Hatfield Select Board Approves Cannabis Cultivation Host Agreement Unanimously

HATFIELD — September 8, 2020 — Hatfield Select Board unanimously approves cannabis cultivation host community agreement and hires assistant treasurer. The board voted 3-0 Tuesday to approve a host community agreement with River Valley Growers Inc., a cultivation-only cannabis operation planned in greenhouses of roughly 45,000 square feet on land associated with the Smarowski family farm; attorney Isaac Fleischer of Bacon Wilson said the facility will pay the town 3 percent of gross sales under the agreement. The board also unanimously accepted the appointment of Patricia Cotton of Westhampton as assistant collector-treasurer, chosen from a field of 50 applicants. COVID Coordinator Carrie Flaherty reported the town has spent $189,884 in COVID-related costs to date — about $165,000 of it on school HVAC upgrades, fogging machines, UV lights, and PPE — funded largely through FEMA reimbursements and the town's roughly $289,000 CARES Act allocation, with Hatfield recording just 22 confirmed COVID cases since tracking began.