HAWLEY — The Selectboard is calling for the state to transfer ownership of a 1.9-acre field behind the Fire Station so that the town can install a septic system and add a bathroom to the 42-year-old building.
The board voted unanimously on Tuesday to write to Gov. Maura Healey, state Sen. Paul Mark, and Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Nicole LaChapelle, urging them to reconsider DCR’s rejection of Hawley’s request in December 2025.
“Our request is not for some minor or unimportant purpose. This is about a public safety facility that lacks a bathroom in the year 2026. The current lot is too small to situate a septic system, given sanitary-code restrictions concerning the proximity of a septic system to the existing well, and also the presence of a ledge on the lot,” Selectboard member Hussain Hamdan said, reading the letter. “Installing a septic system would not change the DCR’s ability to use the land as a field.”
Selectboard members explained the Fire Station at 16 Plainfield Road was built in 1984 with volunteer labor and does not meet modern Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, nor does it have a bathroom or enough space to fit modern fire engines.
The board said that half of the land in town is owned by the state, and the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) it receives is minimal. There are not many options for land the town could buy to build a new station, nor can the town afford to do so.
Members added that giving the town ownership of the field would ensure the town can upgrade its facility, as well as mow and maintain the field, which is used as a landing zone for emergency medical helicopter flights.
The letter also notes that the Hawley Volunteer Fire Department is the primary first responder to calls in the state-owned Kenneth Dubuque Memorial State Forest. The board hopes the state would be willing to support the department.
“Given these factors, our request for 1.9 acres of land, which will be minimally modified and will serve an important public-safety objective, seems to us something the commonwealth and the DCR should be eager to support. We ask you to do all you can to help change their minds and make this transfer happen,” the Selectboard wrote. “We are sure that you will agree that Massachusetts firefighters in 2026 who are helping keep state property safe and even maintain it deserve to have access to bathrooms.”
