SOUTH DEERFIELD — U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, was invited by the Selectboard to Town Hall Friday afternoon as officials continued their pitch for the South Deerfield campus, a long-term project that officials say would revitalize the town center.
Selectboard members and Connecting Community Initiative Chair Denise Mason presented the town’s plan for Deerfield 2030, which aims to increase the walkability, accessibility and connectivity for all residents by creating a campus based around the common, Tilton Library, Town Hall and South County Senior Center, all while preparing for climate change. The biggest challenge facing the town in achieving the plan is the high price tag of the project and the needs for infrastructure work.
“This vision will put Deerfield onto a vibrant path to the future,” said Selectboard Chair Trevor McDaniel. “That vision may never get off the ground because Deerfield faces a mountain of debt due to our crumbling infrastructure.”
The core of this campus will be the South County Senior Center, which has seen limited use in the past few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the discovery of mold and asbestos in the building. The town plans to fully renovate the building — with the help of Community Preservation Act money — into a dual-use Town Hall and senior/community center. Additionally, the town is planning to renovate the South Deerfield Congregational Church, which was given to the town four years ago.
Including work at the South Deerfield Wastewater Treatment plant, the town estimated in December that pursuing these projects could total $40 million over five to 10 years, which McGovern said is unfeasible for a small town like Deerfield.
“We’ve got to re-engage rural developments because that’s a hard figure for you to come up with,” McGovern said, adding that a federal earmark for funding parts of the town’s projects is unlikely until at least fiscal year 2024 due to the timing of federal appropriations and upcoming November elections. Instead, he said, the town should pursue additional grant opportunities with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), noting he can help facilitate conversations.
McGovern said that big municipalities, such as Boston, have many professional grant writers on staff and are able to secure large swathes of state funding, but helping small towns get grants is a chance to bring money to western Massachusetts. Additionally, there are still billions of dollars in state American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and federal infrastructure money left to be appropriated by the state government.
“This is an opportunity to even the playing field,” McGovern said. “We want to get our fair share out here, too.”
With federal grants and the remaining funding yet to be appropriated, McGovern said Deerfield can carve out a path to knocking down the price tag on the town’s campus.
“I’ve gotta believe, based on the vision you have presented here today, that there are a variety of places where there might be federal resources you can utilize to move this forward,” he said.
After meeting in Town Hall, town officials took McGovern on a brief walking tour to the South County Senior Center and South Deerfield Congregational Church, which is being eyed as a long-term, temporary place for the Senior Center. The center currently splits time between a tent on the lawn and the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church.
McGovern suggested Deerfield officials meet and communicate with him every two or three months to update him on their progress on both the campus and Connecting Community Initiative because they can serve as a model for the rest of the state.
After the tour, McGovern told the Greenfield Recorder that Deerfield’s Selectboard and their various partners on other boards should be proud of the plan they put together.
“I think this is great, I’m impressed by the vision,” McGovern said, paraphrasing Hillary Clinton’s use of “It Takes a Village” to follow through on a vision. “It takes a plan, and a village is not useful without a plan.”
McGovern said a lot of other towns that approach government officials usually “react to whatever immediate problem” is affecting them, but Deerfield has taken a “holistic view” of addressing affordable housing, tourism and climate resiliency.
“A better way to approach this is to have a holistic plan,” he said in an interview. “Let’s connect the dots … so we know where we’re going.”
On Saturday, July 9, at 11 a.m., McGovern will make another Franklin County stop at the Orange Council on Aging, located at 62 Cheney St. Residents of Athol, Warwick, Royalston, Winchendon and Orange can speak with McGovern about issues that are important to them.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.