WHATELY — Incumbent Frederick Orloski is facing a challenge from newcomer Frederick Baron for a three-year seat on the Select Board in what is the sole contested race in the June 8 town election.
Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Town Hall. Early and mail-in voting options are also available.
Orloski, who was born and raised in Whately, has spent the last 12 years working in town government in various roles and wants to continue working on projects the Select Board has not gotten to in previous years. If re-elected, the former engineer said he plans to focus on rebuilding the community.
“With our federal government looking at infrastructure projects for local communities,” Orloski said, “I’m advocating that would be a good use of improving our infrastructure — using that money to help the town, which we haven’t had access to in the past.”
Orloski said he’d also want the town to think about how it could regionalize more services in Whately.
“We’ve got a regional school district with four towns, we’ve got a senior center we share with South Deerfield,” Orloski said. “There’s other departments that maybe we could share. Share staffing, expertise and infrastructure, such as maybe the Police Department, maybe the Fire Department, things like that.”
The incumbent Select Board member stated his goal is to keep Whately “affordable, progressive and prosperous.”
“We’re maintaining our population base and actually increasing housing,” Orloski said. “People want to live in Whately, and I guess that’s one of my goals is to hope that continues.”
Baron, who is currently serving on the Finance Committee and the Whately 250th Anniversary Committee, has lived in town for nine years and wants to bring a new face to the Select Board.
He said the town must be prepared to face a bevy of challenges down the road, such as climate change, police regulation and changing demographics.
“There’s a wide range of issues we need to start thinking about now,” Baron said, “so that they don’t hit us in the face and we have to deal with them suddenly.”
Baron said one of his priorities if elected would be solving these upcoming problems while maintaining the history and character of Whately.
“We need to have our eyes open, looking to the future,” Baron said, “but at the same time, looking to preserve the essential nature of the town as a rural community.”
The challenger noted his law school experience would help him look at issues in the town from an angle that others might not see.
“I never practiced, but I do bring training as a lawyer to the board,” Baron explained, “and that sort of discipline in addressing problems and looking at aspects of problems and issues from a different point of view.”
The remaining positions on the ballot, which are all uncontested, are as follows:
■Moderator, one-year term — Nathanael Fortune, incumbent
■Whately School Committee, three-year term — Robert Halla, incumbent
■Whately School Committee, one-year term — Bethany Reilly
■Board of Assessors, three-year term — Frederick Orloski, incumbent
■S. White Dickinson Memorial Library trustees, two seats with three-year terms — James Ross, incumbent, and J. Robert Klinger
■Cemetery commissioner, three-year term — Darcy J. Tozier, incumbent
■Board of Health, three-year term — Francis Fortino, incumbent
■Water commissioner, three-year term — John Matthew Lukin
■Elector Under the Oliver Smith Will, one-year term — Keith Bardwell