DEERFIELD — The Select Board and Capital Improvements Planning Committee laid out their capital requests for fiscal year 2023 on Thursday, which include wastewater treatment plant upgrades, the preservation and renovation of the South County Senior Center, the design and construction of the Leary Lot, and the rehabilitation of the town common.
No members of the public attended Thursday’s hearing, which the board voted to extend to Tuesday, April 12, at 7 p.m. to give residents another chance to provide input while making final revisions.
Chief among all the requests for the upcoming year is borrowing $3 million to fund continued work at the South Deerfield Wastewater Treatment Plant. Select Board member Trevor McDaniel told the Capital Improvements Planning Committee the money would be used to improve the “resiliency” of the plan, while also increasing efficiency by replacing aeration filters and clarifiers, which clear solid material from the sewage.
“The second phase of this process has to do with the lungs of the process,” McDaniel said. “We are one of the highest energy users in town. … What’s happening now is our sludge quality is not very good, which makes it more costly to get rid of.”
Voters will have to approve the borrowing at annual Town Meeting on April 25 and then approve a debt exclusion on the May 2 election ballot.
McDaniel added the proposed borrowing is “about timing,” because if the town waits too long, the current contractor’s contract will expire and the town will have to work with someone else. Time also affects the finances of the project, McDaniel said, as “things get more expensive” the longer the town waits.
“We really want to make sure we can execute those things while that contractor is on. We have a great relationship,” McDaniel said, noting that the project would still have to go out to bid. “All the cards are leaning in our favor for him to bid on our work.”
The town is seeking to use $475,000 of Community Preservation Act funding for the engineering and renovation of the South County Senior Center, which has been closed due to the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the presence of mold and asbestos. Over the next several years, the town plans to renovate the building, add an addition, and create a dual-use senior center and municipal office building.
The Select Board plans to use $500,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to fund the redesign of the Leary Lot behind Berkshire Brewing Co., which would create additional parking and green spaces, while also opening up access to the brewery and Hamshaw Lumber.
“Our discussion is working on economic development with green infrastructure and space for parks,” McDaniel said.
The Leary Lot is one of the first steps in the town’s plans to revitalize the South Deerfield village over the next half-decade or longer, as the town looks to increase accessibility and walkability, which members of the board said would lead to increased economic development.
In conjunction with the Leary Lot, the board also requested $350,000 of Community Preservation Act funds for the town common rehabilitation project.
The project, designed by Berkshire Design Group, includes reworked walkways, improved crosswalk connections and other general improvements. In January, Ad-Hoc Town Common Committee Chair Kate Lawless said safety and accessibility were the “No. 1 priority.”
“People love the common, and we want to make sure we honor that history and make sure it’s safe and usable for everyone,” she said previously. “That’s our main reasoning behind it. … We really want to make it a place where people can come and contemplate the memorials and feel safe.”
Additional requests slated for the upcoming year include $100,000 from ARPA funding for the Police Department’s heating, cooling and ventilation system, $100,000 of ARPA funding for a mini excavator for the Highway Department and $59,000 of free cash for a wood chipper for the Highway Department.
The town plans to post an updated capital projects spreadsheet in the coming days at deerfield.ma.us.