Editor’s Note: This week, the Greenfield Recorder begins a series of articles on what residents can likely expect in 2021. This next installment focuses on the Franklin County towns of Montague, Gill and Erving.
Redevelopment of old buildings continues to be a central focus in Montague and Erving, but that’s not all that’s in store for them in 2021. Finding a new police chief in Erving, and providing feedback on FirstLight Hydro Generating Co.’s relicensing proposal remain among the three towns’ key priorities.
A remote Town Meeting may be one of the early notable events of 2021 for Montague. But the town is also looking forward to redevelopment of one of its old buildings in Turners Falls, a potential expansion of the Turners Falls Municipal Airport and negotiations that could enhance the town’s recreation facilities. An effort to change the name of Turners Falls is also being addressed, and may well come to a Town Meeting vote this year.
Montague often has a Special Town Meeting in winter or early spring, but the pandemic has made town officials wary of how to hold the meeting. In late 2020, Montague voters met outdoors, but colder winter weather will probably make that impractical, Selectboard members have said.
Instead, a remote Town Meeting has been discussed by the Selectboard and Town Administrator Steve Ellis. (Special state legal provisions created for the pandemic allow representative Town Meetings to meet remotely, but not open Town Meetings.)
Ellis and the Selectboard have been discussing this since at least November, and have surveyed Town Meeting members on their ability and willingness to meet remotely. A date has not been set, but the goal discussed has been to meet in January or February.
“I’m really hopeful we can make this work,” Ellis said. “It’s just another thing we need to chase down, plan and execute.”
The only major article for that meeting that has been discussed so far is a short-term loan from the town to the Turners Falls Municipal Airport, which would support the airport in a property purchase that Airport Manager Bryan Camden has said is critical to the airport’s future. The loan is expected to be about $45,000, and would likely be repaid to the town by August or September, Camden said.
The property would come with buildings that house a flight school, fueling facilities and aircraft storage space — all things that are necessary to the viability of any airport, Camden said. Owning the property will not only guarantee their future but will also turn them into sources of revenue for the airport, and should make the airport totally financially independent from the town within two years, Camden said.
Beyond Town Meeting, Montague will reconsider its strategy on the former Public Works building, at 500 Avenue A. Seeking to sell the building, the town asked for development proposals in early December but received no bids.
Town Planner Walter Ramsey said the issue will probably be revisited early this spring. The town may decide to invest more money in the property, in hopes of making it more attractive, or may try to market it differently, he said.
In the longer term, Montague will likely seek greater investment from FirstLight into the public recreation facilities that it operates in Montague. In December, FirstLight submitted what is expected to be its final proposal for its operating license, which is renewed every 50 years. Regarding investment in its recreation facilities, the company’s proposal was not warmly received by town officials.
“I think, in general, we’re seeing a minimum offer relative to the recreational facilities,” Ellis said.
Ramsey has said the town will most likely seize on the next opportunity for public comment in the licensing process.
Changing the name of Turners Falls became a real possibility over the summer, to the point that the Selectboard charged the Historical Commission to research the historical background of the name so that it could provide context in case the question comes to a Town Meeting vote.
An online petition developed into a legally valid petition for Town Meeting to consider changing the name of Turners Falls. At the time, organizers of the petition said they hoped to have the question on the warrant for the 2020 fall Town Meeting, but it didn’t appear.
The online petition emphasized that the name Turners Falls, which honors a man who led a massacre of Native Americans, memorializes an episode in history that maybe should not be celebrated, and that a different name might be more appropriate.
The Historical Commission was charged with providing a factual basis for public discussion of the issue. But both the Selectboard and Historical Commission said they did not want to rush the process, and that a formal report probably wouldn’t be ready until spring of 2021.
FirstLight’s relicensing will also be a priority for Gill in 2021, said Town Administrator Ray Purington.
But, whereas Montague has so far been most vocal about FirstLight’s investment in recreation, Gill is more concerned about the environmental impact of the company’s operations on the Connecticut River, Purington said.
“While greater recreation opportunity would be nice, we’ve got several miles of prime farmland running along that river, with sections of it falling into the river every year,” Purington said. “That loss of farmland, the loss of habitat, the loss of private property — I think that’s higher on our priority list.”
The town’s concern is that FirstLight’s operations on the river — which include changing the flow and height of the water — are causing excessive erosion of the riverbanks.
FirstLight has disputed this. In the application materials the company submitted to federal regulators, it argued — with data from scientific studies — that its operations have caused unnatural erosion in only two places in the river, one of which has already been remediated.
Purington said the Gill Historical Commission and Conservation Commission are still reviewing the details of FirstLight’s application materials. But Gill will probably submit comments at some point this year, he said.
Hiring a new police chief will likely be the Erving town government’s most high-profile project in the beginning of 2021. Later in the year, the redevelopment of the defunct International Paper mill is likely to make important progress.
Long-time Police Chief Christopher Blair left in August, for reasons that Town Administrator Bryan Smith said are private. The Selectboard clarified that Blair’s departure was not disciplinary.
Now, an advertisement for the position is being finalized and will likely be released this month, Smith said. A screening committee will hold interviews in February, and a finalist will likely be chosen by the end of the month. The final hiring decision lies with the Selectboard.
The Erving Police Department is also preparing to hire two new officers this year, which will be one of the new chief’s tasks, Smith said.
“That’s a huge focus for us, and something we are excited about,” Smith said. “This position (the chief) is a key individual for shepherding the department forward.”
The former International Paper complex, which the town has owned since 2014, could reach a turning point in its progress toward redevelopment this year.
However, Smith noted that finding a suitable developer for the complex, which was built for a specific use, will likely be difficult.
Engineering work is happening now that will make the complex better suited to more diverse uses, Smith said. This spring, the Selectboard will seek letters of interest from developers, and hopes to request formal development proposals by the end of 2021.
“But I don’t want to be overly optimistic,” Smith said. “We’re in a fairly good position, but it’s a big project and it’s a complicated set of buildings that have a very specific use. It’s very hard to attract a developer that’s able to make use of those buildings.”
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.