DEERFIELD — Monday’s election will have three contested races as a Selectboard seat, two Deerfield School Committee positions and a seat on the Board of Assessors are up for grabs.
Incumbent Selectboard Chair David Wolfram faces a challenge from Conservation Commission Chair Tim Hilchey for a three-year Selectboard seat, while newcomer Anne Curtis seeks one of two seats with three-year terms on the Deerfield School Committee as current committee members Carey Etchells and Geoffrey David Sharp run for re-election. Henry “Kip” Komosa Jr. and Frank Leone are both running for a three-year term on the Board of Assessors.
Polling will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Town Hall. Masks are not required.
Wolfram, 69, is running for his third total and second consecutive term on the Selectboard as he seeks to guide Deerfield’s development over the next three years. He and his fellow Selectboard members have laid out their vision to revitalize South Deerfield and Wolfram wants to make those plans a reality.
“There’s a lot of things in the hopper right now that I want to try and get done,” Wolfram said. “We’ve talked about them for 20-something years and things just haven’t been getting done, so I’m trying to push that through.”
Money remains the main challenge of completing these projects, which include potential repairs or construction on the Old Deerfield Wastewater Treatment Plant, the renovation of the Senior Center/old grammar school into a dual-use Town Hall/Senior Center, and a senior housing complex in South Deerfield.
To face these financial challenges, Wolfram said the first step would be to create an enterprise fund where money from solar projects and revenue from cannabis companies could be used to address the wastewater plant and capital projects in town.
“Unfortunately, I think western Mass. gets the short straw a lot of the time,” he said, “but we keep pushing with (state Rep. and Sen.) Natalie (Blais) and Jo (Comerford), and try to make sure we’re being heard.”
He listed his top priorities as working with the town’s seniors to secure a long-term temporary home as the Senior Center is renovated, creating the senior housing complex and attracting new businesses to town while maintaining the town’s character, which he called “controlled growth.”
“There’s a lot more that could be happening in town,” Wolfram said. “But we have to balance it with business and residential because business is what pays for the town. We’ve got to balance that out and avoid some of the pitfalls of expanding residential to multi-dwelling because that’s going to have an impact on our school systems.”
Along the same point, he said a store like Dollar General — which withdrew plans for a location on Routes 5 and 10 in August — could be beneficial to the town if it’s done right. He added that Deerfield “can’t be elitist” about businesses coming to town.
“There are certain demographics in town that need that kind of store,” Wolfram said, adding that he felt the site plan for that specific store was too big for its site. “We’ve got to serve everybody.”
Wolfram, who was “born and raised” in Deerfield, spent 14 years as a special police officer, 17 years as a volunteer firefighter with the South Deerfield Fire District and was an EMT with Deerfield Rescue for 30 years.
“My heart is in Deerfield,” he said. “I don’t have any hidden agendas, I am who I am. … I just want to see Deerfield grow in a responsible way.”
Hilchey, 63, is seeking his first term on the Selectboard after spending three years on the Conservation Commission and seven years on the Community Preservation Committee, both positions that he’d give up if he wins the Selectboard seat. He said he decided to run after seeing the various challenges that Deerfield has faced over the past few years and in anticipation of future challenges on the horizon.
“When the pandemic hit, I felt the responsibility to help out, so my wife and I volunteered at vaccine clinics throughout Franklin County. Those experiences made me realize I could do a lot more to help Deerfield meet the challenges ahead,” Hilchey said. “There are a lot of different things that are confronting Deerfield right now. A lot of them are financial, and I think that to meet those goals, we need to think a little differently about how we do business.”
A retired journalist who began his career at the Greenfield Recorder before spending more than two decades at the New York Times, Hilchey said his extensive background as a financial news journalist can help drive that new line of thinking by providing a different perspective.
“Working in journalism, you get used to asking and answering hard questions and delving into complex issues,” Hilchey said. “I’d like to bring my 35 years of experience as a financial journalist and put it to work for the town.”
Hilchey said his financial goals are to “hold the line on real estate taxes” and attract businesses to Deerfield in a way that supports people’s lives without “trying to be the next Hadley.” The second priority, he added, is to hound the state and federal government for grant money to fund Deerfield’s future capital projects, especially those related to climate resiliency.
“Deerfield needs to attract businesses that offer living-wage jobs so people can afford to live here,” Hilchey said. “And whether it’s paying for sewers or sidewalks, we need to be relentless in bringing federal dollars back to Deerfield. And if I was elected, I would work tirelessly with our state and federal legislators to achieve those goals.”
He added that tourism is a huge part of Deerfield, especially with Berkshire Brewing Co. and Tree House Brewing being huge tourist draws alongside Yankee Candle and Historic Deerfield.
“I’d like to work with these tourism magnets to expand the benefits tourism brings to the local economy,” he said. “People get to come here and see how wonderful Deerfield is and maybe think about locating their businesses here.”
If elected, Hilchey said he wants to bring more residents to the table to facilitate further discussion around town issues because more perspectives can help inform decisions.
“Local government works best when residents are constructively involved,” Hilchey said. “I’ll listen to anyone who’s speaking in a respectful way, keep an open mind and make decisions that I consider to be fair, fiscally responsible and supporting our farms, local businesses and the environment.”
Komosa, 67, is running for the Board of Assessors after spending six years on the Planning Board and three years on the Selectboard over the past decade. He said he’s missed working for the town and wanted to help the town continue to grow.
“I want to work for the town and keep making it prosper and moving in the right direction,” he said. “From an assessor’s point of view, you have a fiduciary responsibility that all properties are assessed accurately. … An assessor’s position is kind of limited, but it still plays an important part.”
A Deerfield resident for more than 40 years with decades of experience in the businesses of construction and real estate, Komosa said he would be a good choice for Deerfield residents.
“I feel I would be a good asset. I have the time and the I have the experience,” he said. “I really think experience matters.”
Leone, 50, said he is running for the Board of Assessors because he “felt it was time to get involved” in town government after living in Deerfield for 14 years.
“We’re planning on being in town for a long time,” he said, “and I’ve been looking to do something. … I think the assessors was a good place to start.”
Leone, who works in the Information Technology Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said he has the experience to work with the town’s Board of Assessors in making sure everyone’s property is appraised accurately.
“I’m a fair and honest guy. I’m not in this for anything for myself,” Leone said. “I want to be fair for the whole town.”
On top of voting for candidates, voters will be asked to consider a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion vote to borrow $3 million to pay for the costs of upgrading the South Deerfield Wastewater Treatment Plant at 150 Sunderland Road. Residents at April 25’s Town Meeting approved the borrowing of the money, which will be used to ensure the plant is permit-compliant.
Other positions on the ballot are as follows:
■Constable, three-year term — Sharyn Paciorek, incumbent.
■Elector Under Oliver Smith Will, one-year term — Leslie “Lili” Dwight, incumbent.
■Frontier Regional School District School Committee, three-year term — Damien Fosnot, incumbent.
■Planning Board, two seats, each with three-year terms — Annmary Cloutier, incumbent, and Kathleen Watroba, incumbent.
■Tilton Library trustee, three-year term — Kathleen O’Rourke, incumbent.
Chris Larabee can be reached at 413-930-4081.