Editor’s note: The Greenfield Recorder is beginning to publish stories about what Franklin County residents can likely expect to see happening in their towns in 2024.

Prior to July, if you had asked the four southern Franklin County towns of Deerfield, Conway, Sunderland and Whately about what they envisioned for 2024, you’d probably get similar answers across the board: keep the ship moving forward and continue working on long-term projects.

But, much like the weather, the plans for at least two of those towns have changed following July’s torrential rainstorms, as Conway and Deerfield are looking toward 2024 as a year of rebuilding roads and paying off millions of dollars in damages. On the other side of things are Sunderland and Whately, which avoided the destruction their neighbors suffered and are looking to 2024 as a year to tackle some longstanding initiatives.

Conway

Conway’s future plans were upended in July when Mother Nature dropped more rain on the town in one month — up to 21 inches — than anywhere in the U.S., Canada or Puerto Rico.

All that rain has left the town drifting toward a second straight difficult financial year, where projects may have to go on hold, as Conway confronts at least $1 million in damages.

“We’re in the boat of looking behind; we had the most costly natural disaster in town history,” said Selectboard Chair Philip Kantor. “This will be a belt-tightening year municipally and we’re trying to come up with the money ourselves to fix the damage Mother Nature threw our way.”

While the financial picture is grim, at least one bright spot will emerge from the rain clouds. Voters passed up to $1.5 million in borrowing authority at December’s Special Town Meeting, which will help cover unpaid bills from road repairs and will allow the town’s Public Safety Complex addition project to continue. Ground is expected to be broken in the spring.

Kantor said the borrowing approval allows the town to move forward with funding the addition to the building with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money.

“We have to get caught up to the 20th century on that stuff,” Kantor joked, noting the current Public Safety Complex can only accommodate retrofitted fire engines and does not have proper facilities for first responders. “We’re still going to do that and that’s going to be our municipal thing for this year.”

More good news may also be on the way for Conway and Deerfield, as legislators passed a $3.1 billion supplemental budget in early December that includes $15 million for municipal disaster relief, although the timing of aid and the amount coming to individual municipalities is unknown while the state determines where money should be sent.

Deerfield

Similar to their westerly neighbors, Deerfield was slammed by July’s rainstorms and accumulated up to $3 million in immediate repairs that need to be paid by the end of the fiscal year in June.

How the town will pay those bills, however, is currently unknown, as voters narrowly shot down a special election that would have allowed up to $5 million in borrowing authority for immediate needs and for future, unanticipated work, as well as work on River and Hawks road. A second election date is set for Jan. 16.

“‘Make Deerfield Whole Again’ is our gameplan,” said Selectboard Chair Carolyn Shores Ness, adding that the town’s main strategy will be pursuing numerous grants. “The focus is going to be getting our roads back into shape so they won’t fail and we can protect our infrastructure.”

She said the town is in the “recovery phase” and it is likely to be a multi-year process that involves several state and federal grants. She thanked Police Chief and Emergency Management Director John Paciorek Jr. and Highway Superintendent Kevin Scarborough for their “outstanding job” and countless number of hours worked in the aftermath of the storms.

“We truly have millions of dollars of road damage to still repair,” Shores Ness said. “The idea is you’re trying to match the grant to the road situation with the least expense to the town.”

Looking past the rain, Shores Ness said 2023 had plenty of bright spots, especially the town’s 350th anniversary celebration, which ran throughout the year and was highlighted by a giant, if a little soggy, parade in June.

“We had a wonderful 350th year, with lots of different, diverse opportunities for people,” she said. “It was a good combination, people were really excited.”

While some projects may be delayed in the future due to the financial consequences of the flooding, several projects are stilled poised to move forward in 2024. The Leary Lot and South Deerfield Wastewater Treatment Plant are expected to be complete in the spring and Tilton Library’s expansion project is expected to break ground in the early part of the year as well.

“Those are the kinds of things that are pretty exciting and positive,” Shores Ness said. “We have a lot of work planned and hopefully we’ll be successful getting grants.”

Sunderland

Next door in Sunderland, the town is looking at the completion of several longstanding projects in 2024, while the Selectboard also contemplates what could be one of the community’s biggest purchases in a long time.

Following several site visits and discussions, the Selectboard in the early part of 2024 will decide if it wants to pursue the purchase of the former Sinauer Associates/Oxford University Press building at 23 Plumtree Road for a dual-use South County Senior Center and town offices.

“That’s ongoing and at this point, trying to make an offer anytime soon is going to just not be feasible, but also unwise,” said Selectboard Chair Nathaniel Waring, emphasizing he and his fellow board members are doing their due diligence on the potential purchase. “We’re going to continue looking at that, but we’re not holding our breath.”

Alongside the Plumtree Road discussions, the town is expected to finish new pickleball courts at Riverside Park in June, continue working with consulting company Stantec to look at potentially re-envisioning the town center and find a suitable location for a transfer station.

Beyond that, Waring said, the main objective is to ensure the town continues to be financially responsible, especially amid police and school contract negotiations, by squeezing “a little more blood out of some stones.”

Looking back on the previous year, Waring said their work has been on details, not major projects, but the town has been steadily progressing its long-term projects, which will be further helped by residents passing a capital override in the spring.

“A lot of what we accomplished this last year was small stuff or budget things,” Waring said. “I’m very happy we passed the override for the Capital Stabilization Fund, so we’re in a much better position for the next couple of years.”

Whately

In Whately, Selectboard Chair Fred Baron said 2023 was somewhat of a quiet year and much of the town’s focus was on personnel changes at the Town Offices and Fire Department.

Longtime public servant Lynn Sibley retired from her full-time role in town government, which led to a reshuffling of Whately’s town clerk and tax collector/treasurer positions, while Fire Chief John Hannum, who led the Fire Department for nearly two decades, retired in June and was succeeded by JP Kennedy.

“There was upheaval in various departments and we seem to have come through it very smoothly and everyone did a great job in keeping things steady,” Baron said. “We were lucky we escaped serious damage with the flooding that Conway and Deerfield got.”

As for the new year, Baron said longstanding projects are the focus, with the sale of the Center School potentially happening and a feasibility study for a new Highway Department building also being in the works.

Other initiatives include the Exit 35 Study Committee, which is looking at economic development opportunities around the Interstate 91 exit, and continuing to look for the South County Senior Center’s home, although that is a group effort between the three member towns.

“We’ve got all these potential things going on, but which ones will come to the front burner and become active issues and which ones will percolate a little longer?” Baron said, adding that the town is doing well financially with no major borrowing or tax increases expected. “I think we’re in a good place and just trying to keep it there.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.