Hatfield Select Board Awards Route 5 Contract to Gilher Enterprises Incorporated

HATFIELD — October 20, 2020 — Hatfield Select Board awards Route 5 water contract and warns CARES Act funds nearly gone. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to award the Route 5 water and sewer improvement project to Gilher Enterprises Incorporated, reversing its prior award to the next-lowest bidder after consulting town counsel and receiving on-record assurances from Gilher representative Ryan about communication improvements and a full-time CEI resident engineer. COVID Coordinator Carrie Flaherty told the board the town has spent roughly $215,000 of its approximately $290,000 federal CARES allocation, with Chief of Police Bob Flaherty estimating as little as $12,000 to $15,000 may remain once pending bills clear — far short of what is needed to sustain the coordinator position through the fiscal year. The board directed Town Administrator Marlene to issue an immediate freeze on new CARES spending by all departments and called for a financial review meeting with school administration, which has drawn more than $140,000 in charges against the grant. Separately, Town Clerk Lydia reported more than 1,200 mail-in ballots sent to Hatfield's approximately 2,700 registered voters and announced a $5,000 state election safety grant.