NORTHFIELD — Updated event permit application forms were posted to the town’s website Thursday, one day after the Selectboard voted to have the insurance language for seasonal events mirror that of special ones.

The board’s five members discussed the two policies in detail at this week’s meeting at Town Hall and voted unanimously to adopt the change, having had two previous discussions about the special event permitting process in August. An event permit will be issued only after the acceptance of all conditions placed upon the application, full payment of the fees, and submission of proof of an active insurance policy naming the town as an additional insured party.

The town defines a special event as one open to the general public. It can be on public or private property and may feature entertainment, amusements, food and beverages. It can be classified as a festival, concert, carnival, road race, parade or walkathon. A seasonal event permit is required, generally, for any plans to schedule and hold a series of outdoor public gatherings of 300 people or less, that vary from the current use/license of the venue over the course of a calendar year. These events might have an impact on public or neighboring property by use of outdoor lighting, amplified sound and other features.

When discussing the policies on Wednesday, Selectboard member Mary Bowen mentioned the special permit fee for a “multi-sport event” like a triathlon is $250, but the fee for a road race under 5 kilometers is $50 for up to 50 people. She asked about the rationale behind this.

“I have no idea of how we came to that,” she said.

Town Administrator Andrea Llamas explained it has to do with the level of required involvement of town officials and emergency services.

“When you have to do road races, marathons and triathlons, it has to do with how much involvement you have on the streets,” she said. “When those things are happening, you will always have the police that get involved. They’re going to patrol if you have people running the streets or biking the streets.”

A longer race, Llamas said, means police will be on patrol for a longer period of time.

“The longer and more complicated you make the event, the more intricacy is involved in patrolling it, policing it, making it protected, making it safe,” Llamas explained.

The Selectboard reserves the right to amend an event application at any time and require additional information or place additional conditions on any applicant.

Bowen asked if there is a cap on how many people can attend a special event. Llamas said there is not. But Selectboard member Alex Meisner confirmed with Llamas that the Selectboard has the authority to impose a cap on a case-by-case basis.

Selectboard Vice Chair Heath Cummings asked what town officials could do if noise from an event not within Northfield’s town lines affects Northfield residents.

“This is something that already does happen on occasion,” he noted.

Llamas said Northfield residents can ask the other town’s police to try to do something about a noise disruption, or they can call the Northfield Police Department and ask officers there to reach out to their colleagues.

“We really don’t have any jurisdiction over an event happening in another community,” Llamas said.

Selectboard Chair Barbara “Bee” Jacque mentioned it is important to protect the town without overburdening event permit applicants.

During public discussion, Patter Field said she worries Northfield residents will not get proper notification when an event permit application is on a Selectboard agenda to be considered, noting she would specifically want residents to be informed about how many people are expected to attend a proposed event. She is also concerned about noise.

The special event permit application can be found at: bit.ly/3Rvsbpe. The seasonal event permit application can be found at: bit.ly/3TZDHKS.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.