SOUTH DEERFIELD — Town officials are asking voters to allow the purchase of a roughly 9.2-acre land parcel during a Special Town Meeting, which will start at 7 p.m. on Monday at the Deerfield Town Offices.
The land was once part of the former Oxford Pickle site that was sold by the Deerfield Selectboard to New England Natural Bakers for $357,280 in May 2018. New England Natural Bakers had outgrown its building in Greenfield and the decision was made to expand. Within the past year and a half, however, the company changed its plans and opted to stay put. Deerfield is now poised to buy the land back, explained Selectboard Chair Trevor McDaniel.
Adoption of the warrant article would authorize the town to repurchase the site for the $357,280 it was sold for.
Another portion of the Oxford Pickle property is now the home of Pilot Precision Products, which started operations at 15 Merrigan Way on May 1 and held an open house on Sept. 23. A consolidation of four companies, Pilot manufactures keyway broaches.
The land sale is among nine articles on Monday’s Special Town Meeting warrant.
One article asks if voters will raise and appropriate the $78,056 partial match required from the town as part of a roughly $380,000 state Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant that will fund the construction of one new culvert across from Frontier Regional School and a new one off of Mill Village Road. McDaniel said both culverts have fallen into disrepair.
Adoption of another article would establish a special fund for the celebration of the 350th anniversary of Deerfield’s incorporation.
The full Special Town Meeting warrant can be viewed at bit.ly/2nhLKYK.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.