DEERFIELD — After holding off on joining other Franklin County towns in an application for a technical assistance grant last week, the Selectboard opted to tag along with its neighbors after receiving more information on Friday.

The Complete Neighborhoods Partnership is a program offered by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership that “concentrates technical assistance, resources and investments” in designated neighborhoods to support the creation of “mobility-rich, mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods,” according to the program’s webpage. No money is distributed to any town awarded the grant because the state and Massachusetts Housing Partnership handle the finances, directing consultants and planners to towns.

If Deerfield were to receive a grant, Selectboard members signaled they would work toward a feasibility study for a geothermal heating system around the South County Senior Center and Tilton Library, which is where the town intends to develop a campus of municipal buildings and senior housing.

On March 23, the Selectboard was split on committing to the program because town resources and staff are already spread so thin with the revitalization plans of South Deerfield — made more difficult as the town does not have a dedicated grant writer/planner — along with the general day-to-day operations of the town, especially with the departure of the town’s treasurer/collector/town clerk.

“We just don’t have capacity as a town,” Selectboard member Trevor McDaniel said at the time. “We are overwhelmed and understaffed.”

Resident Lili Dwight, who has been working with the town’s Connecting Community Initiative, said the town would not have to expend any personnel resources as Deerfield would be joining Greenfield, Montague, Erving, Orange and Whately in the application. The Selectboard asked for additional details on the program before committing to it. The Franklin County Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority also is involved in the application.

At a meeting Friday, Denise Mason, the Connecting Community Initiative chair and Planning Board member, confirmed that Deerfield could ride the “coattails of other towns” as Greenfield will take the lead on the grant.

“There is no burden on the town,” Mason said. “(The state and Massachusetts Housing Partnership) hire the people and they pay them.”

McDaniel said he would agree to support the application if Mason could “guarantee me that none of our staff are going to work on this.”

Mason volunteered to take on any additional tasks, with Dwight and Selectboard member Carolyn Shores Ness acting as backups.

“I don’t see any downside about joining this,” Mason said. “It’s a win-win situation.”

McDaniel apologized for “being a stick in the mud” about asking so many questions and being careful of dedicating town resources, to which Mason said she appreciates him exercising caution and thinking of town employees.

With Mason making it clear that there will be “no cash coming into town” and no reporting requirements, the Selectboard voted 2-0 — Chair David Wolfram was late to the meeting — to support Deerfield joining its neighbors in the grant application.

“It’s for technical assistance, which everyone is short of,” Shores Ness said. “If it gets us an opportunity to make a better decision, then it’s worth it.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.