look at it it's you know a million and a half investment to a a 30 something

[43:25] million dollar project in your community that will provide housing for our

[43:29] seniors that we've been looking for for a quarter of a century. Um I think it's

[43:34] worth doing but I you know I I wish there was a better spot for it. you

[43:38] know, we've looked around and looked around and looked around and really

[43:42] having a hard time finding a good spot for this. Um, so this is an option and I

[43:47] don't think it's finalized and I would be curious to see it go forward and just

[43:52] see what can come of the process and what the other boards feel about it. Um,

[43:57] and what the residents want to vote for it, you do do they want to fund it?

[44:02] » Yeah. So, let me let me just say um that the you're not going to get any more the

[44:08] town isn't going to get any more details yet about

[44:13] you know about you know the storm water and the height and all of that. They've

[44:17] done some preliminary work and so the next effort is really negotiating the

[44:23] land disposition agreement. >> Yeah. And then once that happens,

[44:26] they're going to make sure they at least have, you know, a portion of this

[44:29] funding in place, right? Yeah. >> And then once that happens, then they'll

[44:33] start to refine the design. Now, I think it's fair and I I frankly I just did

[44:40] this in another community where there was some concern about some of the

[44:44] design and some of the parking, for example, and we work that out in the

[44:48] land disposition agreement between the select board and the developer. So that

[44:54] you know certain if there are overarching concerns those are worked

[44:57] out in the land in the land disposition agreement so that when it's presented to

[45:02] the zoning board of appeals your

[45:06] concerns are addressed in in that process. But they're not going to

[45:11] they're not going to spend the money to do civil and architectural drawings now.

[45:16] They're just not going to do that. Nobody's going to do that.

[45:19] » No. You don't have a Yeah. They don't have a a pathway yet.

[45:23] » No. >> Um, so I guess the first step is to kind

[45:27] of move it down the down the field so that people could decide is and and they

[45:31] can decide and we could find out is there money, is there funding, is it

[45:35] worth flushing this out to be something um where we'll address a lot of concerns

[45:39] of the town and and and maybe we won't address them all and maybe it maybe the

[45:44] project doesn't move forward, but it um we we have to kind of move it forward to

[45:49] find out, you know. You can't right unless well I mean you could reject a

[45:54] proposal for sure but then but then >> back is where you know

[45:57] » where are you and then >> but nobody's going to do anything until

[46:01] they know how they have an agreement and the agreement is going to have a number

[46:04] of contingencies in it right >> and I think I think I would like um to

[46:11] meet with the members of the town who are against the project initially to

[46:17] find out uh you know I we have some detailed questions here, but just to

[46:21] fully understand that so that when we when this board negotiates um the land

[46:27] disposition agreement, we can try to capture most of that in that we can. And

[46:32] then of course, it's not it's not all up to us. It's up to ZBA and it's up to um

[46:38] CPA and up to the conservation commission to kind of hash out the rest

[46:42] of it. But um we just really want to have a good list of what the objections

[46:46] are and can we can we bridge those? you know, we you won't always bridge

[46:51] everything, but you want to get as much as you can figured out. So,

[46:55] » so just to recap shortly, basically, there's lots and lots of steps between

[47:01] saying to RDI, we would like to discuss negotiating a land disposition agreement

[47:07] and an actual project. And so, planning board, zoning board, conservation

[47:12] commission, um community input, etc. will all come

[47:18] after we either say yay or nay to >> negotiate.

[47:23] » Yeah. So um if I could Tim um no planning board, right? So the proposal

[47:29] is to do >> a 40B, right? So the zoning board sits

[47:33] as the permit granting authority for all local boards and commissions except the

[47:38] conservation commission which will sit to apply the state wetlands act. the

[47:42] zoning board would apply the local wetlands act in so far as um if the

[47:47] applicant were asking for any waiverss from the local bylaw. So um it's the

[47:52] zoning board and the conservation commission.

[47:55] » Great. Thanks for that clarification.

[48:01] So Lisa, moving this forward is just basically going to start the ball

[48:07] rolling as far as getting all the and I'm just rehashing this so I I

[48:11] understand it so that the other boards can react. we can we can actually start

[48:18] uh looking at some of the problems that we have with this and negotiating with

[48:22] them on that aspect as well and be able to get some of the concerns of the

[48:27] residents in town as far as having them be addressed by RDI.

[48:34] » Yeah. So I I so yeah let me give you some examples, Blake. Um, so I I kind of

[48:40] heard one of the neighbors um talk about a concern about a tree, which is really

[48:45] important, right? And so it may be that that tree is on the on the town side of

[48:52] the property line. I don't know where the tree is, but and but let's say it's

[48:56] on the town side of the property line. And if it's possible for example that

[49:02] because of the importance of that tree that RDI site plan retains that tree

[49:07] then then we need to put that in the LDA that you know any plans moving forward

[49:12] will retain the tree for example and protect it during construction. So those

[49:17] are you know those are the kinds of things and then obviously you can you

[49:21] know they're going to have to comply with the state storm water policy. So

[49:24] that's going to you you can they have to do that no matter what, but you can put

[49:28] it in the agreement if you want to make sure that it's in the agreement, right?

[49:31] So if you if you're concerned about parking and you understand what their

[49:36] issues are with parking, then maybe you all work out that maybe there's a few

[49:40] more spaces. I don't know. So those are the kinds of things you can work out

[49:44] initially in the in the land disposition agreement in addition to the very

[49:49] important factors related to the timing and the finances. All

[49:55] right. >> Yeah.

[49:58] » So, as far as us pulling this back in, if there's again there's an impass

[50:04] land acquisition, >> how it would be through that?

[50:08] » Yeah. If in the negotiations of the land disposition agreement, if the parties

[50:12] either you or RDI say, "Nope, I'm sorry." RDI says, "Nope, that wasn't in

[50:16] our proposal. There's no way we can do that." and the select board says, "Well,

[50:20] that's not that's not a hill I'm willing to die on. Forget it." Then then it's

[50:25] over. Right? Because >> so you're you would be saying, "Okay, we

[50:31] vote, let's say you decided to vote tonight. Uh we vote to move forward with

[50:36] the RDI proposal and start entering negotiations on a land disposition

[50:42] agreement." And either you come to terms on land disposition agreement or you

[50:47] don't, right? And if you don't, you're done. If you do, then you move forward.

[50:54] » I don't think we can address all the questions that residents have unless we

[50:59] start the process. >> Um cuz we have the proposal as it is,

[51:03] you know, >> they really need to know, can they get

[51:06] the funding? Are we moving forward? And, you know, can we come up with a deal

[51:10] somewhere? And there and there's there may be some things that you can't that

[51:15] the zoning board may have to weigh in on, right? Just but those things that

[51:20] are priorities of yours um and understanding more in depth perhaps some

[51:26] of the funding mechanisms. Yeah. >> Then that's what you pull out during the

[51:31] negotiation of the um land disposition agreement.

[51:36] Good.

[51:40] » All right.

[51:44] I want to ask a question. Lisa, I'm just curious to hear if in these other

[51:49] projects you've been involved with, there is some kind of uh project

[51:52] committee that's formed um just to make sure that all these different

[51:56] stakeholders and boards and committees we're talking about are at the table in

[51:59] some way, shape or form. >> In the land disposition agreement,

[52:02] usually there is a team that the town administrator or manager might have they

[52:08] appoint, right? So it's an administrative team that they would

[52:12] appoint that might have a financial concern in might represent the select

[52:17] board uh might represent the senior housing committee uh might represent the

[52:23] citizen or something like that. So, a small that would be the small

[52:26] negotiating committee and that would then um go back to the select board,

[52:31] right? So, the select board might say, "Here are our concerns, Chris. We want

[52:35] to make sure you address these concerns." Then the committee sits down

[52:39] and negotiates the agreement myself. You know, I know I do the drafting, go back

[52:44] and forth with the committee, >> and then we bring it back to the board.

[52:48] » Sounds like a good process.

[52:53] Yeah. Now, as far as this goes with the I know that was brought up tonight as

[52:59] well that um the neighbors would like people that are uh around this project

[53:06] would like to have a um a a view of the site with RDI. Can we make that as a

[53:14] contingency of this as we're moving this forward or we don't have that option?

[53:19] Well, so I think there's um so of course you have the option and and the question

[53:25] is um when and how, right? So it may be a good idea early on and everybody, you

[53:34] know, and I'm not here to argue RDI's case. I've just seen this enough. They

[53:39] do not have enough specifics, >> right,

[53:42] » to address all of the questions that have been put forward. They're just not

[53:45] there in the process yet, right? But importantly, it would be good if they

[53:52] heard the concerns of the neighbors as they walked around the site. I don't

[53:57] think there's anything wrong with that at all. But I don't want to um put

[54:01] unrealistic expectations out to those abutters because they're ju they just

[54:07] don't have the details yet and they're not going to have the details for a long

[54:12] time. >> Right. Yeah. I mean, it's a it's several

[54:15] years of a project and um yeah, there's just a lot of work left to do,

[54:20] » right? A rough schematic, a rough layout of a property, but

[54:26] this is not a guaranteed building in a guaranteed spot. You know, it's about

[54:30] they can guess at, you know, with the money that they've,

[54:33] » you know, put forward in a bid. So, um, but yeah, it would be great once once we

[54:41] get the ball rolling to, you know, because I I'm sure they're going to want

[54:43] to hear those concerns and say, "How do we address them? Can we address them?"

[54:48] » Yeah. I don't think there's any problem with RDI meeting the neighbors out on

[54:52] site and, >> you know, and Christopher and, you know,

[54:56] one or two of you, not too well, you'd have them posted, but one of you to walk

[55:01] around. >> Yeah.

[55:03] » To walk around the site. >> Yeah.

[55:04] » Right. I I don't think that hurts at all.

[55:06] » Right. Would benefit for sure.

[55:12] » That's fine. I don't I don't have a strong feeling about

[55:14] » I think we should post it and we should go. Yeah, that's fine. That's fine.

[55:19] Okay. Thank you. Anything else?

[55:24] All right. So,

[55:28] I don't think we're going to learn anything more by delaying this than we

[55:32] already know. The committee reviewed this RFP that came back with favorable

[55:37] or advantageous or highly advantageous I believe almost unanimously if not

[55:43] unanimously. Um there's a process in place. The abutters are definitely uh

[55:49] going to be a big part of the process moving forward. Their rights are

[55:52] protected in any development. So, um I think we should go ahead and start

[56:00] the vote to approve this RDI as a developer and try to negotiate a land

[56:07] development agreement and uh >> and then, you know, add conditions that

[56:12] we have. I know that the ZBA knows more about parking than I do and that they

[56:18] will probably require certain things to occur if this project moves forward um

[56:23] that will inform their decision about whether they need more or fewer parking

[56:27] spaces. Um, so you know, that's my opinion is that we should vote tonight

[56:33] to approve RBI as the approved contractor or or proponent of this

[56:39] senior housing project, whether it is 34 or whether it goes through the process

[56:45] and it's reduced or whether it falls apart.

[56:49] » You know, this is this is a great site. There are some things about it that are

[56:53] not perfect, but it's in the center of town. It's walkable. You can walk to the

[56:59] uh library, you can walk to Chesix Market, you can walk to Buenois, you

[57:04] can, you know, uh walk church probably. So, uh you know, it's it's centrally

[57:11] located in the most densely populated area of town, which is really where you

[57:16] want it. You don't want it out in a field somewhere in the corner of town

[57:20] because then all the seniors are isolated from the center of town for the

[57:24] same reason that the town hall building makes sense as a community senior center

[57:28] because it's centrally located. Senior housing makes sense seniorly centrally

[57:33] located. So hopefully uh you know these issues can be worked

[57:39] out through a process but the process is going to be a year or two years. It took

[57:43] it took Sunderland three and a half years to complete their process before

[57:48] Sanderson Place was built. >> So, it will take a long time. And I

[57:51] think I'm glad that the, you know, because we have CPA involved, uh, funds

[57:57] involved in this project. It's up to the residents, too. Once we get that final

[58:01] plan figured out and, you know, we get it flushed out far enough that everybody

[58:05] understands the funding, then it's up to the residents. Do do we really want to

[58:08] fund this and move forward? So I think I can't get an answer.

[58:14] » So if I if I could just if your vote Mr. um Hilchie it would be um that you would

[58:19] approve them subject to successful negotiation of land disposition

[58:23] » to the the motion that we have prepared for us. Yeah.

[58:29] » You got Yeah, you've got two motions in front of you, Blake, but uh Lisa's got

[58:33] one to suggest. Take that one, too. >> I'm sorry. Well, listen. Can I maybe

[58:39] read that one and then listen to >> what?

[58:42] » Well, the thing is is that I think that this one's what you said doesn't

[58:47] necessarily line up with the one I have in front of me. So,

[58:50] » we'll take we'll give you a friendly amendment once we're done. So, read it

[58:53] and then we'll >> you're going to do an amendment.

[58:54] » Yeah. see what says it. Move that the select board designate Rural Development

[58:59] Incorporated RDI as the preferred developer for the development of 8385

[59:04] North Main Street, a senior housing and authorized town council and the town

[59:09] administrator to enter into negotiations with RDI regarding the terms of a

[59:14] disposition and development agreement subject to further select board approval

[59:19] of any final agreement and compliance with all

[59:24] applicable procurements disposition permitting and funding requirements.

[59:30] » That works. >> Okay.

[59:32] » Second. >> All those in favor?

[59:35] » McDaniel. I >> Tim Hilchi. I

[59:37] » Blake Gilmore. I >> do.

[59:40] » Well, great. >> Ball's going down. We'll see where it

[59:42] goes. >> Great. Thank you all for being

[59:47] Thanks for joining us. >> So, bye.

[59:55] What else do we have?

[1:00:09] » Question. This limited development agreement. Will

[1:00:15] the terms and all the information in that agreement be available to residents

[1:00:20] to see when it's prepared? I believe when it's done. Yeah.

[1:00:24] » Yeah. The contract, any any agreement will certainly be a public record. Yeah.

[1:00:30] » Before it's approved.

[1:00:33] » Yeah. We'll we'll we'll have to talk to council about exactly what can be um

[1:00:39] made available to residents during the negotiation process.

[1:00:43] » Thank you.

[1:00:47] » Moving on to appointments. Um

[1:00:52] Samantha Zish full-time paramedic effective September 30th 2026 and she

[1:00:57] used to replace one of the two that have already left being

[1:01:01] » Yeah. Yep. And Samantha was already with SKIMS. Um she was she was you know

[1:01:05] essentially on leave unemployment for a bit of the summer. She's back. Um and so

[1:01:11] uh uh Chief John has uh you know put forward an offer letter to bring her

[1:01:16] back on board. >> Great.

[1:01:18] Move that the select board appoints Samantha Zish as full-time paramedic

[1:01:22] effective September 30th, 2026. >> Second.

[1:01:27] » Any other discussion? All those in favor?

[1:01:29] » Chairman McDaniel. >> Tim.

[1:01:31] » Blake Gilmore. I

[1:01:40] the next one is to designate Christopher Dunn, town administrator as a local

[1:01:45] government representative or LGR under consolidated local permit for energy

[1:01:52] sighting uh as of 225 CMR 29.

[1:02:00] second. >> No.

[1:02:04] » Yeah. So, um you know, October 1st, uh you know, the state's new energy

[1:02:09] sighting and comprehensive permit law is coming into effect. Um every community

[1:02:14] needs to have a local government representative. So, that's essentially a

[1:02:18] point person to make sure that the various boards and committees that would

[1:02:21] be involved in approving a permit um can be, you know, essentially have someone

[1:02:26] doing air traffic control for them. Um, and most towns are appointing their town

[1:02:31] manager or town administrator. Um, and I'm actually going to be attending on

[1:02:36] Friday a training in Springfield about this energy energy sighting law. None of

[1:02:41] this is to say we have or will receive any applications for this type of

[1:02:45] sighting, but it is um, you know, it's a reality that that towns are preparing

[1:02:50] for and so this is just a step in case we do receive any applications.

[1:02:55] So just so people can understand what this what this is about this is

[1:03:02] developers coming out and saying they want to build a large solar array or

[1:03:06] they want to build a large battery battery energy storage system um and the

[1:03:11] state is trying to expedite this process so that developers can't be delayed

[1:03:16] without cause for a long period of time. So, does this compress this process to

[1:03:21] like a year? And can you just talk? >> Yeah, correct. A year. Um, and then

[1:03:26] they're, you know, essentially they're prescribing the process that the, uh,

[1:03:30] the applicant has to go through. Um, and, you know, to what you're saying,

[1:03:36] obviously, we have very high energy costs here in Massachusetts right now.

[1:03:40] So, this is part of, as I understand it, the Healey administration's approach to

[1:03:43] try to bring those costs down um and also meet goals in terms of climate

[1:03:48] change um and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. So, the the general idea is

[1:03:54] you know, speed up the development of these um you know uh these energy

[1:03:59] projects um and and hopefully bring cost down. Obviously,

[1:04:04] every small town has major concerns about this because we want to make sure

[1:04:08] that we're protecting our sources of water, our forests, our fields, our

[1:04:11] farms >> and money.

[1:04:14] » And money. Yeah. So, there's there's there's certainly uh a lot of concerns.

[1:04:18] I'm certain when I go to Springfield on Friday and and attend that training, I'm

[1:04:22] going to hear from a lot of fellow town administrators about those very

[1:04:25] concerns. >> Yeah. I remember at the uh at the spring

[1:04:29] um gathering we had um M&A does a does the rural uh meeting in the spring. This

[1:04:36] was a serious you know Blandford was dealing with it and you know because

[1:04:39] they just come in and you know you don't have really any say and just the cost

[1:04:43] that it was laying on the towns was difficult. So I'd love to hear what you

[1:04:47] hear and if it's anything's changed you know if they make any changes.

[1:04:50] » Yeah. I I will say, you know, one one thing in our favor, the uh I think the

[1:04:54] the point person for uh the Department of Energy Resources on all of this is uh

[1:04:59] Doug Finn, who's a former town administrator for

[1:05:03] » for Deerfield and also was recently town administrator for West Hampton. So, he's

[1:05:08] certainly familiar with the concerns that a lot of the small towns have.

[1:05:11] » He's a good man. >> Y

[1:05:14] » All right. So, move. >> Did we vote?

[1:05:17] » Uh yeah. So we just need a second. >> No, we got a second.

[1:05:21] » We got a second. >> All those in favor.

[1:05:24] » I said so moved after he read the paragraph. So

[1:05:27] » no, we did get a second. >> Sounds good.

[1:05:31] » Would you please >> All those in favor Daniel

[1:05:35] » Gilmore I think we do.

[1:05:40] » Thank you Christopher for this. >> Next item is being tabled.

[1:05:45] » Okay. uh the green communities grant for Frontier Regional School Building

[1:05:51] Management System. >> Great news.

[1:05:53] » And they got 250,000 for the

[1:05:57] » Yeah. So, this is kind of part two of a grant that um uh that the schools got

[1:06:03] last year to update the building management system for the Deerfield

[1:06:07] Elementary School. Now they've gotten it for the Frontier Building. Um you know,

[1:06:11] Shelby and everyone are related. This is great news. Yeah. Um, so we're going to

[1:06:15] have a kickoff meeting uh with the our green communities representative on

[1:06:19] Monday. Um, and I just wanted to, you know, give everyone a heads up and uh,

[1:06:24] you know, it's it's an exciting um, project to be moving forward on as I

[1:06:28] said, kind of part two in terms of updating our our school buildings

[1:06:32] management systems. >> And I'd love to just thank the staff

[1:06:35] here and the school and um, and our energy committee.

[1:06:39] I know the crew there and and all that are on that committee

[1:06:44] have really worked hard to try and um do this regionally. You know, apply for all

[1:06:50] the three towns to try and get money together for a regional school. Um it's

[1:06:55] in Deerfield, so that's kind of how we we apply. But um they've done great work

[1:06:59] to try and find ways to, you know, apply for grant money that could could benefit

[1:07:05] all of us. So, >> yeah, the energy department, this is

[1:07:09] bringing us close to $900,000 in grants we've received under green communities

[1:07:15] and it's reduced our energy usage close to 100,000 a year, all of these

[1:07:20] projects. So, um kudos to the energy committee. They uh bringing good good

[1:07:26] stuff to the town, >> bringing money. Yep, it's good.

[1:07:33] » I think that's it.

[1:07:39] or you have any other things you want to hit?

[1:07:41] » All right. >> No, I think uh do do we have uh the ZBA

[1:07:45] application member application? I Well, we can bring

[1:07:50] that up next week. That's fine. That's all right. No, no items unanticipated

[1:07:55] right now. >> Okay, sounds good. Do we have a a

[1:07:59] meeting coming up? I know Jim's going to be away.

[1:08:02] » Yeah. So, so we were looking at we were initially looking at uh September 16th.

[1:08:06] Uh now I think we were going to look at September 23rd. We are going to strive

[1:08:10] to keep that agenda light. >> You know, Tim might have be tuning in

[1:08:15] tuning in at midnight or whatever. >> I'll dial in at a reasonable hour. Yeah.

[1:08:21] » Um >> so looking at September 23rd in all

[1:08:25] likelihood. >> Okay, sounds good.

[1:08:29] » Entertain a motion. >> Motion to adjurnn. Second.

[1:08:32] » All those in favor McDaniel. I >> Tim I

Deerfield Selectboard - September 9, 2026

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