DEERFIELD — The town wants you to know that, mixed in with the junk mail and bills in your mailbox, there will soon be a survey it would like to have returned by Sept. 20.
The Town Buildings Advisory Committee requests resident input in evaluating town-owned buildings. Surveys pertaining to the space needs of the town and possible building projects were mailed to every Deerfield household over Labor Day weekend, according to committee Chair Julie Chalfant. The Western New England University Polling Institute is providing free assistance in constructing the survey and analyzing the results.
Chalfant said the survey should take about 10 minutes to complete and can be returned in the enclosed postage-paid envelope they came with. She and fellow committee members expect results to analyzed by mid-October and available for use.
Chalfant said the surveys are meant to “just get a sense of what people think.” She expects there to be a public presentation of the results at a Town Building Advisory Committee meeting.
The survey includes questions about existing town services, the space required by the community and potential building projects such as building renovations or possible new construction.
According to Chalfant, the South Deerfield Congregational Church’s building at 71 North Main St. was donated to the town after the church’s closure, and the former grammar school — which houses the South County Senior Center — has fallen into some disrepair. Also, the Deerfield Town Offices are in the elementary school that succeeded the grammar school, and the building has heating and cooling problems.
The survey can also be taken online at surveymonkey.com/r/WNEU. Additional hard copies are available in the Senior Center, the Deerfield Town Municipal Building and the Tilton Library. Whately and Sunderland residents are encouraged to respond to the survey as well because the Senior Center is a joint venture with their towns. However, their responses will be tabulated separately.
Anyone with questions can contact Chalfant at 413-665-6634 or chalfant123@gmail.com.
The committee created by the Deerfield Selectboard in November 2018 is also working to hire a firm for an architectural and engineering assessment of the existing buildings’ condition. The results of this assessment will provide information on the costs of renovating buildings for continued use, Chalfant said. Professional firms have been requested to submit qualifications to accomplish this assessment, which is anticipated to occur in late fall.
Chalfant said the committee has four full members and one ex-officio member, Public Works Superintendent Kevin Scarborough.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.