Blandford Select Board Approves Warrants, Eyes Cemetery Gate Removal

BLANDFORD -- July 1, 2024, Blandford Select Board advances cemetery gate review and debates emergency purchasing options. The board, chaired by Jacqueline Coury and including members Ted Cousineau and Corinne Shartrand, voted unanimously to approve payroll warrant 25 and a $1,275 Pioneer Valley Planning invoice for housing rehab at its July 1 meeting, then spent much of the session on unresolved policy questions. A design estimate from Ken Bond put reconstruction of Schoolhouse Hill Road at potentially more than $500,000, prompting the board to call the project "not a priority" and seek lower-cost alternatives. The board also debated whether to establish a $10,000 emergency account after employees, including the library's Nicole, have been personally advancing funds for town purchases; members agreed to loop in the Finance Committee and incoming Town Administrator Christina. On cemetery access, the board will seek Fire Department and Conservation Commission input before deciding whether to remove two locked gates blocking ATV access to Warfield and Catlin cemeteries, with a joint discussion targeted for the next meeting in two weeks.