Hatfield Select Board Adopts Vehicle Use Policy, Hears $161,000 Radio Grant News

HATFIELD -- September 14, 2021, Hatfield Select Board approves vehicle-use policy and learns fire department landed a $161,008 federal radio grant. Fire Chief Bob Flaherty told the board Tuesday that the Assistance to Firefighters Grant, awarded after his department survived a peer-review pool of roughly 1,500 out of more than 8,100 applicants nationwide, will fund new communications equipment to replace radios some 22 years old, with full commissioning expected within 12 weeks. The board voted unanimously to adopt a standalone commuting-rule valuation policy under IRS Publication 15-B, effective January 1, 2020, requiring employees who use town vehicles to submit monthly commute logs. Housing Authority Director Brenda Duquette reported the Kappawong parking lot renovation is functionally complete, roughly one month behind schedule, with only crosswalk signage remaining. The board opened a preliminary discussion on allocating nearly $971,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds, with a fuller Finance Committee session scheduled for September 28, and asked all department heads to identify eligible COVID-related costs ahead of that meeting.