Editor’s Note: This story is the first in a series regarding what residents should expect in their communities in 2020. Look for stories from Franklin County’s other geographic territories throughout the week.
It’s looking like Northfield and Bernardston will spend part of 2020 collaborating — specifically, to consider the potential of a shared public safety complex.
According to Northfield Town Administrator Andrea Llamas, Northfield officials determined that the current Northfield Fire Station is not a viable option for a larger public safety complex that would include the Police Department and EMS, and they’re interested in exploring options and sharing the cost of maintaining a space with Bernardston.
Bernardston Town Coordinator Louis Bordeaux said conversations are ongoing and the idea has been shared with both Bernardston Fire Chief Peter Shedd and Northfield Fire Chief Floyd “Skip” Dunnell III.
“There have been preliminary discussions to see if there is a viable option there,” Llamas said.
“We’re trying to organize a meeting with the fire chiefs, selectmen and administrators to all get on the same page,” Bordeaux added.
While the public safety complex conversations will take some time, there are other pressing matters facing North County residents in the new year.
Starting in July, proposed changes to the recycling contract with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the operator, Waste Management Recycle America, will charge transfer stations across Franklin County $93.50 per ton of recyclables that are sorted using the dual-stream method, which involves separating paper products from bottles and cans. Bernardston, Northfield and Warwick are all asked to sign new five-year contracts.
For Bernardston’s share alone, Bordeaux said, the new contract will “create a $15,000-plus hole in the budget.” The topic will be on the first Bernardston Selectboard agenda of 2020, for its Jan. 14 meeting. The Northfield Selectboard will also discuss the topic at its next meeting.
While Bordeaux said he has reached out to other recycling and waste management companies and organizations to try to find alternatives, he is waiting for quotes on what it would cost to ship materials to another location.
“It’s something we are going to have to look at carefully,” he said.
Now that a potential change of Northfield’s Selectboard from three members to five has been endorsed by the House of Representatives, the Senate and Gov. Charlie Baker, it’s up to Northfield voters to decide definitively at the polls in May.
The proposed change passed by an Annual Town Meeting vote in 2019, sending it on to the state Legislature for approval. According to Bill H.3907, for the Selectboard to have five members, one additional member will be elected to a three-year term and one other additional member will be elected to a two-year term during the first annual town election after the effective date of the legislation.
When asked what might happen in Warwick in the new year, both Selectboard Chair Lawrence “Doc” Pruyne and Town Coordinator David Young said they had to give it some thought before settling on some of the same topics.
Among the topics listed by Young, the town aims to continue lowering municipal energy usage, including at Pioneer Valley Regional School. Warwick can look forward to the integration of a newly-established highway commissioner to oversee road activities, Young said, and he hopes for funding for future highway projects.
Other items Young anticipates residents will hear about in 2020 include the completion of the Verizon wireline telephone system and the town-operated wireless broadband network.
According to Leyden Selectboard Chair Jeffrey Neipp, Leyden can also expect the arrival of high-speed internet for residents in 2020.
“This comes after a nine-year plan that involved numerous volunteers, hundreds of meetings from one end of the state to the other, and thousands of hours of committees all working to make it happen,” Neipp said.
The actual cost of building the network will be about $1.8 million, he said. This includes $1.2 million from taxation, and $600,000 in state aid.
Another highlight for Leyden in 2020 will be a museum of town artifacts and historical displays. The Historical Committee has been storing artifacts and records in their dwellings and barns for years, Neipp said. Following the closure of Pearl Rhodes Elementary School, the town has an opportunity to use some of the building space to display the historical items.
“There is enough stuff that there will be a rotation of artifacts, and the history will be changed every now and then for everyone to enjoy,” Neipp said, “perhaps even school trips for our school district to understand what it was like to live in the hills of Leyden.”
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 264.