SOUTH DEERFIELD — Residents voted down two overrides, including one that is necessary for the South County Senior Center’s relocation, and approved one of two proposed green energy articles at Monday’s nearly five-hour Annual Town Meeting.
After 607 voters approved the town’s roughly $20.34 million budget for fiscal year 2027, a 4.2% increase from the current fiscal year, they considered Article 6, a $103,253 override to fund the South County Senior Center’s relocation to a 12,000-square-foot office building at 112 Amherst Road in Sunderland.
To pass, the relocation requires approval from Sunderland, Deerfield and Whately. After Sunderland voters approved the move at their Annual Town Meeting and town election, Deerfield residents voted down the override, stopping the proposed move in its tracks.
Trevor McDaniel, chair of the Selectboard and a member of the Senior Center’s Board of Oversight, described the 112 Amherst Road building as “the most advantageous place” for the South County Senior Center of the several options that have been explored, involving the “lowest cost to the towns, both in the near and long-term,” at $14 per square foot. He added that the building provides “sufficient space for growth,” and is “well-maintained” and energy-efficient, with outdoor space and ample parking.
Finance Committee Chair Julie Chalfant explained to voters the Finance Committee’s position to not support the Senior Center override, clarifying that while members believe the center “provides a valuable service to the town” and would improve with more space, “what we don’t support is spending extra money when another viable option is available.”
She described Deerfield Town Hall as this “viable option.”
When the Whately, Sunderland and Deerfield selectboards and finance committees met on March 23, the Board of Oversight’s presentation stated that renovating and renting the 112 Amherst Road space would cost $168,000 per year. A feasibility study has determined that renovations to make Deerfield Town Hall, located at 8 Conway St., a suitable senior center would come to $5 million. However, Chalfant claimed the necessary changes at Town Hall would cost $150,000 less than renting the 112 Amherst Road building.
Resident Becky Paciorek made a motion to postpone the vote, claiming “This isn’t the right decision at this time in Deerfield. We’re a people that believes in reusing things and repurposing.”
After brief discussion, however, Paciorek’s motion failed.
According to Senior Center Director Jennifer Ferrara, who described 112 Amherst Road as the “most cost-effective option,” a 2020 study of the 8 Conway St. building uncovered costly hurdles, such as single-pane windows and asbestos.
Resident Doris Bardwell echoed Ferrara’s points, adding that the Amherst Road building “really does make sound economic sense,” with “the space to grow now and for future generations.”
“A centralized senior center is definitely needed, but our wants must not overshadow our needs. We need to be fiscally responsible, so this change is affordable for every taxpayer in all three towns,” commented resident Joann Kuzdzal. “When all the other departments are reducing their budgets and cutting jobs and activities, the Senior Center Oversight Board is looking to increase their budget by over 100%. Why should we be trying to live beyond our needs?”
Along with financial concerns, many residents expressed a preference for the 8 Conway St. building over 112 Amherst Road.
Resident Reeney Grybko Clancy claimed the increase in taxes from the 112 Amherst Road relocation — $50 annually, according to Ferrara — would be a difficult expense for seniors to shoulder, and resident Erika Higgins Ross described seniors expressing a desire for a senior center that is walkable from the Tilton Library and other touchstones in town.
The vote for the override failed to pass by a visible majority.
Second override rejected
Voters also rejected a separate $400,000 override in Article 9 to fund an increase in the South County EMS budget. According to South County EMS Chief Joshua Sparks, the purchase of a $325,000 ambulance, which Deerfield voters approved at the October Special Town Meeting, led to this increase, along with cost-of-living adjustments, health insurance rates and “indirect costs to the town of Deerfield.”
Describing the article, Selectboard Tim Hilchey said the state Department of Revenue recommends towns not pay for “critical expenses” like EMS with free cash, as has been the case in the past.
“Whether it’s this year or next year, we need to bring this into our budget,” Hilchey added. “This is the right thing to do.”
Superintendent of the Frontier Regional and Union 38 school districts Darius Modestow warned against continuing to use free cash to fund recurring expenses like the South County EMS budget.
“If you set up your budget to operate using free cash, you’re setting yourself up for a bigger problem down the road,” Modestow said. “It’s just not good practice.”
According to Chalfant, the town can afford the South County EMS budget without an override. Although the majority of the Finance Committee recommended the article, she preferred the town wait to ask for the override until town officials are faced with the option of either passing the override or making cuts.
The override was defeated by 25 votes after a recount.
Climate Leader Community articles
After residents voted against the Zero-Emission-Vehicle First Policy at a fall Special Town Meeting by only two votes in a paper ballot, residents on Monday passed the policy.
The Zero-Emission-Vehicle First Policy proposed in Article 19 will require Deerfield to purchase zero-emission vehicles “for municipal use whenever such vehicles are commercially available and practicable,” according to mass.gov‘s description.
The policy, alongside the Specialized Energy Code proposed in Article 21, represent the two remaining requirements for Deerfield to become a Climate Leader Community, a state designation that unlocks up to $1 million in grant funding for projects geared toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions, along with a Decarbonization Technical Support Grant of up to $150,000.
While introducing the article, Energy Conservation Committee member MA Swedlund, who helped lead the effort to gather signatures for the citizen’s petition, described the Zero-Emission-Vehicle First Policy as an addition to a similar policy that Deerfield adopted in 2011 that requires the town to “purchase only fuel-efficient vehicles for municipal use whenever such vehicles are commercially available and practicable.”
Resident Charlene Galenski said many residents found the policy’s return to a Town Meeting warrant “disappointing” and read off mass.gov’s description of the policy, claiming “this says you have to buy them.”
“The key word is ‘practicable,'” said Energy Conservation Committee member Ryan Kingston. “This is really a check box, something we already do.”
While the Zero-Emission-Vehicle First Policy passed by a visible majority, residents again rejected replacing the town’s Stretch Energy Code with the Specialized Energy Code.
In an informational session on the two green energy articles on April 30, Bobby de Sousa, the energy code program manager at Performance Systems Development Consulting, said the Specialized Energy Code requires builders of only new, detached construction to ensure it produces net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through either installing enough renewable energy to offset other energy use in the building, building a house that runs on only electricity, or installing solar panels and pre-wiring the new building.
Energy Conservation Committee member Bruce Dolan introduced the article, emphasizing the grant opportunities connected to becoming a Climate Leader Community and how projects funded by these grants could lower town costs.
“This $1 million will help us build a more resilient Deerfield,” Dolan said. “I urge you all to vote yes. Consider your neighbors. Consider how much this could help us.”
Bruce St. Peters, who has worked in construction for decades, said he believes the state will meet its net-zero goal for greenhouse gas emissions “by any means necessary, including making the Specialized Energy Code mandatory at a future date.”
“Voting for this article will allow the town of Deerfield the opportunity to take advantage of receiving some of this grant money,” St. Peters added.
“This is an important way for us to claw back money from Beacon Hill,” Kingston said. “We don’t get a whole lot of money from the state as a small town. This is one of the few ways that we can go to the state and get what we deserve.”
Galenski and Finance Committee member James Cambias stressed that becoming a Climate Leader Community merely gives the town a shot at grant funding.
“We are being asked to make a binding choice for the possibility of getting grants; grants are not guaranteed. … The state has actually a really poor record of giving Deerfield grants,” Cambias said. “This is essentially like buying a really big scratch card.”
An initial hand count defeated the article, with 262 votes in favor and 284 against it. Residents then voted by paper ballot, which caused frustration from residents who shouted that many attendees had already left.
Via the paper ballot, the motion calling for the Specialized Energy Code was defeated again, with 211 votes in favor and 355 votes against it.
Article 22, another citizen’s petition, calling for the 2011 Annual Town Meeting vote that adopted the Stretch Energy Code to be rescinded, and to delete the code from the town’s bylaw, also failed after brief discussion.
Other articles
Voters passed citizen’s petitions calling for a tax work-off program for residents over 60 years old and veterans, and the purchase of 450 electronic vote tabulators.
Residents also voted to amend a citizen’s petition that sought to expand the Selectboard from three to five members. Under the amendment, the town will pursue a study forecasting the effects of this potential change.
Residents also approved using $230,000 to replace the Department of Public Works’ Freightliner plow truck, $80,000 to pay for a portion of the installation of solar panels on the library and $73,000 to replace a police cruiser, all from the Capital Stabilization Fund.
Besides financial moves, voters also greenlit the pursuit of easements for the Elm Street improvements that are on the horizon, and an amendment of the town’s bylaws governing the Capital Improvement Planning Committee to change the treasurer and accountant’s position on the committee from a requirement to “available upon request of the committee.”
Voters passed over four articles: Articles 7, 17, 23 and 26. The full warrant can be viewed at tinyurl.com/DeerfieldATM2026.
