Blandford Select Board Opens Town Meeting Warrant, Backs Dirt Road Grant Phase Two

BLANDFORD — April 22, 2024 — Blandford Select Board backs phase-two dirt road grant and approves $15,000 sprinkler repair. The board unanimously supported the Western Massachusetts Unpaved Road Climate Resiliency Project, a regional coalition grant carrying no direct cash match for the town, and separately approved $15,115 to Encore Fire Protection to restore fire suppression controls at town hall while deferring a $5,662 pump repack pending a replacement price estimate. Pioneer Valley Planning Commission project coordinator Angela told the board that roughly 90 percent of deliverables from the original Resilient Dirt Roads grant are complete, with a beaver management report and culvert designs from Fuss & O'Neill still outstanding before a June closeout hearing. The board also opened the annual town meeting warrant — due posted by May 20 — with vocational tuition rates of $20,847 per student at Smith Vocational and $21,075 at Westfield Technical already in hand, and directed Town Administrator Mike to budget for the full Hilltown Ambulance rate increase of $50.20 per resident, up more than 40 percent from the current $35.20.